Hawkins | "It was a brilliant performance"

11th February

Gills striker praises the team spirit following the 3-1 win at Meadow Lane.

Oli Hawkins was delighted with the brilliant Gillingham performance that saw them come from behind to beat Notts County 3-1.
 
Dan Crowley gave The Magpies an early lead before Hawkins brought the Gills level shortly afterwards with a fine header. Max Clark scored with a fantastic outside-the-foot strike with ten minutes remaining in the first half before Conor Masterson made it three shortly after half-time. 
 
Hawkins credited the team for the character and resilience that they showed to come from behind against a strong Notts County side. 
 
The Gills were backed by 953 travelling supporters, who made their presence known throughout the game. The striker was full of praise for the travelling contingent and was glad that the team could win all three points for them.
 
It is a quick turnaround for the Gills, with Swindon Town visiting the Priestfield Stadium on Tuesday. Hawkins knows how important it will be for Gillingham to back that result up with another positive performance. 
 

Thoughts on the game...

It was a brilliant performance. It is a really tough place to come, and we knew that they were going to have a lot of the ball and that we would have to dig in, and we did. We have come away with three points with a really good performance. 

It is always tough going 1-0 down that early, but the boys showed great character. I think that getting the goal helped us with a bit of momentum, and we knew that we could get back into the game. 

We defended really well and gave them next to nothing. They had a few chances during the second half, but other than that, they had nothing. We were patient and played really well. 

 

His equaliser...

I was confused about who crossed that in! I didn't know whether it was Ro [Remeao Hutton] or Conor [Masterson] because Ro normally crosses it in. I just assumed it was one of them. It was an unbelievable cross, and I knew that the defender was marking me tight, so I knew that if I had half a yard away from him with my arm stretched, I could guide it towards the corner, and I did. 

 

The travelling support...

We had a great support tonight. Loads came up, and I am not too sure how many came up, but it was unbelievable support. They were loud throughout the whole game, and that is what you want to do. You want to celebrate with them and show that we have passion and that what we did tonight was for them. It was a really good atmosphere.

 

Looking ahead to Swindon...

It is going to be another tough game. A completely different game, going back home. The gaffer has said previously that he wants us to show some character and go away from home and win a game, then go back home and win as well. We know that we want to go there on Tuesday back at home and win, show another good performance and get up that league table. 

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