Tilly: 'My players were fully committed and the fans were also fantastic'
Blues boss Steve Tilson has had one of the hardest weeks in his relatively short managerial career but was overjoyed at ending it with three points.
Tilly spoke to www.southendunited.co.uk: "It was a fantastic time to score. It was an open game and could have gone either way. My players were fully committed and the fans were also fantastic. I thought the atmosphere in the stadium was astonishing. Everyone knows the state of the club at the moment, but everyone pulled together and that showed at the final whistle. I said before the game that we can't do anything off the field and it is about what we do on the field and we did as well as we could. The players gave 100 per cent and I can't ask anymore than that."
Stimpson: 'Barnard scores goals and he gets in the right areas'
Gills boss Mark Stimpson was surprised that referee Gavin Ward, who had a strange match, booking nine players, disallowed their first half goal.
Stimpson talked to www.kentonline.co.uk: "I thought we had done enough to get a draw. I know they put us under a bit of pressure and created a few chances but we had put the ball in the back of the net and it was a strange decision by the referee to give a free-kick for shirt pulling."
The ex-Blues full back continued regarding the winning goal: "The two defenders, (Gowling and Fry), did well but the kid Barnard scores goals and he gets in the right areas, that's why he is top of the charts. We thought we kept him quiet for most of the game but he didn't switch off. From a long ball to the far post, he gambled on his mate heading it back in the area, and it was a good finish but very disappointing for us."