Goalkeeper Taite Holtam only found out he’d be making his league debut hours before kick-off on Saturday.
The 20-year-old was called into action after veteran keeper Glenn Morris was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
With back-up Jack Turner on loan at Dagenham & Redbridge, that meant Holtam was next in line to feature.
He’s had loan spells with Ashford and Phoenix Sports in Isthmian South East but it’s a totally different experience to play in front of more than 6,000 fans at Priestfield.
“We kept it very quiet, but Glenn just felt his hamstring in training (on Friday),” said Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth. “And that’s the worst day for your goalkeeper to feel his hamstring!
“When he did, we said, ‘There’s no risk here, you’ve done fantastically well’.
“If I’m honest, Tait probably wasn’t on the books to have a look at. But I’ve looked at him now and I thought he was assured.
“His kicking was great and he’s got a Cheshire Cat smile on him, he’s really beaming.
“To come in, last-minute winner, clean sheet, I think that’s brilliant. The back four or five really looked after him as well with their defending. They defended solidly. They didn’t let many shots go in at all.
“I was a bit worried with the free-kick that went into the wall. The wall stayed strong and they’ve really helped him. But also he deserves that and he deserves that clean sheet.
“I said to him, keep your shirt because it’s your debut shirt and you’re not going to forget that. I might have to pay for that because I don’t know what the protocol is here!
“But I want him to keep his shirt because that’s a big moment for such a young man.”
