Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth admitted his side will take plenty from beating League 2 leaders Crewe.
While the visitors hit the woodwork four times and missed an open goal at Priestfield, Gillingham had more than twice the number of goal attempts as Crewe.
It means the Gills boss dismissed the suggestion that his team had to stay in the game at times.
“I don’t think staying in it,” he responded. “I don’t think we were under the cosh, like sometimes they were under the cosh in the second half. But the Rainham End helps that.
“You feel like you’re away from home and defending all the time because of the Rainham End.
“You’ve got to realise how important they are. So, I don’t think we’re under the cosh, but they had the breakaway threat.
“We looked at it in midweek and they break really quickly. So, we did a lot of work on making sure that we were very good on the counter-press and stopped any quickly played forward balls.
“We still got done a couple of times, down the wings, crosses coming in, which you’re going to do in football.
“So, at half-time, myself and Richard Dobson (assistant), we used the tactics board and just put in a little tweak. I’m not going to obviously say what that was, but a tiny tweak.
“Second half, we were much better. I think to the extent that Crewe needed a break at times.
“They’re a good side. You’ve got some good players there. Tommi O’Reilly’s on loan from Aston Villa. I had him at Shrewsbury and he’s a very good player and when they get it to him, he can be very dangerous. March up front has been very good for them and they’re solid at the back.
“They’ve turned some teams over. They’ve turned Fleetwood over 4-1 and they beat Salford away.
“They’re a very good side so we take a lot from this victory. We haven’t achieved anything yet, but we’re slowly gaining confidence in each game and I’m really proud of them.”
Ainsworth admitted the quality he can introduce from the bench made a difference.
The likes of Aaron Rowe, Sam Vokes and Jonny Williams all contributed when they were introduced.
“We’ve got a strong bench, a very good attacking bench,” added the Gills boss. “We’ve got some quality on there and I think all of them that came on made a difference.
“We can have a couple of days now to relax. I actually told them they had Monday off before the game because they’d done enough for me. I said, ‘performance-wise, you’ve done enough, that’s your boost’.
“We need it, we travel a long way when we go away from home. The boys are in a lot, doing a lot of work with me. The staff are some of the last out of here sometimes but it’s all worth it when you get days like this.
Read more: Gillingham 1-0 Crewe match report
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“They’re a sensational bunch of boys. I love them to bits and I’m very proud of the effort.
“The Rainham End again – I knew it when I was a player, I knew it when I came here.
“That is a real difference sometimes, and they don’t know how much they can be.”
