Gillingham assistant manager Steven Craig looks ahead to their League Two match against Colchester United after a morale-boosting midweek Trophy win against Northampton Town

A midweek win in the EFL Trophy has given the Gillingham players a much-needed boost after last weekend’s disappointment.

The Gills were beaten 1-0 by non-league Barrow in the first round of the FA Cup.

On Tuesday night, manager Gareth Ainsworth picked his strongest side available for their Jersey Mike’s Trophy group-stage match against fellow League Two side Northampton Town.

A 2-1 win and some impressive performances helped alleviate some of the pain from last Saturday’s loss.

Assistant boss Steve Craig said: “We proved this year after poor results and performances, the next day we'll always be able to bounce back. I thought that was important on Tuesday.

“The more pleasing thing for us was the way that we finished the game. There was an element to control, a slight tweak in the formation and obviously that was four subs again. I was thoroughly delighted with the result, but more so the performance.

“We can understand the frustration for the fans [after the FA Cup loss] but you just magnify that by ten [for us]. That's how the staff and the players feel.

“Going out to the biggest cup competition is a kick in the teeth, isn't it? It's the biggest cup competition in England.

“We should have won the game, but we didn't take our chances, and we got hit with a sucker punch. Nobody feels more disappointed than the staff, the players, and obviously the club. But at ten to six, that game's done, it's done and dusted.

“There was [then] nothing we could do about it. We could only concentrate on Northampton and what Colchester will bring to us on Saturday. That's been our main focus.

“The gaffer's really big on not hanging on to the past or what's happened the previous week.

“It's been a really positive week. We had a good day's