Shrimpers can’t stop the Gills’ jumbo JET

JAY EMMANUELTHOMAs enjoyed a debut to remember, inspiring Gillingham to victory at Roots Hall.

The powerful striker only signed on loan from QPR on the eve of the match.

And he produced a man-of-the-match performance to leave new boss Justin Edinburgh in awe.

“At times, JET was taking the game to Southend on his own which is what we need,” Edinburgh beamed.

“As soon as he got here he gave us all a real lift and he took the goal superbly well.

“I’m sure he will frustrate us all at times but he has a real swagger about him and he’s played a big part here.

“I’m really happy to have got him in and this has been a great start.

“This performance will also go a long way to getting rid of the hangover we’ve had since last season’s end.

“The players really lifted their level in the second half and once we got the equaliser we looked like the team most likely to win.”

Despite the final scoreline, Gillingham were under pressure in the opening half hour with Shrimpers striker David Mooney slicing wide when well placed.

But Southend remained on top and broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute when Stephen McLaughlin’s long-range shot squirmed under the body of goalkeeper Stuart Nelson.

The visiting shotstopper soon made amends by denying Mooney from six yards and that proved crucial as Emmanuel-Thomas brought Gills level on 38 minutes, firing home Paul Konchesky’s leftwing corner.

Gills took the lead two minutes into the second half when Max Ehmer headed home a long throw from Ryan Jackson.

And they completed the scoring in the 79th minute when Emmanuel Osadebe sent a controlled shot into the bottom lefthand corner of the net.

That made sure of an opening-day defeat for the Shrimpers, to leave boss Phil Brown frustrated at having just missed out on Emmanuel-Thomas.

“We had been trying to get Jay in for a number of months but it was falling on deaf ears,” said Brown.

“When I heard he had gone to Gillingham I was disappointed to miss out but hopefully Nile Ranger can have that kind of impact for us when he’s fit.

“This is certainly a rude awakening for us and we need to react.

“The mentality wasn’t right and that second-half performance just wasn’t acceptable. We just seemed to lie down.”