Summer signing Stefan Mols pounced on a mix-up to open the scoring in the 11th minute before he provided two assists for Josh Woods.

Woods headed home to make it 2-0 on 28 minutes before an Omar Beckles shot deflected off Devon Matthews three minutes later to give the Gills hope.

But Stanley bossed the game with 21 chances and, on 66 minutes, Mols crossed for Woods again to head home his fifth goal of the campaign.

Doolan’s side extended their unbeaten league run to five games and he said: “I was pleased with everyone’s performance, from the keeper right through the whole team from the first whistle to the last, they were outstanding.

“Everyone put a shift in, they showed qualities and showed how competitive having the shirt is.

“It was a battle, we put a lot of crosses into the box, we had a lot of chances and I was more than happy with everyone’s contribution, it was fantastic. Everyone deserved man of the match.

“Josh has had stick in the past, people saying ‘he lacks this and that’ but he is working as hard as he can and he has been since he came to the club and he got his rewards.

“Stefan Mols is class, I watched his progression after he left Blackburn Rovers and into non-league and that why we brought him into the club. We worked on set-pieces and it’s good when it comes off.”

Gillingham remain in the top six but boss Gareth Ainsworth was not happy with his side’s display.

He said: “It wasn’t good enough. Accrington bullied us at times, they won all the duels, they won all the battles and were quicker and stronger which was very uncharacteristic of us.

“I am hoping it’s a blip as it reminded me of some bad moments from last season and I don’t want that again.

“We need more quality going forward and need to be more direct at times.

“The lads have been good for 10 games but today was very poor and it’s unacceptable, we can’t have that performance again.

“Accrington are strong at home, they were relentless with corners and set-pieces, everything I told the boys before the games that Accy would do.

“They were terrible goals to concede and we didn’t look like getting back in the game and that’s the worrying thing.

“The boys have got to step up and be stronger. That was not my team I want to see. They beat us fair and square.”