Jayden Clarke scored his sixth league goal of the season to give Gillingham a much-needed three points, beating Salford 1-0 at the MEMS Priestfield Stadium on Saturday.
The goal came in the opening minutes of the second period. Max Clark did well to regain possession following a Gillingham corner and took it down the left before cutting it back to Clarke on the edge of the penalty area. The wide man rifled a first-time effort goalward, with it taking a slight deflection on its way into the back of the net.
Mark Bonner made five changes to the starting XI that lost 2-1 to Bromley on Wednesday night. Two academy graduates made the line-up, with Harry Webster making his league debut and Joe Gbode returning to the team.
Gills were forced to make a change in goal with Jake Turner missing out after picking up an injury against Bromley. Glenn Morris returned between the sticks.
Josh Andrews led the line with Elliott Nevitt, while Max Clark came back in at left-back following the birth of his child. Bradley Dack made the matchday squad.
Luke Garbutt had an early free-kick for the hosts to the right of centre. He curled it around the wall, with the ball at a comfortable height for Morris, who easily gathered it.
Morris made a huge save denying Cole Stockton on 14 minutes. The visitors capitalised on a loose ball, with Tyrese Fornah carrying it forward before playing Stockton through on goal. He found himself one-on-one with the Gillingham goalkeeper, who had come off his line to close the angle. Stockton attempted to dink it over Morris, but he produced the big save.
In the 19th minute, Clark tried a speculative effort. He received the ball in acres of space around 30 yards from the goal. With the home support encouraging him to shoot, he tried his luck. However, Clark’s shot floated into the arms of Matt Young in the Salford goal.
There was a lengthy stoppage during the game after a nasty high challenge on Gbode. The resulting challenge meant he could not continue, and he was stretchered off and replaced by Jack Nolan in the 35th minute.
There was a big appeal for a penalty for the hosts in the 43rd minute. Jayden Clarke was making his way into the box before he was shoulder-barged by Oussama Ashley, who then lost his footing. As he was going down, he dragged down Clarke in the process. Despite the contact, he did not see enough to award the spot kick.
Gills had a couple of half chances in quick succession. The first came when Nevitt and Nolan pressed down the right-hand side. The former crossed into the box for Andrews, who guided his header wide of the far post.
The second chance came from Nolan, who cut inside onto his right foot before shooting. However, his low-driven effort directed towards the near post went wide of the target.
HALF-TIME: Gillingham 0-0 Salford City
Clarke gave Gillingham the lead in the 48th minute. Clark did well to regain possession outside the Salford penalty area before taking it down the left wing. He cut it back to the edge of the box in the direction of Clarke, who rifled his shot goalward. It took a slight deflection on its way as it ended up past Young.
It was nearly two in as many minutes. Nolan brought the ball forward from halfway before shooting from 25 yards. His low-driven effort towards the bottom left corner was palmed away by Young. Clarke was first to the rebound, smacking it into the roof of the net. Unfortunately, the linesman raised his flag for offside.
In the 65th minute, Gills made a change, with Remeao Hutton replacing Andrews.
The hosts made another change on 77 minutes, as Jonny Williams came on for Clarke.
Kylian Kouassi had a great chance to equalise for Salford with ten minutes remaining. Stockton slipped him through on goal, and he found himself one-on-one with Morris. The goalkeeper came off his line to close the angle, and as Kouassi got a shot away, he was met by the sliding block of Conor Masterson and Morris to block the shot before the Gillingham goalkeeper claimed the loose ball.
Morris pulled off a superb save to deny Conor McAleny in the closing stages. The Gills goalkeeper had his view obstructed by a Salford player directly in his eyeline, and McAleny used that to his advantage, curling it around him. Despite this, Morris was alert, palming it clear before the hosts dealt with the rebound.
In the second minute of stoppage time, Gillingham made their final substitutions. Dack replaced Nevitt and Shad Ogie came on for Webster, who was met by a rousing cheer from the Rainham End.
FULL-TIME: Gillingham 1-0 Salford City
Gillingham: Morris, Webster (Ogie 90+2’), Ehmer, Masterson, Clark, Coleman, McKenzie, Gbode (Nolan 35’), Clarke (J. Williams 77’), Andrews (Hutton 65’), Nevitt (Dack ,90+2’)
Unused Substitutes: Ashby-Hammond, Rowe
Salford City: Young, Edwards, Ashley, Fornah, Lund, Stockton, Nmai, Wooburn (Kouassi 54’), Tilt, Mnoga (McAleny 74’), Garbutt
Unused Substitutes: Jones, Berkoe, Negru, Taylor, Luamba
Referee: Tom Nield
Attendance: 5296 (58 away fans)
