A former Crewe Alexandra striker scored on his return to Gresty Road as Gillingham made it four without defeat as Neil Harris’ side brought a point home from another long trip North.
Both Mika Mandron and Scott Kashket are former Crewe players and the pair combined from Shaun Williams’’ corner to force the ball over the line to spark the “who scored” debate, with Mandron later being credited with the goal by the club’s website.
The lead sadly didn’t last long as Dan Agyei beat Glenn Morris to level the scores before twenty minutes were on the clock, and in all honesty, there was little else to enthuse the near four thousand crowd and the more than two hundred who had braved travelling conditions from Kent.
The Gills could have been in front before they scored as home keeper Arthur Okonkwo pulled off a stunning save to keep out Wright’s free-kick as the full-back looked for set piece goals in back-to-back games.
Williams’s 12th minute corner had caused mayhem in the box as Mandron’s towering header sent the ball goal wards – did Kashket get the finishing touch? Who knows but what we did know was the Gills had the lead.
Sadly, it was a lead that only last a matter of minutes as Agyei drove a loose ball beyond the flailing arms of Morris and into the net to level things up at one-one.
Gillingham rallied as the “Mac’s” both went close before the break – Alex MacDonald shot sadly well wide before Robbie McKenzie drilled a strike into the side netting.
McKenzie turned saviour just before the break as he did well to block Courtney Baker-Richardson’s header before Morris did really well to get enough on Agyei’s lob to keep the ball out.
The second period was, well very quiet with neither keeper really having a shot to save worthy of the note and although the visitors had two shouts for penalties a point was probably about right – just a nineth draw in this fixtures in more than fifty meetings; incidentally this was the first time that the fixture had finished honours even in more than a decade.
The Gills now head home for a midweek encounter in the PJT before the League leaders come calling next weekend as Steve Evans returns to Kent for the first time since his sacking in January!
CREWE ALEXANDRA – Okonkwo, Mellor, Offord, McDonald, Adebisi (Finney 53), Conor Thomas, King (Leshabela 79), Uwakwe, Sambou (Tabiner 70), Agyei, Baker-Richardson,
Subs not used: Richards, Williams, Griffiths, Sass-Davies.
Goal: Agyei (19).
Booked: Adebisi (21), Tabiner (92).
GILLINGHAM – Morris, Alexander, Wright, Ehmer, Law, Adelakun (Jefferies 88), McKenzie, Williams, MacDonald (Green 73), Kashket, Mandron (Walker 73).
Subs not used: Turner, Mnoga, Baggott, Chambers.
Goal: Mandron (12).
REFEREE – Mr Bobby Madden
Attendance: 3,809
Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.