Gillingham slipped to their third successive away defeat at Crewe Alexandra on Tuesday night as Neil Harris’ side again had no luck in front of goal. 

With skipper Shaun Williams not included and namesake Jonny dropping to the bench after coming off in Saturday’s draw with Mansfield, early on the Gills started brightly and were desperately unlucky not to take the lead when Ethan Coleman’s low shot from twenty-five yards came back off the foot of the right post. 

Both sides then saw long range efforts flash over and wide – Cheye Alexander with the Gills try – before the home side edged in front just past the half hour as Conor O’Riordan rose well at the back post to send a downward header past Jake Turner after a corner had been only half cleared and recycled back into the Gills box. 

Gillingham rallied and could have been level by the break but for Crewe keeper Harvey Davies. First the keeper blocked George Lapslie after Robbie McKenzie’s low cross had found its way into the six-yard box and when the ball was cleared, Coleman’s swinging effort was helped over the bar by the home stopper. 

The Gills’ best chance of the half came just before the break – Davies doing really well to keep out McKenzie’s low shot, but Macauley Bonne will have been disappointed not to have equalised from the rebound. 

Both sides had chances in the opening fifteen minutes of the second period – Jake Turner saved well from Shilow Tracey’s low shot whilst Dom Jeffries went close at the other end (from Bonne’s pull back) but could not keep his shot down. 

The visitors kept probing in search of levelling the scores but didn’t really test Davies with anything of note – the closest they actually came was another effort from Coleman – but they couldn’t find a way through, and as they went forward more and more, the gaps at the back came more and more, and with just four minutes left on the clock, the home side sealed the points as substitute Joe White swept home a ball in from the left that summed up the Gills night as the ball cannoned into the net off the unlucky Turner who blocked the initial shot only for the ball to loop into the net. 

The defeat saw the Gills slip to eighth place in the table, but the top of the League Two table is so ridiculously tight at this early stage that whilst leaders Notts County are three points clear, the next seven sides are separated by just a solitary point with MK Dons next up for Harris’ side at Priestfield at the weekend. 

CREWE ALEXANDRA – Davies, Adebisi, Williams (Nevitt 64), Demetriou, Offord, Long (Holicek H/T), Tracey (White 73), O’Riordan, Powell (Rowe 73), Baker-Richardson (Finney 64). 

Subs not used – Booth, Cooney.

Goals: O’Riordan (30), White (85).

Booked: Powell (35).

GILLINGHAM – Turner, Alexander (Nichols H/T), Ogie, Masterson, Malone, McKenzie (Jayden Clarke 86), Coleman, Lapslie (Jonny Williams 64), Jefferies (Nadesan 75), Mahoney, Bonne.

Subs not used – Morris, Max Clark, Ehmer.

REFEREE – Mr Daniel Middleton 

Attendance: 3427