Gillingham continued their fine home form with a comprehensive, if not controversial, 1-0 win against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon.

A late Connor Ogilvie goal was enough for Gillingham to see off their visitors, but it wasn’t without debate as Brandon Hanlan and Charlie Wyke both saw potential goals ruled out for their respective clubs.

Gillingham were unchanged from their 3-0 win against Doncaster last week and the home fans will have been quietly confident coming into this one.

Sunderland failed to score just weeks ago when then visited Priestifeld in the FA Cup, and efforts from De Bock and McNulty in the opening ten minutes at least showed the intent the team somewhat lacked in the cup game.

Brandon Hanlan has been Gillingham’s biggest threat in recent weeks, and he missed a Connor Ogilvie cross by inches before seeing a header cleared off the line by Jordan Willis. Not long after, he sliced an effort wide after good play from Ogilvie and Mikael Mandron, but the controversy was still to come, and Hanlan was at the centre of it all.

Gillingham worked the ball well on the right and it fell kindly for Oliver Lee. He put in a cross and Hanlan rose highest to head the ball towards goal. He hit the bar, and the ball bounced down onto the goal line, then back onto the bar before Jon McLaughlin gathered. The Gillingham players celebrated, and it seemed the ball had actually crossed the line, but the officials thought differently and play continued.

Mikael Mandron has stepped up his form in recent weeks, but he’ll be frustrated he didn’t give Gillingham the lead late on in a dominant first-half. Once again Brandon Hanlan showed good skill to break down the right and square the ball to his strike partner Mandron. It seemed easier to score, but the Frenchman fired the ball against the bar from yards out before Mark Byrne had a follow up volley blocked.

The Gills started the second-half as they ended the first – in control – and Mark Marshall, who replaced the injured Mark Byrne late in the first period, saw a good effort blocked as the half got underway.

Gills captain Max Ehmer almost gifted Sunderland a goal when he tried to dribble round a forward in his own area and was dispossessed, but goalkeeper Jack Bonham was alert to preserve his side’s clean sheet.

Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson bought on big forward Charlie Wyke on the hour mark and he was involved straight away as he got the better of Jack Tucker before firing inches wide, much to the dismay of the travelling faithful.

If we thought Hanlan’s effort in the first-half caused controversy, the worst was yet to come.

In short, Will Grigg worked the ball well on the right before squaring it for Wyke to head home. The away fans went crazy and let off a flare, but, after a lengthy discussion between the referee and his assistant, the goal was ruled out. It’s still not clear what it was for; there were claims of handball, offside, and a foul, but it remained 0-0 and Gillingham were given a life.

The Gills began to launch corners and throws into the box as they searched for a winner, and Mandron had a good opportunity when a cross came his way, but he struggled to control it before, eventually, shooting wide.

The breakthrough did, finally, come when Connor Ogilvie sent the home faithful into raptures with a 89th minute winner. Another corner came swinging in, Mandron headed down, Ehmer controlled, and Ogilvie sprinted in to volley home and cause mayhem in the stands.

It was enough for Gillingham to see off their visitors, and it was a richly deserved three points.

Gillingham: Bonham, Ehmer, Ogilvie, Hanlan, Mandron, Fuller, Jones, Byrne (Marshall 44), Lee, O’Connor, Tucker.

Subs not used: Walsh, Hodson, Ndjoli, Charles-Cook, Cisse, Jakubiak.

Goals: Ogilvie 89.

Sunderland: J McLaughlin, C McLaughlin (Maguire 90), Willis, Öztürk, McNulty (Wyke 62), Flanagan, O’Nein, Dobson, Grigg, Leadbitter, De Bock.

Subs not used: Burge, Lynch, Watmore, McGeady, Hume.

Goals: N/A

Attendance: 5,401

Referee: Mr. A. Woolmer.