The play-off dream is over and Gillingham will be playing League Two football again next season. 

After weeks of toying with the top seven places, the Gills fate was sealed after yet again for long periods looking like they might just achieve stage one of the impossible dream.

Tim Dieng squeezed the ball home for the acutest of angles just past the quarter hour, and with results again seemingly going the Gills way for a time they were just a point away from the play-offs in the “live” table.

Mansfield showed just why they are one of the best teams at this level with goals from Davis Keillor-Dunn and Stephen McLaughlin in the final thirteen minutes to finally end the Gills feint hopes. 

Dom Jeffries started his first game since February as the Gills went in search of the win which would have spoiled the home sides celebrations after securing promotion in midweek, and they started brightly with Dieng heading just over from a Romeao Hutton centre.

Dieng did though score the goal that the Gills wanted on seventeen minutes. Jonny Williams did well on the edge of the box, and he found his French colleague, and as Dieng tried to flick the ball across the box, it rebounded back to him and from the tightest of angles, he managed to get the ball past Mansfield keeper Christy Pym and into the net. 

The (Nigel) Clough half time team talk woke the home side up and Jake Turner had to be alert to keep out George Maris.  

Keillor-Dunn fired over, and Conor Masterson did well to block former teammate Tom Nichols’ effort, before Turner pulled off a great save to again deny Keillor-Dunn. Sadly, for the Gills, it just delayed the inevitable as from a great Nichols touch, Keillor-Dunn beat Turner at the third attempt with a low shot. 

The Gills had to score again and so very nearly did when Oli Hawkins deft header was magnificently tipped over the bar by Pym, but as the visitors went looking for the goal to keep their season alive, McLaughlin’s piledriver from 25 yards all but ended the Kent sides dream. 

Turner made another great save with his legs in stoppage time but by then other results had started to come through and any hope Gillingham had had earlier in the day was gone! 

Whilst the dream is over for this season, there is still one more game to play in which skipper Max Ehmer could play game number 400 for the Club against Doncaster next weekend. It will also possibly be the chance for the faithful to bid one or more of the squad good-bye.

MANSFIELD TOWN – Pym, Akins, Flint, Bowery, McLaughlin (Cooper), Lewis (Clarke), Reed, Maris (Keillor-Dunn), Boateng (Quinn), Nichols, Gale (Macdonald) 

Subs – Flinders, Flanagan  

GILLINGHAM – Turner, Hutton, Ehmer, Masterson, Max Clark (Malone), Coleman, Jefferies (Ogie), Dieng, Mahoney (Walker), Jonny Williams (McKenzie), Andrews (Hawkins) 

Subs – Morris, Clarke 

REFEREE – Mr Purkiss 

Image courtesy of Gillingham FC