Gillingham are on the road this weekend as they travel to Barrow in search of a much-needed win.

Gillingham’s recent form has been poor with five losses from the past six games. While some of the performances have been decent at points, there is no shying away from the results.

Last Saturday’s 3-0 loss at home to Oldham was a tough watch. Gillingham conceded two goals in the opening 17 minutes with some sloppy defending before the game was put beyond doubt in the second half with Oldham’s third.

That said, the Gills looked good either side of half time with more fluid, attacking football that led to some good opportunities to score, but no goals. This has typified many performances this season, with Gillingham often looking the better side in many games but unable to score when they needed to.

Manager Gareth Ainsworth was clearly frustrated in the post-match conference, so he desperately needs a result this Saturday.

Gillingham currently sit 16^th in the table, 12 points away from the playoff places, while the visitors, Barrow, are currently 22^nd on 27 points, one point above the relegation places, but with two games in hand on Harrogate who are below them.

Barrow have been one of the weaker teams in League Two this season, having won only seven games and lost 19. Their highest position all year has been 14^th, but their main aim has been avoiding relegation.

Their recent form has been very poor with two wins and ten losses from the past 12 games. That said, they have been competitive in the majority of the matches, typically losing by a single goal.

Last week, they were 2-0 up at half-time away at Fleetwood, courtesy of a Josh Gordon penalty and a Niall Canavan header from a corner. However, Fleetwood’s Espana Osong pulled one back for the home side in the 64^th minute before Crispin McLean equalised in the 89^th minute. Barrow’s fate was sealed courtesy of a goalmouth scramble in the 94^th minute which resulted in an own goal from their keeper Wyll Stanway.

Gillingham and Barrow have played each other on 27 occasions, with Gillingham winning 12 and Barrow eight. In the reverse fixture earlier in the season, Gillingham were 2-0 up at half time courtesy of Aaron Rowe and a Barrow own-goal. However, two goals from Josh Gordon in the second half secured a point for the away side with a 2-2 draw.

Ainsworth has hinted the Gillingham squad could include Garath McCleary, despite him being subbed off with a muscular injury at half-time on Saturday. Conor Masterson and Nelson Khumbeni also remain unavailable. Ainsworth has also suggested that there will be changes following the loss at home to Oldham. He has picked the same 18-man squad for the past four games. Perhaps he will turn to the likes of Aaron Rowe, Lenny Cirino, Jonny Williams or possibly give new signing Cameron Antwi his first start.

While it is numerically possible for the Gills to still reach the playoffs, it is now very unlikely. Given the fans’ unprintable chant that echoed out from the Rainham End last week, the Gills need to put in a performance to keep the fans on side and reassure them that Gallison and Ainsworth’s two-year plan is still achievable.  

Barrow are a team Gillingham should beat, especially given their recent form. But their relegation fight could easily galvanise their players to pull off a convincing win against the Kent side who have very little to play for and a similarly poor run of recent form.

Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.