Gillingham are back on the road this Saturday as travel to the Broadfield Stadium to face Crawley Town.
Gillingham have suffered four consecutive defeats in 11 days, which has rendered the excellent form of the early season a very distant memory.
Saturday’s 2-1 loss at home to Bristol Rovers was frustrating; after going ahead in the first half with a penalty, Gillingham conceded twice in the second half and struggled to create chances to get back in the game. Skipper Armani Little’s dismissal in the dying minutes summed up a difficult day at Priestfield.
The loss means Gillingham remain 16th in the table on 45 points, 17 points away from the playoff places, and 15 points clear of the relegation zone. Crawley, meanwhile, are 21st, 14 points below Gillingham and one above the relegation zone.
Crawley have had a challenging season, with 18th being their highest place in the table in September. They have not won since 31st January, and their poor form has resulted in manager Scott Lindsay being sacked on 22nd March.
In their last fixture, Crawley picked up a point in a 2-2 draw at home to Swindon. After a goalless first half, Crawley went ahead in the 48th minute before Swindon equalised with a penalty. Swindon thought they’d secured the win with Billy Bodin’s goal at the start of injury time, but Crawley’s Kellan Gordon equalised in the 98th minute to salvage a precious point.
Gillingham and Crawley have played each other on 17 occasions, with Gillingham winning 10 and Crawley 4. In the reverse fixture in November, Gillingham took the lead twice through Bradley Dack in the first half and Robbie McKenzie’s penalty in the second half. However, Crawley equalised in the 52nd minute, then again in the 82nd minute to secure the point.
Gillingham’s matchday squad will be similar to Saturday, aside from Little, who will be suspended. Ainsworth has hinted that a couple of injured players may come back into the squad but would not name them.
A managerless, relegation fighting Crawley seems like a good fixture for Gillingham on paper, but with the Kent side’s recent form, they will need to work hard to get a result.