Despite Bradley Dack giving them the lead and keeper Jake Turner making a fine penalty save, Gillingham slipped to defeat in their final game outside of Kent in 2025 as Fleetwood Town came from behind to win 2-1 at Highbury Stadium.
Dack’s strike on fifteen minutes gave the Gills an advantage that they deserved but the home side forced their way back into the game and Ryan Graydon levelled withing ten minutes of the restart.
Turner magnificently turned aside Chad Evans’s penalty ten minutes from time, but the Gillingham stopper was powerless to keep out Zech Medley’s late strike for the winner.
The visitors were backed by another amazing turn out from the travelling fans – with the crowd touching three thousand, over two hundred and fifty made the near six hundred mile round trip the Saturday before Christmas – a truly remarkable backing at a ground where the Gills have now won just once in eleven trips!
Andy Smith returned to the starting line-up as did Seb Palmer-Houlden who was a late replacement for Garath McLeary and the Gills started brightly as Aaron Rowe went close early on before Dack struck on fifteen minutes.
Sam Gale’s cross dropped to Rowe and his shot was block and the ball found its way to Dack who hammered the ball past Jay Lynch for his sixth goal of the season.
Dack was close to a second not long after but his drive kept rising and just before the break, Palmer-Houlden got on the end of a move from Elliott Nevitt and Amani Little, but his curling effort didn’t just curl enough.
After bossing most of the first period, the Gills had a big let off right on the stroke of the break. Evans recycled a corner and with Turner out of position, Finlay Potter’s header was cleared off the line by Palmer-Houlden.
Graydon levelled the scores eight minutes after the break with an unmarked far post header from a right wing cross, and could have edged in front before the hour, but Turner did really well to keep out Graydon’s effort with his feet!
Dack was then inches away from his seventh of the season as he glanced Rowe’s cross against Fleetwood’s right post before looping into the arms of a very grateful Lynch in the home goal.
Turner then pulled off a stunning save to tip Ethan Ellis’s stunning free-kick onto his cross bar and from the corner Lewis McCann thundered a header inches wide.
Ten minutes from time, Evans was brought down, picked himself up, but was magnificently denied by Turner as the keeper got down to his left to turn the ball round the post.
By this time, the hosts were well on top and with just six minutes left, Evans swept a ball into the box and Medley steered the ball beyond Turner to seal the points for Fleetwood and send the Gills down to twelfth, four points behind their Boxing Day opponents – Cambridge United – and possibly intensifying the importance of the four games in eleven days that Gareth Ainsworth’s side now face…
FLEETWOOD TOWN – Lynch, Ennis, Mullarkey, Potter, Hughes, McCann (Medley 79), Bonds, Virtue (Jordan Davies 80), Helm (Neal 66), Evans, Graydon (Will Davies 73).
Subs not used – Harrington, Morrison, Haughey.
Goals: Graydon (53), Medley (85).
Booked: McCann (28), Graydon (45+1), Potter (48).
GILLINGHAM – Turner, Hutton, Akomeah, Gale, Andy Smith, Rowe, McKenzie, Little (Coleman 86), Dack, Palmer-Houlden (Jonny Smith 79), Nevitt.
Subs not used – Holtam, Clark, Ogie, Jonny Williams.
Goal: Dack (14).
Booked: Little (52), Nevitt (58).
REFEREE – Mr. Parkinson
Attendance: 3001