The Gills are looking for three league wins in a row at this Saturday’s Kent derby as they welcome League Two leaders Bromley to the MEMS Priestfield Stadium.

Gillingham secured successive league wins for the first time since September as they comfortably beat Harrogate 3-0 last Saturday under the watchful eye of almost 500 travelling fans.

The performance against Harrogate was reassuringly convincing as they won by three goals for only the second time this season. While the game was goalless in the first half, Gillingham were comfortably dominating the North Yorkshire side with plenty of shots on target, but Harrogate were clinging on. Finally, the deadlock was broken by Connor Masterson’s second goal in two weeks before Armani Little and Sam Vokes put the game beyond the home side’s reach.

Following the postponement of Tuesday’s away fixture at Cheltenham, the Gills sit 13^th in the table, eight points away from the playoff places, but they have at least one game in hand over every team currently above them.

Bromley are currently top of the table; six points clear of MK Dons in second and 28 points ahead of Gillingham.

Bromley have experienced a meteoric rise to the top of league two, following their first ever EFL season last year, where they finished 11^th.

This season, Bromley had a steady start but really started to impress around October. Since 25^th October, Bromley have played 15 league games, won 12 and lost one. They had a run of seven consecutive wins from December to 17^th January, which resulted in Andy Woodman being named Manager of the Month.

However, two draws in the last three games suggests they have some vulnerabilities. In Tuesday’s 2-2 draw, Bromley were leading twice but succumbed to a 94^th minute equaliser against an energetic Crewe Alexandra.  

Gillingham and Bromley have played each other on four occasions, with the Gills winning one and Bromley two. They last faced each other on 6^th September at Hayes Lane, when Gillingham came back from 2-0 down to secure a draw. Max Clark scored the equaliser from the penalty spot in the 98^th minute.

The Gillingham squad remains healthy in terms of player availability, despite losing Jonny Smith to an injury in the 19^th minute at Harrogate. Ronan Hale’s transfer from Ross County also strengthens the Gillingham attacking options as Ainsworth has stated he will be available for selection this weekend.

With momentum behind them, this is an important fixture for manager Gareth Ainsworth. He will be keen to use the boost of two wins in a row to keep the squad motivated to reach the playoffs, which are certainly still well within reach. However, Bromley are comfortably the strongest team in the league, so there is an argument for playing a pragmatic, defensive game and looking to take the draw.

Gillingham have been difficult to beat this season; hopefully the extra rest on Tuesday will give them a fighting chance against the league leaders.

Image courtesy of Gillingham FC