The Gills are back on the road this Saturday as they make the 230 mile up north to face Harrogate Town at the Exercise Stadium.

Gillingham finally broke their nine-game winless streak in dramatic fashion last Saturday with two injury time goals to grab a 3-2 win against a well-organised Newport County.

The win moved the Gills two places up the table to 14^th on 35 points – seven away from the play-off places.

The performance against Newport was frustrating at points as the Gills conceded early with some sloppy defending and created plenty of chances to kill the game off in the second half but failed to score.

However, they showed a real determination to get over the line with excellent performances from Conor Masterson, Jonny Smith, Max Clark and Garath McCleary who bagged the 99th-minute winner.

Harrogate are currently 23^rd in the league table, but only a point away from climbing out of the relegation zone. They started the season solidly with four wins from their first 10 games, but they have now gone 16 games without a win since their 1-0 victory at Priestfield in September, which ended the Gills’ record-breaking unbeaten streak.

In their last fixture away at Shrewsbury, Harrogate were dominated across the statistics, enjoying significantly less possession than the home side and having one shot on target to Shrewsbury’s eight.

They also lost midfielder Jack Evans who was dismissed for a second bookable offence. The 1-0 loss showed their performance was defensively commendable.

Gillingham and Harrogate Town have played each other seven times in total, with the Gills winning one and Harrogate 4. They last faced each other on 27^th September at Priestfield, where Harrogate secured a 1-0 victory with a first-half goal from Stephen Duke-McKenna.

This is a game Gillingham should win and need to win if they have any realistic hope of making the play-offs.

However, as with Newport last week, their opponents have a lot to play for and will make themselves hard to beat. Gareth Ainsworth has a squad that is rested, almost 100% fit and has the momentum of an exciting win behind them, so the Gills will create chances and put Harrogate under pressure.

But the hosts could have it in them to hold firm and grind out a frustrating draw.

Both sides have plenty to play for. Expect an exciting contest.

Picture supplied by Gillingham Football Club.