Gillingham are back in League Two action on Good Friday as they head to the Bescot Stadium to take on Walsall.
Two injury time goals from Crawley have condemned the Gills to their fifth consecutive defeat. They have not lost six in a row since they were in the Championship 22 years ago.
Saturday’s 0-2 loss away at Crawley was a frustrating one for the club. The game looked to be petering out to a scrappy, unmemorable 0-0 draw until a brief lapse in defence led to substitute Taylor Richards opening the scoring for the home side in the 92nd minute with a shot from the edge of the area. This was doubled two minutes later as Tobi Adeyemo added a second and Gillingham’s fate was sealed.
The loss means Gillingham drop to 17th in the table on 45 points, 18 points away from the playoff places, and 13 points clear of the relegation zone. Walsall, meanwhile, are 11th and in the hunt for a playoff place on 61 points.
Walsall have had a turbulent season. They were top of the table in September and stayed in the top three until the end of January. Then a series of poor results, including six losses in eight games saw them tumble out of the playoff places to their current position of 11th. This poor run led to manager Mat Sadler being replaced by former Gills striker Darren Byfield. However, two wins and two draws in the last four games suggests they haven’t given up the fight for League One football just yet.
In their last fixture, Walsall picked up a point away at Colchester. Harrison Burke opened the scoring for the visiting side in the 65th minutes before Colchester’s Harry Anderson equalised four minutes later with a near-post header.
Gillingham and Walsall have played each other on 123 occasions, with Gillingham winning 48 and Walsall 47. In the reverse fixture in August, Gillingham took all three points in a 1-0 win at Priestfield. Bradley Dack scored the goal, following a Remeao Hutton long throw.
Walsall have had a better season than Gillingham and will be keen to take advantage of the Gills’ dreadful recent form in their fight for the playoffs. However, manager Gareth Ainsworth has made it clear that he is looking closely at the current playing squad with the end of season around the corner and contracts up for renewal.
While the Gills may not appear to have anything to fight for, the individual players certainly do.