Bristol Rovers 0 Gillingham 1: League 2 match report from the Memorial Ground

Gillingham got back to winning ways by clinching maximum points at Bristol Rovers on Gareth Ainsworth’s return to the fold.

Max Clark had a first-half penalty saved but made amends with a super finish early in the second half to put Gillingham ahead – a goal which won them the game. Rovers almost equalised in the final minute of added-on time but the crossbar saved the Gills from Kamil Conteh’s header.

Ainsworth was back with the Gills team for the first time since his heart operation, watching from the stands. He was warmly greeted before kick-off by the visiting fans, who numbered in excess of 1,000.

Rovers had conceded 12 goals in their previous three League 2 outings but appeared to have made improvements with a 2-1 win over Salford City in the FA Cup the previous week.

They were the better team in the opening stages on Saturday but couldn’t make it count, missing a number of chances.

Bristol-born striker Seb Palmer-Houlden was one of two changes to the Gillingham team from their penalty shootout defeat to Newport County the week before.

Midfielder Nelson Khumbeni made his first league start of the season - only his fourth since joining the Gills in January. Khumbeni replaced injured Armani Little while Bradley Dack dropped to the bench.

A poor run of form - just a point from their previous five in the league - had seen the Gills slip to 10th in the table ahead of kick-off

The home side had a flurry of early corners and were putting the pressure on but there was nothing to trouble Gills keeper Jake Turner.

A rare opportunity for the Gills saw Josh Andrews fire into the side netting after getting free of his marker.

Gillingham had a great chance to take the lead when referee Alan Young pointed to the penalty spot -