Chesterfield 1 Gillingham 1: League Two match report - Ronan Hale cancels out Josh Koroma opener

A defensive mistake handed Gillingham a lifeline as they fought back to earn a point at Chesterfield.

Josh Koroma put Chesterfield ahead after the home side dominated the opening half but Ronan Hale equalised for the Gills with their only on-target effort of the night.

Both sides were looking for lift-off this season. Gillingham made the trip to the SMH Group Stadium aiming to claim their first win of the season.

Chesterfield had one victory in the bag before the midweek clash, but their fans hadn’t been impressed with their start to the season, having lost home games either side of that solitary win.

A 1-1 draw keeps both teams and their fans wanting more.

Gills boss Gareth Ainsworth made one change to the team which drew with Northampton at the weekend as Nottingham Forest loanee Lamin Sillah replaced Will Goodwin upfront.

It was Sillah’s first start in the EFL, having made a late appearance off the bench for the Gills at the weekend. Most of the play was at the other end of the pitch, however.

Ainsworth’s side had shown signs of progress in recent games and created plenty of chances, but just one goal from 37 chances in their previous three league outings wasn’t a good return.

Defensive loan signing Jack Daley was named on the bench days after his arrival from Middlesbrough and he didn’t get on.

It was pretty much one-way traffic in the first half as Chesterfield kept the Gills defence and their loan keeper Ollie Wright busy.

The Gills were lining up against former player Remeao Hutton and his cross provided the best of the early opportunities for the home side. He picked out Lewis Gordon but a side-footed effort went wide.

Chesterfield took the lead after 22 minutes, with a move that came with a long ball forward and