Gillingham 2 Doncaster Rovers 2: League 2 match report from Priestfield Stadium - Tim Dieng on target after Joe Ironside’s 20th of the season for the visitors

Gillingham put up a fight in the second half at Priestfield as a disappointing season ended with an impressive comeback.

First-half goals from Joe Ironside and Luke Molyneux put Rovers 2-0 but the visitors had goalkeeper Thimothee Lo-Tutala sent off for handball shortly after the restart. Tim Dieng scored from the subsequent free-kick and the Gills equalised from Conor Masterson’s header.

The Gills had hoped to end their 2023/24 season positively and the second half was much more like it after a disappointing opening 45 minutes.

Doncaster went into the match with 10 straight league wins behind them as they leapfrogged the Gills and a whole bunch of other teams into the top seven. The result was enough for them to clinch that play-off place.

Gillingham’s season had started with so much promise, with wins from their opening four games in League 2, but went into the final game having already missed out on meeting their minimum target of a top-seven finish themselves and a play-off challenge.

Doncaster's stunning end-of-season form meant they only needed to avoid defeat, or hope other results went their way.

There was a big following from South Yorkshire but the Gills fans turned out in their numbers too, despite the frustration of missing out on promotion.

There was a slight re-jig to the Gills team as Shad Ogie stepped in at left-back as a replacement for Max Clark. Head coach Stephen Clemence was determined to end a disappointing campaign on a high.

There was a frantic pace to the game early on as Tim Dieng and former Doncaster striker Josh Andrews had efforts saved by visiting keeper Timothee Lo-Tutala.

Molyneux had an effort from outside the box saved by Gills keeper Jake Turner but was to revisit the routine soon after