Stevenage 1 Gillingham 1 (Gills win 5-4 on penalties): Bristol Street Motors group stage match report from the Lamex Stadium

Gillingham beat League 1 Stevenage on penalties after a drawn game in the EFL Trophy but their efforts weren’t enough.

Josh Andrews scored his first goal of the season to put Gillingham ahead in the opening half. The Gills had several great chances to score the second goal they needed before Dan Kemp equalised.

Gillingham won the subsequent shootout 5-4 but the bonus point gained made no change to the table. The 1-1 draw in normal time was enough to send Stevenage through to the knockout stages and leave the Gills bottom of the group.

Gillingham had lost their previous two games in the tournament but results elsewhere meant they still had a chance of qualifying in their final group-stage fixture at Stevenage.

Scoring twice was a must and any win by more than two goals would have seen them progress to the knockout stage. Stevenage just needed to avoid defeat in 90 minutes to move into the next round.

Manager Mark Bonner made seven changes to his weekend XI in the league, handing a rare start for fit-again striker Andrews in an attacking-laden side while goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond was also picked - on the opposite team to his older brother Taye, who was between the sticks for Stevenage.

Former Gills forward Elliott List was involved in an early chance for the hosts, running at the defence and pulling the ball back for Eli King and his shot was blocked.

Stevenage were popping the ball around confidently early on and Nathan Thompson forced a save from the Gills keeper.

Despite being second best early on, the Gills took a 26th minute lead. Jayden Clarke laid the ball off for Andrews and he fired home into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with a well-hit effort.

That goal injected a bit of confidence into the away