Rovers made it back-to-back home wins after they scraped a 1-0 win past a struggling Gillingham side who have now extended their winless run to three games.
Tony Mowbray was delighted with the way his side applied themselves on Tuesday night and had said in his pre-match interview that one or two players were on the cusp of starting a game in the near future. The team that lined-up against Gillingham proved that Mowbray had stuck to his word as the only change to the team that beat Rotherham was the introduction of Peter Whittingham, who played a brief cameo on Tuesday night, in the place of Corry Evans, who dropped to the bench as a result.
Gillingham kicked off the game in possession of the ball, but it was Rovers who started the game as the better side, much like they had done during the week, as they created three half chances within the first 10 minutes. The first opportunity came inside 5 minutes as Elliott Bennett whipped in a ball towards the far post, which was met by Marcus Antonsson who was looking to make it two goals from two games, however the Swede’s attempt on goal was blocked by the Gills’ right-back Mark Byrne.
The second opportunity came in the 6th minute as the resulting corner was only partially cleared by Gillingham; however the ball fell to Paul Downing who lofted the ball into the box. Antonsson once again found himself in-front of goal after the ball was put back into the danger zone. He rose highest from the Rovers ranks, but his header flew over the bar, relieving the pressure off of the visitors. The third attempt on goal by Rovers came 3 minutes later as Dominic Samuel’s strike on goal from around 25-yards out saw the ball hit the back of the stand.
Gillingham were unable to gain a foothold in the game as Rovers’ attacks continued. Antonsson again came close to breaking the deadlock as his curler from the edge of the area ballooned high and wide of the goal. Richie Smallwood hit a diagonal ball into the box which was headed towards goal by Antonsson; however once again, the Swede’s attempt was tipped over the bar by Tomáš Holý in the Gillingham goal. Bradley Dack, who was facing his former club for the first time, came close to opening the scoring as the resulting corner dropped to him on the edge of the area; however, his low drive was well saved by Holý.
Rovers’ wave of dominance soon paid off minutes later, after 30 minutes had been played. Another Rovers corner was whipped in, this time by Bradley Dack. The ball, aimed at Charlie Mulgrew at the far post was met by the skipper, who knocked it down towards Dominic Samuel. The former Gillingham loanee took a single touch before turning and stabbing the ball home for Rovers which gave the 23-year old, his 5th goal of the season.
As half-time approached, Gillingham had their first real attempt on goal as Ben Nugent found himself in the box and shot at goal from point-blank range. However Rovers’ keeper David Raya spread himself as far as possible as he managed to keep the central defender off the score sheet with a magnificent save.
The final chance of the first 45 minutes came to Rovers, as Elliott Bennett had a long range attempt comfortably saved by the Gillingham keeper.
Much like the first half, the second started with Rovers having an opportunity on goal. Inside 51 minutes, Rovers got a free-kick which was taken by Mulgrew, who attempted a shot on goal from the set-piece. Although the strike was a firm one, Holý was equal to it.
Dack and Samuel combined in the 58th minute to give Rovers another chance of doubling the lead. Their one touch passing saw Dack go clear through on goal, however the Gillingham keeper came out to meet Dack and the latter’s shot bounced straight off of the keeper and was cleared by the defence. Two changes then occurred on the 60th minute, one for each side, as Finn O’Mara came on for Mark Byrne for the visitors and Bradley Dack was replaced by Harry Chapman for Rovers.
Minutes after the two changes, Gillingham had two chances on goal in quick succession. Conor Wilkinson saw his attempt on goal fizz across its face, which caused some nervousness within the Rovers ranks. This nervousness was seen minutes later as David Raya nearly gifted Gillingham a way back into the game as the Rovers keeper played a one-two with Charlie Mulgrew. The Spaniard was closed down by Josh Parker who forced him into a rushed clearance. The clearance then hit Parker and spun towards goal, however the keeper was able to spare his blushes with a save.
Gillingham then made their final two changes, as Elliott List came on for Sean Clare and Greg Cundle replaced Conor Wilkinson. Rovers also made their second change of the game, as Danny Graham joined the game in place of Dominic Samuel, the goalscorer.
Harry Chapman burst down the wing on the 77th minute and earned his team a corner, which he took himself. His corner was knocked down by Danny Graham for Derrick Williams, whose shot hit the post. The follow-up effort was taken by Paul Downing, but it was blocked by a Gillingham defender.
Chapman once again broke away from the visiting defence as he put two defenders on the floor and had a shot on goal, despite his skill and pace, Chapman’s finish was not as attractive as his attempt was blocked by a backtracking defender.
Following a few near misses by Rovers, Gillingham decided to throw everybody forward in an attempt to salvage a point with only 8 minutes to go. Substitute Elliott List got on the edge of Ben Nugent’s knockdown; however Rovers keeper, David Raya pulled off a magnificent save to deny the Gills a point.
Rovers wound down the game by making a final change as Ben Gladwin came on for Marcus Antonsson with three minutes to go. The final minute of normal time saw Rovers pinned up against the wall as Gillingham’s skipper, Lee Martin attempted an overhead-kick that was once again well saved by Raya, despite that the forward was offside, which took some gloss off of the save.
The game, which was a scrappy one, ended positively for Rovers as they picked up the three points in a game which could have potentially been a banana skin. The 1-0 victory pushed Rovers into the playoff spaces for the first time this season as they moved up to 6th. Rovers head into the international break with 19 points from 10 games with a +7 goal difference as they sit 10 points behind league leaders Shrewsbury Town. The fans will be hoping that the Blues will be able to replicate their winning run of weeks prior as they return to league action away at Boundary Park to face Oldham Athletic in two weeks time.
