Connor Ogilvie's first goal for the club not enough to rescue a point at Gigg Lane.
Gillingham saw their four match unbeaten run come to an end on Saturday afternoon as Bury ran out 2-1 winners at Gigg Lane.
Nel Danns and Harry Bunn scored for the hosts within the opening 25 minutes and could have extended their lead early in the second half, but after several missed chances they were made to pay when Connor Ogilvie scored his first goal for the club with a header to set up a tense final 20 minutes.
Gills pushed for an equaliser with Tomas Holy's late shot saved in the process, but the hosts defended valiantly and secured all three points.
Steve Lovell made one change to the side that drew 1-1 with Shrewsbury midweek; that forced upon the Gills boss with Lee Martin coming in for Callum Reilly who was unavailable to play against his parent club.
Navid Nasseri was included in the match squad for the first time as one of the substitutes. Elliott List, Scott Wagstaff and Conor Wilkinson were amongst the other options from the bench.
Both sides looked threatening in the early stages; Zeli Ismail in particular was heavily involved in the opening minutes and Bury could have made more of their early possession had two crosses found their intended targets.
However, fortunately for the hosts, they weren’t made to pay as they took the lead on 13 minutes. Bury were just beginning to look the more authoritative, certainly in terms of possession, and it was captain Neil Danns who got the opener.
With space just outside the box the midfielder decided to try his luck from 20 yards and the effort bobbled off the surface and appeared to deceive Holy who was then helpless to prevent the ball getting past him.
Bury continued to play in the same way, and although Gills did enjoy a brief spell of good possession, they fell behind even further on 26 minutes.
Ismail produced another clever run on the right side, his clever foot work got the better of Ogilvie and he pulled the ball back for Bunn who had stopped his run and the forward did the rest with a clinical finish beyond Holy.
It could have been three before the break but Holy did well to make a reaction save as Miller looked for a way through inside the box before Bunn’s shot from 20 yards was brilliantly blocked by O’Neill.
Ismail missed the target with a free-kick just prior to the interval with Gills not able to make anything of a set piece themselves before the whistle blew.
H/T: 2-0
Scott Wagstaff was brought on at the break in place of Gabriel Zakuani but Bury continued where they left off and should have increased their lead in the early stages of the half. Firstly Nathan Cameron couldn’t convert despite two attempts to find the target in the six yard box.
Moments later and Holy make a top drawer save to deny a certain goal before Ehmer got on the goal line to block a follow up effort.
Gills survived these scares and nearly pulled one back on 55 minutes but Nugent saw his header at the far post go wide of the target. Bury remained in control and having missed their chances to go three up they were finally broken down for the first time on 71 minutes. With limited space on the right Wagstaff chipped a cross into the box and Ogilvie sprinted in from the left, got a header on target which went underneath Ripley and into the net.
Bury refused to drop deep and maintained their attacking threat; Ince missing the target by inches with an excellent volley from 20 yards before Gills launched a late onslaught.
Tomas Holy came up for a last gasp corner and saw his effort palmed clear before Ehmer's cross was blocked by the recovering Bury stopper.
F/T: 2-1
Bury: Ripley, Leigh, Edwards, Ismail (Hanson 89), Miller, O’Shea (Tutte 84), Cameron, Ince, Danns, Bunn (Thompson 90), Clarke.
Unused subs: Murphy, Maguire, Dawson, Dai.
Gills: Holy, O’Neill, Ehmer, Zakuani (Wagstaff HT), Nugent, Ogilvie, Byrne, Hessenthaler, Reilly, Parker, Eaves (Wilkinson 42).
Unused subs: Hadler, Garmston, Moussa, List, Nasseri.
Attendance: 3004 (184 Gills)
Referee: Mr D Drysdale