Gills move back into the top seven despite being held to a 0-0 draw at home to Crewe.
Gillingham moved back into the top seven places in Sky Bet League 2 despite being held to a 0-0 draw at home to Crewe on Good Friday.
Stephen Clemence made two changes to the side that beat Morecambe 3-2 last weekend. Conor Masterson and Ethan Coleman returned to the starting XI, while Jonny Williams was fit after coming off with a knock against Morecambe. Josh Andrews was named among the substitutes.
Tim Dieng came close to opening the scoring in the sixth minute. Connor Mahoney delivered a cross from the right, which found the unmarked midfielder. Dieng guided his attempt goalward, but Tom Booth reacted quickly to produce an excellent save, pushing the ball over the bar.
There was a penalty shout when Remeao Hutton’s cross into the box hit a Crewe defender. There were appeals for a handball, but the referee felt the player’s arms were too close to his body.
Gills had a half-chance when Mahoney’s free-kick found Masterson unmarked. The defender played the ball back towards the six-yard box. Unfortunately, a Gillingham player could not make the definitive touch, as Crewe managed to clear their lines.
HALF-TIME: Gillingham 0-0 Crewe Alexandra
The visitors began the second half on the front foot, with Aaron Rowe having a good chance. Josh Austerfield played it to Rowe on the left, who carried the ball into the box before shooting. Fortunately, he smashed his shot over the crossbar.
Morris did unbelievably to deny Elliott Nevitt in the 57th minute. Rio Adebisi delivered a low cross from the left, which Nevitt got on the end of. The striker sent a low shot goalward, which Morris did brilliantly to keep out. The Gills goalkeeper had come off his line, closing down the angle to save the effort before gathering the loose ball.
In the 68th minute, Gillingham made their first two changes, with Andrews and Scott Malone replacing Oli Hawkins and Max Clark respectively.
Andrews forced Booth into a save in the 75th minute. Hutton curled a free-kick into the penalty area, which Andrews got on the end of, looping a header goalward. It forced Booth to backpedal before he pushed the ball over the goal for a corner, which came to nothing.
Gills made two more changes as they went in search of a goal, with Josh Walker replacing Jonny Williams and Jayden Clarke replacing George Lapslie.
In the final moments of regulation time, Masterson saw a low-driven effort fizz wide of the post via a deflection. From the resulting corner, Walker came close, with his effort from around eight yards going over the crossbar.
FULL-TIME: Gillingham 0-0 Crewe Alexandra
Gillingham: Morris, Hutton, Ehmer, Masterson, Clark (Malone 68’), Coleman, Dieng, Mahoney, Lapslie (Clarke 87’), J. Williams (Walker 79’), Hawkins (Andrews 67’)
Unused Substitutes: Turner, McKenzie, Ogie
Crewe Alexandra: Booth, Cooney, Turns, Demetriou, Adebisi, Austerfield, Thomas (Holicek 67’), Tracey (Billington 83’), Leigh (Long 84’), Rowe (Z. Williams 67’), Nevitt
Unused Substitutes: Davies, Finney, Kirk
Referee: Tom Reeves
Attendance: 7112 (289 away fans)
