Adrien Thibaut came off the bench to score the only goal of the game as Crewe beat Gillingham 1-0 at the Mornflake Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Gareth Ainsworth made one change to the starting XI that beat Tranmere, as Robbie McKenzie returned to the starting XI, with Bradley Dack dropping to the bench. Andy Smith, Josh Andrews and Cameron Antwi were named among the substitutes.
The opening 15 minutes of the game were cagey, with both teams battling for possession in the middle of the pitch. Neither team created a chance of note, with a couple of crosses played into the Gillingham penalty area easily dealt with.
Crewe had a good opening in the 20th minute. Lewis Billington played the ball in behind for Tommi O’Reilly to latch onto down the right side of the penalty area. He attempted to cut it back towards the six-yard box, with a couple of players lying in wait. Fortunately, a Gills defender got a touch on the ball to steer it away from danger before they cleared their lines.
McKenzie had Gillingham’s first opportunity soon after. Ronan Hale spotted his run through the middle of the pitch into the space that was available and passed the ball to him. McKenzie made his way towards the penalty area before opening his body up and shooting. However, he could not fully wrap his foot around the ball, and it went wide of the goal.
In the 26th minute, Calum Agius came close. Crewe had a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, which was blocked by the Gillingham wall, but the rebound came back to Agius at a favourable pace. That allowed him to send a first-time low drive goalward, which went just wide of the bottom right corner.
McKenzie made a huge intervention soon after to deny Agius a golden chance of opening the scoring. A lofted ball was played over the top of the Gillingham back line in the direction of Agius, whose first touch gave him the chance to get a shot away. As the Crewe man looked ready to pull the trigger, McKenzie came in to make the goal-saving tackle before the visitors cleared their lines.
Hale was denied by Ian Lawlor as the action continued. The visitors broke forward with Garath McCleary and Hale linking up. McCleary slipped a pass in behind the Crewe defence for the Northern Ireland international to latch onto. Hale prodded it goalward, but could not make full contact with the ball, as the oncoming Lawlor made the save with his feet.
In the 34th minute, a Sam Vokes header caused the Crewe defence a problem. Max Clark curled a corner deep towards the back post, which Vokes met, heading it down towards the six-yard box. There was a crowd of players in that area, but a Gills man could not force it towards the goal, as it eventually went out of play for a goal-kick.
Vokes was denied by Lawlor during the additional minutes of the first period. Armani Little’s corner was swung deep towards the back post, finding Vokes, who rose the highest. He headed it towards the goal, but Lawlor was equal to it, pushing it around the post.
HALF-TIME: Crewe Alexandra 0-0 Gillingham
Gills started the second-half brightly and could have taken the lead if not for a last-ditch clearance. McCleary had the ball down the right before finding Little in the middle. The Gills Skipper held onto the ball, waiting for the overlapping run of Clark before playing it to him. The left-back then directed a low driven ball towards the back post with Vokes and Hale queuing up to force it home, but a Crewe defender came across to get a foot onto the ball to take it away from the danger.
McCleary was denied by a crucial block on the hour. Vokes did well to angle his pass, allowing the wide man to get onto the ball before he created space and got a shot away. His attempt looked to have beaten Lawlor, but was blocked by a Crewe defender before it reached the goal.
Lawlor did well to deny Vokes after a well-worked move by the visitors. Little played the ball out to Clark on the left, who sent a low ball towards the near post. He found the oncoming Vokes, who flicked the ball goalward. Lawlor did well to save with his feet, sending it wide of the target for a corner, which came to nothing.
Moments later, Adrien Thibaut opened the scoring for Crewe. Lawlor sent a long angled free-kick forward, finding the rising Mickey Demetriou, who headed it down into the Gillingham penalty area. It found Thibaut, who sent a sweeping left-footed shot into the far bottom corner.
In the 70th minute, Gills made their first two changes, as Andrews and Dack replaced Vokes and Ethan Coleman respectively.
O’Reilly forced Glenn Morris into a save soon after. The hosts broke forward, and O’Reilly received the ball on the halfway line. He carried it forward, getting beyond a couple of defenders, before striking. However, his attempt was too central, as Morris got two solid hands behind the ball to palm it away.
Gillingham made another double substitution with a little over ten minutes remaining, as Antwi and Seb Palmer-Houlden replaced Little and McCleary.
The hosts did well to control the game throughout the final minutes, as they held onto their one-goal lead, restricting the Gills to very little.
FULL-TIME: Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Gillingham
Crewe Alexandra: Lawlor, Billington, Hutchinson, Demetriou, Thomas (Lunt 46’), Holicek (Bogle 90’), Agius, Powell (Connolly 57’), March (Thibaut 57’), Pond, O’Reilly (Moore 81’)
Unused Substitutes: Booth, Finney
Gillingham: Morris, Hutton, Beckles, Akomeah, Clark, Coleman (Dack 70’), McKenzie, Little (Antwi 78’), McCleary (Palmer-Houlden 78’), Hale, Vokes (Andrews 70’)
Unused Substitute: Turner, A. Smith, Gale
Referee: Martin Coy
Attendance: 4972 (399 Gillingham supporters)
