Gillingham 1 – 0 Bournemouth

A FIRST half deflected free kick by Mike Flynn gave Gillingham all three points against Bournemouth at Priestfield on Saturday.

Flynn struck from 20 yards six minutes before the break after Andrew Crofts had been fouled by Steve Fletcher.

It was no more than the home side deserved after an impressive first half display.

Debutant Steve Claridge came desperately close to breaking the deadlock on 24 minutes when he was sent clean through but his shot came back off the inside of the post after he had done well to swerve around Bournemouth keeper Neil Moss.

The other veteran in the Gills line-up, Andy Hessenthaler, also came close with a downward header on the half hour mark.

The second half was less eventful than the first and the visitors began to assert themselves more.

Steve Fletcher looked to have given himself a decent scoring opportunity after he got goal side of Ian Cox, but the Gills defender was quick to get back and make a superb tackle.

Hessenthaler’s drilled shot that went wide of the Bournemouth goal in the 66th minute was the closest the home side came to doubling their lead after the break.

Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe was very lucky to stay on the pitch when he was only shown a yellow card after fouling Matt Jarvis when apparently the last man.

But it didn’t matter in the end as Gillingham chalked up their second home win of the season.

Gillingham: Brown, Rose, Cox, Hope, Jackman, Hessenthaler (Spiller 80), Flynn, Pouton (Sancho 68), Crofts, Jarvis, Claridge (Ashikodi 86). Subs Not Used: Knowles, Shields.

Attendance: 6,568.

Other League 1 results:

Barnsley 1 - 0 Yeovil
Blackpool 0 - 0 Swindon
Brentford 2 - 0 Tranmere
Bristol City 4 - 2 Port Vale
Hartlepool 1 - 1 Walsall
MK Dons 1 - 1 Colchester
Nottingham Forest 0 - 1 Scunthorpe
Oldham 4 - 1 Chesterfield
Rotherham 1 - 1 Bradford City
Southend 1 - 1 Huddersfield
Swansea 1 - 2 Doncaster

SEE MONDAY'S MEDWAY MESSENGER FOR A FULL REPORT AND ALL THE POST MATCH REACTION