Fleetwood Town made it two wins in a week on Saturday afternoon as they managed to beat Gillingham 2-1 at Highbury.
Stephen Crainey’s side created chances throughout the game and eventually found an opener through a Harrison Biggins strike from close range, which ended up being his fourth in just three games. Tom Clarke added a second in the second half and even though Robbie McKenzie pulled one back for the visitors, the Cods held on.
It took a while for the first chance to come, but it did fall to the home side. Paddy Lane, who signed a new contract with the club on Friday, played the ball out wide to Danny Andrew, who managed to find Ged Garner inside the Gillingham bow, but Aaron Chapman pulled off a brilliant diving save to deny him.
G.Garner was at the heart of the next attack as well as he picked the ball up 25-yards from goal in a bit of space and decided to try his luck at finding the top-left corner of the goal, but a deflection dragged it wide.
25 minutes into the game, Lane received the ball on the right wing and after playing a quick one-two with Carl Johnston, who was storming down the flank, the winger tricked his way past his marker, but fired straight into the hands of Chapman.
Two minutes later, Gillingham had their first chance of the game, and it was a speculative one at best as Mustapha Carayol cut in form the wing and struck an effort on target, with Cairns easily saving it at his near post.
The deadlock was broken in the 37th minute and it game from Fleetwood’s right-wing once again, this time with C.Johnston playing a perfect cross into the empty penalty area, where Biggins was able to slide and tap it into the bottom right for his fourth goal in three games.
Town came out all guns blazing at the start of the second half with Andrew almost capitalising on the Gillingham goalkeeper running out of his goal, but his strike from range was deflected out for a corner. From the set-piece, Lane pushed the ball onto his left and forced a save out of Chapman.
The away side seemed to gather some momentum after that as they pressed Town back into their final third, with the best chance of the spell falling to Daniel Phillips on the edge of the box, who fired it straight at Cairns through a crowd.
Just after the hour mark, Town almost made it two after the ball was played along the edge of the Gillingham box to Andrew, who pushed the ball onto his favoured left foot, and hit the outside of the post.
It was two soon after as Lane played a tricky corner kick routine with Johnston on the right, before whipping a perfect cross at head height into the packed box, where Clarke was able to power his header home.
The Gills pulled one back through a McKenzie strike from 20-yards, which was drilled into the near post, but Town seemed to adapt after this, changing up the style of play through a couple of substitutes.
Town XI: Cairns (GK), Andrew (C), McLaughlin, Clarke, Morton (C.Johnson 69’), G.Garner (Clark 90+2’), Matete, Morris (Edmondson 78’), Biggins, Lane, Johnston.
Subs not used: Crellin (GK), Conn-Clarke, Boyle, Hayes.
Gills XI: Chapman (GK), O’Keefe (C), Tucker, Lee, McKenzie, Akinde, Lloyd (Sithole 86’), Bennett, Phillips (Tutonda 77’), Lintott, Carayol.
Subs not used: Cumming (GK), Reeves, Akehurst.