Lewis Guy (pictured) repaid some of the faith in Latics bringing him to Boundary Park on loan by scoring the only goal of the match to give the home side a valuable three points in their fight to stave off relegation. With the other lowly rivals picking up points it was crucial that the boys in blue made sure that they picked up a win. The success was not really a free-flowing football exhibition match but at this stage it is a case of win the points, however it is achieved.
The first Latics chance fell to Guy but the Gillingham keeper blocked the shot with his feet and then Stephens then had a decent shot pushed away. Youngster Kirk Millar had a useful outing and did his chances of an extended run in the first team no harm. Danny Whitaker came on for Jon Worthington in the second half and almost scored with his first effort but it was narrowly wide.
Guy's match winner came as he ran onto a diagonal pass from Stephens. He managed to hit a low shot which sneaked into the net past the goalkeeper. The goal inspired the Latics and Abbott was unlucky on three occasions. Tom Eaves and Alex Marrow came on for the last ten minutes to replace Abbott and Millar but maybe they could have made a bigger impact had they been given more time.
The Latics' defence did their bit to preserve the one goal cushion and captain Sean Gregan made a particularly important challenge late on to deny the Gills an equaliser. Reuben Hazell put in an improved performance and much aligned keeper, Dean Brill, made a useful stop from Stuart Lewis in the dying seconds of the match. Three points to the good but it's a hard fixture next at Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town who hope to cement a play-off spot in the coming weeks. It's going to be a nail-biting run in to the season end and the sooner safety is ensured the better the fans will rest.
In the after match interview, manager Dave Penney stated, "We were resolute, worked our socks off, scored a goal and held on. It was a must-win game due to the fact they were on the same number of points as ourselves. They aren't going to be pretty games between now and the end of the season. All the games are going to be edgy. Guy and Pawel Abbott have looked a good pairing. We have started to score goals and look a threat."