Gillingham suffered a stoppage-time defeat against lowly Accrington Stanley on Saturday.
Armani Little broke the deadlock shortly after the break but Ben Woods equalised for Accrington on the hour mark and in the fourth minute of added-on time Dara Costelloe hit a winner. It’s a third straight defeat for the Gills.
Reaction: Boss angered with Gillingham defending
Manager Mark Bonner brought Wyllie into the attack in a change of formation for the Gills, partnering Elliott Nevitt upfront.
Out went the familiar 4-2-3-1 set-up which Bonner had preferred since the season started, freshening things up in a bid to get his team scoring.
Back-to-back defeats-to-nil prompted the move against an Accrington side struggling at the bottom end of the League 2 table.
The Gills started the game as one of five teams joint on points at the top, keen to get their promotion challenge back on track.
It was a stop-start low-quality opening half, disrupted by a number of injuries for the visitors, who seemed in no rush.
Gillingham’s best moves came down the right side, with Wyllie having an effort blocked following Hutton’s low cross in.
Things really started to liven up when the visiting captain Seamus Conneely went off injured after half an hour played.
There was a short period when Accrington got on top, Dara Costelloe finding himself free with just the keeper to beat after the ball bounced into his path, but Glenn Morris spread himself to make a save.
Morris was again there to thwart Cotelloe as he chased a ball forward, going to ground and pleading for a penalty after the Gills keeper had cleared. Referee Paul Howard wasn’t interested.
The moment Gills were hoping for came just before the break. Good work at right-back from Hutton led to Nolan playing in Wyllie, and after the striker did well to beat defender Donald Lowe, he then dragged the shot wide with just the keeper to beat.
Four minutes after the restart and Gillingham’s persistence from the right flank paid off.
Hutton’s cross was missed by those in the centre but dropped for Little at the far post and he unleashed a powerful effort into the roof of the net.
Accrington threatened to get back on level terms. Jake Batty had one shot saved and smashed another chance over the bar soon after, firing in on goal after a good block from Max Ehmer to deny Jimmy Knowles.
It was all-square with an hour gone after some sloppy play at the back.
Max Clark cleared only as far as Shaun Whalley, who then picked out the unmarked Woods on the edge of the box, and his powerful shot took a deflection off Ogie on the way to the back of the net.
Gillingham continued to look shaky at the back following the equaliser as the rain lashed down at Priestfield.
There were changes with 20 minutes gone, including an enforced one as goalkeeper Morris went off injured, potentially with a hamstring strain, replaced by Fulham loanee Luca Ashby-Hammond.
Extra firepower was introduced with 10 minutes left as Coleman was replaced by Oli Hawkins, Bonner still seeking a winner.
Accrington continued to frustrate the Gills. Clark had to deal with some rough treatment off Tyler Walton before the visiting substitute was eventually booked and Zach Awe wasted more time with some theatrics after a challenge.
Walton remained in the thick of the off-the-ball stuff and a challenge on him led to a booking for Little.
Accrington would have settled for one point but finished with all three. They silenced the home crowd on 94 minutes when Woods slipped the ball to Costelloe, who got the better of Max Ehmer before shooting past the replacement keeper.
League 2 table
Gillingham: Morris (Ashby-Hammond 72mins), Hutton, Clark, Ehmer, Ogie, Little, Coleman (Hawkins 81mins), Clarke (Gbode 60mins), Nolan (J Williams 72mins), Wyllie (Lapslie 72mins), Nevitt. Subs not used: Hawkins, Dieng, Wakeling.
Accrington: Crellin, Love, Awe, Rawson, Batty, Aljofree, Conneely (Coyle 34mins), Woods, Whalley, Costelloe, Knowles (Walton 67mins). Subs not used: Kelly, Henderson, Popoola, Trickett, Woods.
Referee: Paul Howard
Attendance: 6,622 (71 away)
