Gillingham slipped further into mid-table obscurity after a torrid home game against lowly Oldham.
Early goals from Calum Kavanagh and Emmanuel Monthe left the Gills up against it at home to Oldham. Mike Fondop added a third goal late on, which prompted chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” from frustrated home fans.
Defeat leaves the Gills 16th in the table after an 11th defeat of the campaign.
There was a change in formation again to a four-man defence for the Gills, as boss Gareth Ainsworth looked for a response after back-to-back losses on the road.
Those defeats had left Gillingham’s play-off hopes looking unlikely with 15 games left, although a run of games against sides below them in the table, starting with Oldham, was a chance to pick up some much-needed points…
Experienced players Sam Vokes and Garath McCleary were two of four changes to the starting eleven as Ainsworth continued to search for a winning formula.
Ethan Coleman switched places with Robbie McKenzie in midfield, while loan centre-half Travis Akomeah was preferred in central defence as a partner to Omar Beckles.
Shambles at the back left the Gills two goals down inside 17 minutes.
The Gills were attacking the Rainham End in the opening half but only started to threaten once 2-0 down.
A missed kick from Gills defender Akomeah let Oldham’s Kavanagh in for an early chance, but with the angle narrowing, his shot was kept out by Glenn Morris.
Kavanagh was soon on the scoresheet, however. The visitors kept the pressure on from their corner and when Max Clark was beaten in a two vs one situation, Jake Caprice crossed to the near post where the Oldham no.17 was on hand to convert after losing his man inside the box.
Gillingham’s nervousness at the back continued with a few wayward clearances, and before long they had conceded again, following another corner.
Thomas Pett’s inswinger was cleared off the line by Vokes, but only as far as Jack Stevens, and his low strike back towards goal was diverted into the net by big defender Monthe.
Oldham nearly had a third moments later when Kane Drummond got in down the side and it needed a save from Morris to keep his effort out.
The visitors also had appeals for a penalty turned down when Stevens went down in the box following a challenge by Hutton, but the unfortunately named referee James Oldham waved away the appeals.
Gillingham had a big shout for a penalty turned down themselves when Vokes went down in the area during a period of sustained pressure from the hosts towards the end of the half.
Oldham keeper Matthew Hudson saved impressively to deny Armani Little and also kept out a close-range effort from Bradley Dack.
It was a positive end to the half, but the damage was already done, and with no goal to show for their efforts, the Gills had it all to do in the second 45 minutes against an Oldham side with the division’s second-best defensive record.
Booed off at the end of the first half, the Gills came out after the break with Seb Palmer-Houlden replacing McCleary in a 4-3-3 formation.
Akomeah’s day wasn’t getting any better when he ended up in the book for a foul on Fondop just outside the area. Gills dealt with the free-kick, but the Watford loan man was quickly replaced by Sam Gale.
Gillingham had another shout for a penalty turned down on the hour, when Dack looked to keep things alive from a corner, but his ball into the box was blocked by the arm of Kavanagh. The referee waves play on.
Ainsworth made a triple change to try and turn the tide with Robbie McKenzie, Cameron Antwi and Josh Andrews introduced off the bench.
The Gills were always vulnerable while committing men forward, and Morris had to save from Kavanagh as he poked an effort goalwards.
Andrews had a great chance to pull a goal back with 20 minutes left – or at least test the keeper – as Max Clark played the ball to Antwi, he found the big striker in space but the shot was ballooned well over the bar.
Palmer-Houlden had another shot saved, Dack put one over the bar, Hale struck wide and Andrews did better with a low effort that was held by the keeper as the Gills kept trying.
With those chances not taken, Oldham scored another on 79 minutes. Fondop picked up a loose ball after Gale’s header from a long clearance landed in his path, the forward then fended off a challenge from Beckles and placed the ball past Morris to put his side three goals ahead.
It prompted jeers from fans inside Priestfield and many others to leave after a woeful defensive show. Gills finished with 15 shots, but for the third game running, they failed to score.
Gillingham: Morris, Hutton, Clark, Akomeah (Gale 49mins), Beckles, Coleman (McKenzie 66mins), Little (Antwi 66mins), Dack, McCleary (Palmer-Houlden 46mins), Hale, Vokes (Andrews 66mins). Subs not used: Turner, Smith..
Oldham: Hudson, Pett, Daniels, Monthe, Woods, Fondop (Garner 93mins), Stevens (Payne 70mins), Drummond (Taylor 93mins), Kavanagh (Hammond 75mins), Caprice, Robson. Subs not used: Donaghy, Sutton, Jalo.
Referee: James Oldham
Attendance: 5,868 (285 away)
