Accrington Stanley 3-1 Gillingham: Defensive disasterclass as Gills crash to defeat on the road

A disastrous mix-up between Armani Little and Ollie Wright resulted in the Gills falling behind early, then Andy Smith twice lost his man from corners as Stanley added two more goals via free headers.

A deflected Omar Beckles effort offered brief hope of a comeback, but Gillingham weren't able to muster a shot at goal in the entire second half as any hopes of a fightback fizzled out.

Gillingham boss Gareth Ainsworth kept faith with the same starting lineup that claimed a 4-1 away with at Rotherham, with the returning Conor McManus left out of the squad, while striker Tom Eaves started from the bench, with Lamin Sillah and Ronan Hale joined by Harry Waldock in a more advanced role.

The midfield was anchored by the experienced duo of Little and Robbie McKenzie, with James Brophy continuing to deputise for McManus at left wing-back.

The first goal came on 11 minutes after a harmless ball in behind the Gills defence was dealt with disastrously to gift the home side an opener.

Both Armani Little and Ollie Wright moved to claim the ball, with the midfielder getting there first and effectively taking the ball past the Gills keeper. And with Little seemingly unaware of the danger, Stefan Mols sneaked in to challenge the former Gills skipper and force the ball into the net.

The self-inflicted wounds continued on 28 minutes, when Andy Smith failed to track the run of Josh Woods, who rose unopposed to plant a powerful header past Wright from a corner.

The second half saw a carbon copy of the second goal, as Smith once again lost Woods from a corner, and the Stanley playmaker headed his second goal of the day.

Ainsworth rang the changes in the second half, with all five subs on the pitch by the 70th minute mark, but despite the change in personnel, the team failed to offer any threat in attack, and Accrington could even have added to their tally.

In the end, the 3-1 scoreline probably flattered the hosts as Gillingham were well beaten. Ainsworth will look to tighten things up ahead of their return to action on Tuesday night, when Gillingham will feature live on Sky Sports against Port Vale.