Shrewsbury Town 1-2 Gillingham: Andy Smith's late strike wins it as Gareth Ainsworth's much-changed side does the business on the road

Gareth Ainsworth made four changes to the starting XI from the side that lost 4-1 at home to Grimsby Town, with Logan Dobbs coming in for Jack Daley in defence, and Harry Waldock and Ethan Coleman replacing Armani Little and Robbie McKenzie in midfield. Up front, the returning Lamin Sillah came in for Garath McCleary.

It was clear that the Gills boss wanted to see a reaction from his side after their second-half capitulation at Priestfield, and his side couldn't have made a better start, as a neat passing move ended with Conor McManus getting in behind the Shrewsbury defence to cut back for Harry Waldock to fire the Gills ahead after just three minutes.

The scoreline could have been even more positive for the Gills. If it wasn't for Shrews keeper Will Brook, Ronan Hale could have added one, or maybe two more before half-time, with the home goalkeeper making a pair of smart stops to deny the Gills front man.

In the second half, Gillingham were forced to be defensively strong as the hosts piled on the pressure, and just before the hour mark, Tom Sang went down in the box under pressure from James Brophy, and referee Neil Hair pointed to the spot. George Lloyd duly dispatched the penalty to level the scores.

With their tails up, the Shrews pushed forward in search of a winning goal, and Gills boss Gareth Ainsworth turned to his bench, throwing on Tom Eaves, Armani Little and Bradley Dack as they looked to find the right combination to defend the draw while still carrying a threat going forward.

And it was Dack who made a crucial contribution in the final third as his swerving, dipping cross-shot came back off the crossbar, and defender Andy Smith found himself in the right place at the right time to tuck away the rebound and give the Gills a crucial lead with 10 minutes to go.

Led by Omar Beckles, Gillingham then staged a stubborn rearguard action as they repelled all borders. And, despite the referee's mind-boggling addition of eight minutes of stoppage time, the Gills held on to claim a huge away win.

Gillingham's victory snaps a three-game winless streak as they claimed only their second win from their last six outings. The success at Croud Meadow also elevated the team to just outside the play-off places, in eighth, level on points with Grimsby Town and York City above them, and just three points off third place, and the automatic promotion places.