Gillingham endured a frustrating afternoon at Priestfield after being held to a goalless draw by lowly Hereford United.

The Gills had few real chances of note at the Hereford goal and dropped vital points in their chase for automatic promotion.

Andy Hessenthaler’s team extended their unbeaten run to 14 games but dropped a place to seventh and are now five points off the top three with six games to play.

The Gills’ best chances came in the opening minutes, both of them falling to 22-goal striker Cody McDonald.

McDonald’s first chance came after two minutes when he came an inch away from converting Kevin Maher’s free-kick after sliding in.

Seconds later McDonald latched onto a long ball forward and attempted to lob the keeper, only to see his chance skim the outside of the post.

An opportunistic strike from Jack Payne also went the wrong side of the post after 18 minutes and Hereford started to apply some pressure themselves.

Gills keeper Alan Julian wasn’t tested though in those opening 45 minutes, with both Nicky Featherstone and Steve Leslie shooting wide.

Hereford keeper Adam Bartlett did need to be alert to deflect Akinfenwa’s close-range effort over the bar and the same player was left cursing his luck after miscuing McDonald’s pull-back with the goal at his mercy.

Leslie put another effort wide of the mark at the start of the second half and a season-best home league crowd for the Gills attempted to get their team firing.

Alan Julian kept the Gills on level terms just before the hour-mark, when a poor Garry Richards back-pass left striker Stuart Fleetwood with a clear run at goal, but the keeper won the one-on-one encounter.

Akinfenwa put a header over the bar for the Gills but 16-goal striker Fleetwood remained a threat at the other end, lifting a shot over the bar moments later, after side-stepping a couple of Gillingham challenges on the edge of the box.

Frustrations were rising in the Gills camp and manager Ian Hendon was sent to the stands by referee Paul Tierney for dissent. He followed Hereford’s number two, who had also been sent-off at the break, for protesting about a challenge from Richards before the interval.

Gillingham looked to the substitute bench to give them the advantage, with Dennis Oli, Danny Spiller and Luke Rooney all being introduced around the midway point of the second half.

Chances still failed to materialise and Akinfenwa looped a header over with a minute to go from a Rooney cross. Another chance fell to Akifnenwa in injury time but his low shot was deflected narrowly wide.

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Gills:

Julian, Fuller, Martin, Richards, Lawrence, Maher (Oli 66mins), J Payne (Spiller 73mins), Barcham (Rooney 76mins), Weston, Akinfenwa, McDonald. Subs not used: Hawkes, Nutter, Gowling, S Payne.

Hereford:

Bartlett, Green, Townsend, Stam, Heath, Colbeck (Purdie 69mins), McQuilkin, Lunt, Leslie, Fleetwood (Price 90mins), Fiarhurst. Subs not used: Stratford, Hoult, Kovacs, Patulea, Rose.

Attendance:
5,709