Bishop’s Stortford 1 Gillingham 3

Gillingham had an evening to forget against a tough-tackling Bishop’s Stortford side on Tuesday night.

The match was marred by a serious first-half injury to Stuart Lewis (pictured) and his replacement Adam Miller also picked up a knock.

A tough challenge from Stortford’s Ola Okinawwo ended Lewis’ game and defender Stevland Angus also left Miller limping.

It made the 3-1 scoreline irrelevant after goals from Dennis Oli, Miller and Luke Rooney sealed the win,

Gillingham manager Mark Stimson had named his best pre-season XI for the so-called friendly match and his side were a goal ahead on nine minutes after Oli struck a sweet shot past keeper Nicky Eyre.

The hosts were level just before the half-hour mark with a blistering free-kick from Mark Wright and Gillingham’s evening turned into a nightmare when Lewis was felled just outside the Stortford area.

The Gills midfielder was carried off on a stretcher after prolonged treatment on the sidelines.

Miller, who picked up a knock just minutes after coming on, still managed to put the Gills ahead just before the break, as he slid in to convert Andy Barcham’s cross, but there were few smiles from the visitors as they headed into the break.

Miller failed to emerge after the interval and was replaced by Mark McCammon.

The action was less frantic in the second half and Gills came close to extending their lead with blocked shots from Chris Palmer and Curtis Weston and an effort that went just wide by Barcham.

Youngster Rooney scored his fourth goal in five pre-season games to make it 3-1 when he curled home a 30-yard free-kick into the roof of the net with ten minutes left.

Both Miller and Lewis were taken to hospital immediately after the game for treatment. Miller is suffering from a foot injury but Lewis’ situation is more serious, with suspected ligament damage to his ankle.

Gills: Julian, Fuller, Nutter, Gowling (Wynter 68mins), King (Richards 59mins), Lewis (Miller 36mins (McCammon 46mins)), Maher, Weston, Oli (Cumbers 73mins), Palmer (Rooney 68mins), Barcham. Subs not used: Pugh, Royce.