Nottingham Forest 1 Gillingham 1

GILLINGHAM took a valuable point from their League 1 clash against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.

There was some surprise when Ronnie Jepson didn't name a single striker in his starting line-up, but it took the Gills just seven minutes to take the lead.

Makeshift forward Danny Spiller got a cross into the box and, under pressure from Andrew Crofts, Julian Bennett could only succeed in sending the ball high into his own net.

Mike Flynn went close with a header midway through the first half, although Tommy Black looked to be in a better position to score and made his feelings known to his team-mate.

Gillingham were dominating but they were hit with a sucker punch when Forest equalised in first half stoppage time.

Jason Brown parried Sammy Clingan's initial effort but Nathan Tyson was on hand to stab home the rebound and send the sides in level at the break.

The second period was a different story. Brown made a superb double save to deny Forest's Grant Holt early in the second half as the home side began to dominate.

From the resulting corner Ian Breckin went close with a header before Sean Clohessy cleared John Curtis's effort off the line.

Matt Jarvis was introduced for the final 35 minutes to try and inject some pace into the Gills attack, but he failed to make an impression on the game.

Forest really should have won it when Spiller's poor back header was latched onto by Tyson but he blazed over with just Brown to beat.

Gillingham: Brown, Clohessy, Cox, Hope, Jackman (Johnson 69), Flynn (Jarvis 55), Cochrane, Pouton, Crofts, Black, Spiller.
Subs Not Used: Crichton, Sancho, Grant.
Attendance: 19,446.