Gillingham conceded late on against Coventry as their League 1 woes continue.

The Gills were chasing their first league win in seven but a brave effort went unrewarded.

Coventry won the match in the 84 minute after mounting pressure finally paid off.

Gills manager Martin Allen had made five changes to the team which had lost at Crawley the week before. Among those coming in was former Coventry striker Cody McDonald.

And he took just nine minutes to score against his old club.

Unfortunately by then the Gills had already conceded. Just 55 seconds were on the clock when Cyrus Christie’s cross from the right was converted by Leon Clarke.

The Gills, to their credit, responded well. Amine Linganzi was twice thwarted by home keeper Joe Murphy before McDonald equalised.

McDonald had been given a free transfer by Coventry in the summer and he slotted home after Linganzi’s flick from a Myles Weston corner sat nicely for him.

Chances fell to either team, with Gills keeper Stuart Nelson making several fine saves, while captain Adam Barrett put in some important blocks.

Early in the second half Leon Clarke struck the top of the crossbar with a speculative effort from outside the box. Moments later the same player dinked an effort over the bar, under pressure from Nelson.

As the half wore on the Gills sat deeper. Striker Danny Kedwell was forced to drop deep, joining the midfield, as Coventry pressed.

A deflected effort from Carl Baker on the hour hit the outside of the post and with 11 minutes left Allen gave more protection to his defence by bringing on Steven Gregory for goalscorer McDonald.

Coventry kept knocking at the door and eventually their pressure paid off when, from a corner, Franck Moussa was on hand to flick the ball home when under pressure from Barrett.

Gillingham: Nelson, Martin, Harriman (Muggleton 88mins), Barrett, Legge, Hollands (Akinfenwa 88mins), Linganzi, Weston, Allen, Kedwell, McDonald (Gregory 79mins). Subs not used: Howard, Davies, Dack, Hessenthaler.

Coventry: Murphy, Christie, Adams, Webster, Thomas, Fleck, Baker (Mansett 72mins), J Clarke, Moussa (Willis 88mins), Wilson, L Clarke. Subs not used: Burge, Barton, Daniels, Garner, Haynes.

Attendance: 2,046