Notts County 2 Gillingham 1

DANNY SPILLER staked his claim for a return to the Gillingham starting line-up with a stunning goal during the 2-1 defeat at Meadow Lane.

Spiller’s 20th minute strike from the edge of the area was the highlight of Saturday’s match, as Gillingham were given a tough test by the League 2 side.

The midfielder suffered a fractured leg at Cardiff mid-way through last season and was unable to force his way into former manager Stan Ternent’s starting XI once he had recovered.

But he was pleased to grab his chance on Saturday.

"It’s nice to stick one in with your left foot," he said. "They don’t come around very often but I’ve been working on it in training over the last couple of years.

"Darren Byfield’s done well to slip me in and I didn’t have to do too much – I just banged it home."

The midfielder looked lively during the match - covering the right wing in Neale Cooper’s youthful side – as he looks to re-ignite his Gills career.

Spiller admitted the team still had plenty of work to do, while he begins to take a senior role in a squad now devoid of several experienced players.

He added: "It’s only the first game and we can take a lot of positives out of it, a few negatives – but we can work on that and hopefully take that on into the next few games.

"I’m 23 but I’m possibly one of the older boys in the team now. It’s almost time for me to try and help out some of the young boys and bring them through into the first team."

Gillingham’s goal, from their only on-target shot of the match, had come against the run of play, as a fitter County side passed the ball around well.

Gills, playing 4-4-2 and captained by Andrew Crofts, gave a hint of things to come by looking to play the ball on the deck and down the wings.

Tony Bullock gave plenty of vocal encouragement to this side as he made his debut and produced a couple of decent blocks, although he could do little about the goals which both came from corners.

Triallist Tom Brighton, the former Rangers youth player, had a mixed performance down the left, while at right-back Jon Wallis turned in a solid display.

County levelled the game three minutes before the break when Chris Palmer’s corner was headed into the danger area by Julien Baudet, with Andy White pouncing at close range.

Gavin Gordon fired in the winner on 76 minutes, again after Gillingham had failed to deal with a corner. The big striker prodded the ball home after Tony Scully’s shot had cannoned off the underside of the bar.

Cooper made seven changes in the second half, giving everyone a work-out, which included triallists from France and Holland, as well as 20 minutes for youth striker Frannie Collin.

Gillingham: Bullock, Wallis (Corneille 83), Rose, Pouton (Trialist 45), Hope (Johnson 73), Cox, Spiller (Hessenthaler 57), Roberts (Flynn 45), Byfield (Collin 73), Brighton (Ahmed 45), Crofts.

Attendance: 920.