Leeds 1 Gillingham 1

LEEDS away isn't a fixture for the feint-hearted. And this certainly wasn't.

But it took a 40-man fracas to inject life into what was a largely dire affair that was going Gillingham's way thanks to a wildly deflected goal.

Had Darius Henderson not flung Michael Gray by the neck in a move not out of place in a wrestling ring then Gills could have be contemplating a third straight win. Instead, they got a point and will lose the in-form Henderson for three games.

The opening half an hour was tawdry to say the least. Neither side could get into any kind of rhythm and it made for a dull encounter.

All the opening exchanges had to offer was off target efforts by Douglas for Gills and Rob Hulse for Leeds.

Douglas found his way into Mark Cowburn's notebook after clattering Sean Gregan to inject some action into a tepid opening.

Douglas and Hulse both missed half chances before Mike Flynn missed a golden opportunity five minutes before the break.

Gills caught Leeds with a sweeping counter but Flynn scuffed a volley straight at Sullivan after finding himself unmarked at the back post. But three minutes later Gills hit the front.

Gary Kelly was adjudged to have fouled Henderson just outside the box. And from the set play, Flynn rolled the ball to Chris Hope and his 20-yard effort took a wicked deflection and beat the wrong-footed Sullivan.

The goal lifted Gills and the impressive Douglas again had an effort on goal and deep in stoppage time the equally impressive Sidibe brought a great stop out of Sullivan.

Leeds left the field at the break to a crescendo of boos, which will have been music to Stan Ternent's ears.

And with every passing minute the natives got that little bit more restless as Gills started to press Leeds back with a period of sustained pressure at the start of the second half.

And it should have been so much better seven minutes into the second period when Sidibe flicked on a long-throw in but from no more than six yards out Douglas put a header went straight into Sullivan's gloves.

The crowd's displeasure seemed to be sapping the confidence out of Leeds' play but their vengeance was soon turned on the referee as he turned down a penalty appeal after Simon Walton went down in the box under a Nyron Nosworthy challenge.

Walton was shown a yellow card for his protests but the incident just served to light the blue touch paper under the game.

And it exploded into life but it took something akin to a riot just before the hour to make this a real contest.

Henderson needlessly dragged Gray to the ground by his head as the ball was going out for a throw in front of the benches.

What ensued was ugly to say the least. Gray reacted angrily to Henderson's actions and as the pair clashed they were soon mobbed by about 40 players and officials and a few stewards as all hell broke loose.

After a delay of around four minutes and a long conference that featured the entire refereeing team, the committee sent both Henderson and Gray for an early bath.

The melee seemed to inspire Leeds and they started to mount real pressure on the visitors.

Hulse brought a good stop from Steve Banks from a tight angle and then the excellent Jay MvEveley headed Gregan's effort off the line from the ensuing corner.

Marlon King entered the fray with 13 minutes to go as Leeds desperately searched for the equaliser, but it was Gills who should have but the game beyond doubt 10 minutes from time.

Paul Butler and Kilgallon make a hash of a clearance and lost the ball to Sidibe. He found Southall and he picked out Flynn unmarked at the back stick but his looping header went wide.

And they were made to pay dearly for their wastefulness in front of goal a minute later.

Gills failed to clear King's cross from the right as Banks and Cox got into a tangle and Hulse was able to tap the ball home from close range.

From then on it was one-way traffic as Leeds bombarded Gillingham with wave after wave of attacks.

McEveley made his second goal line clearance of the day when he was on hand to clear David Healy's cross-shot that had beaten King's despairing slide.

The fourth official indicated there would be five minutes of injury time and Leeds almost snatched it at the death.

A long free kick into the box was headed back across goal by Kilgallon but Brian Deane couldn't get on the end of it and the ball flew wide of the far post.

Healy then brought a dramatic save from Banks when his cross from the right almost flew in but the final whistle brought Gills a point and blessed relief.

It was a stern examination of Gills' survival credentials which they passed with flying colours but Henderson's moment of madness could cost his side dear as the season reaches its conclusion.

Gillingham: Banks, Nosworthy, Hope, Cox, McEveley, Southall, Smith, Flynn, Douglas, Sidibe (Byfield 90), Henderson. Subs Not Used: Brown, Crofts, Hills, Jarvis.

Attendance: 27, 995.