Gillingham 1 - 0 Port Vale

A 42nd minute goal by Neil Harris has given Gillingham a half-time lead against Port Vale at Priestfield.

Harris got goalside of his marker before thundering a left-foot shot past Vale keeper Mark Goodlad, which hit the inside of the post on its way in.

Earlier, the Gills had a golden chance to take the lead after just 11 minutes when they were awarded a penalty and Port Vale were reduced to 10 men.

Matt Jarvis’s cross from the right was handled by Craig James and the referee pointed to the spot, to the disgust of captain Tony Dinning who was first booked and then shown a red card for taking his protests too far.

Tom Williams stepped up and sent Goodlad the wrong way, but his shot struck the outside of the post and went wide.

The closest the visitors came in the first 45 minutes was a Nathan Lowndes shot that was comfortably saved by Jason Brown.

Williams had another chance to score towards the end of the half, but he blazed horribly over the bar when he should have done better.

Gillingham: Brown, Wallis, Johnson, Cox, Jackman, Jarvis, Crofts, Flynn, Williams, Harris, Fobe-Edusei.
Subs: Bullock, Sancho, Hessenthaler, Spiller, Grant.