Gillingham improved from their weekend performance but could find no way past fellow strugglers Crawley on Tuesday night.

Teenage striker Joe Gbode put a great chance wide in the first half after being called up to the first-team as Gillingham’s inability to convert continued. Will Wright appealed for a second half penalty after being pulled down in the box but referee James Oldham wasn’t interested.

It’s five games without a goal now for Gills as the midweek match ended 0-0 but at least the draw ended a run of four successive defeats in the league for Neil Harris’ men. They do, however, remain in the relegation zone.

With Gillingham struggling to score, manager Harris turned to 17-year-old striker Gbode, bringing him back from a loan spell at Hastings United to play against Crawley - he’d tried everything else to get goals from the team.

Starting the night in the relegation zone, Harris’ men were hoping to stop an improving Crawley from climbing higher than 19th and making it four home wins on the bounce in League 2.

Gbode was in the thick of it during the first half and should have put Gillingham infront.

He was up against two experienced centre-halves in Tony Craig - a former Millwall team-mate of Harris - and Joe Lynch - also in his mid-30s. Gbode was on the end of a crunching early challenge from Craig and picked up a booking soon after as the young striker retaliated.

The Gills had a relatively decent half but were still struggling to make it count, with efforts from Dom Jefferies, Hakeeb Adelakun and Robbie McKenzie all wide of the mark.

Gillingham would have deserved a goal and they should have had one. Cheye Alexander whipped in a cross, Shaun Williams nodded it down but the chance for glory eluded Gbode, as he got his feet all wrong and put a golden close-range chance wide of the post.

It had certainly been a lively introduction for Gbode to life in the Football League, with home fans booing him after lashing out at Craig and claiming he was a cheat for going to ground when tackled. Those Crawley fans weren’t happy with their own team either, however, with shouts of “rubbish” and “wake up” at the break.

Gillingham didn’t manage a goal but would have gone into the break feeling they could get something from the match.

Little of note happened early on in the second half and with an hour played Harris turned to his substitutes, making a triple change upfront with Scott Kashket, Ben Reeves and Lewis Walker given the chance to try and find a goal.

It wasn’t long before Kashket was presented with a chance, picked out in the box by McKenzie but unable to beat keeper Ellery Balcombe who saved the close-range effort.

Ben Reeves had a shot blocked as the Gills continued to work hard for an opening and there were worthy appeals for a penalty when Will Wright was pulled to the ground, while at the other end Jake Turner was called into action for the first time to block a shot from former Gills man Jake Hessenthaler.

Gillingham: Turner, Alexander, Wright, Ehmer, McKenzie, Williams, O’Keefe, Jefferies (MacDonald 71mins), Adelakun (Reeves 58mins), Mandron (Walker 58mins), Gbode (Kashket 58mins). Subs not used: Holtam, Green, Baggott.

Crawley: Balcombe, Francomb, Craig, Lynch, Powell, Tsaroulla, Jenks (Tilley 57mins), Hessenthaler, Nichols (Oteh 65mins), Nadesan, Telford (Fellows 65mins). Subs not used: Robson, Ransom, Johnson.

Referee: James Oldham

Attendance: 3284 (1018 away)