Bristol Rovers see off 10-man Gillingham for back-to-back wins

Bristol Rovers clinched back-to-back wins after coming from behind to defeat 10-man Gillingham 2-1 at Priestfield.

The hosts had gone in at the interval 1-0 up thanks to Ronan Hale’s penalty, but Alfie Kilgour’s header shortly after the break brought things level before Ellis Harrison completed the comeback with a smart finish from close range.

Gills were given a golden opportunity to take the lead after 17 minutes when Riley Harbottle was judged to have handled Remeao Hutton’s cross towards the far post.

Hale stepped up and drilled home the spot-kick into the bottom left corner.

Rovers nearly levelled seven minutes later, but Harrison’s header following a cross from Tommy Leigh was well saved by Jake Turner.

Steve Evans made four changes for Rovers at the half-time interval and they triggered an immediate response.

One of the substitutes, Ryan de Havilland, presented a cross for the unmarked Kilgour, and his header came off the inside of the post before crossing the line.

The turnaround was complete after 72 minutes when Harrison was the first to react when Turner palmed away a Luke Thomas effort. The striker kept his cool and found the bottom corner.

Gills then finished the match with 10 men, with skipper Armani Little sent off in the dying seconds.