Gillingham and Doncaster Rovers drew 2-2 in League One on Saturday afternoon in a thrilling counter at Priestfield.
An eclectic Gills start saw them lead 2-0 within four minutes thanks to Jordan Graham and the in-form Vadaine Oliver, but Rovers pegged them back quickly with goals from Tom Anderson and James Coppinger - and that was how it finished.
Story of the match
First-half
The game began in perfect fashion for the form team. With John Akinde getting the better of his defender, he stormed forward and fed Alex MacDonald on the left. The wide man crossed aiming for Kyle Dempsey, but, via a deflection, the ball found its way to Jordan Graham, who hammered home.
Just two minutes later it was two. Doncaster failed to deal with a Ryan Jackson long throw, and the man of the moment Vadaine Oliver was on hand to hammer into the roof of the net to confirm Gills’ electric start.
Doncaster did settle and Omar Bogle found himself in on goal on 12 minutes, but Gillingham were saved by the offside flag. Gillingham manager Steve Evans continued to bellow instructions to his team however as they searched for a third.
Doncaster pulled one back on 19 minutes however. Gillingham failed to deal with three Rovers corners, and, eventually, captain Tom Anderson headed past Jack Bonham to pull a goal back.
And Rovers were level on 23 minutes. After James Coppinger turned Robbie Cundy, Josh Sims broke down the left and squared the ball. Cundy failed to recover, and Coppinger slotted past Bonham to make it 2-2 half way through the first-half.
The dugouts clashed as Doncaster began to control proceedings, with Steve Evans and Andy Butler exchanging a few words. Evans was certainly doing most of the talking.
MacDonald produced a save from Louis Jones in an attempt to flip the momentum, and Gillingham ended the half the better of the two sides - but the game went in level.
Second-half
The second-period started a little slower than the first, with Doncaster having to deal with a number of Gillingham set pieces.
The game soon broke into almost a cup tie, with both sixes going for it. Alex MacDonald saw an effort cleared off the line by Joe Wright, before Fejiri Okenabirhie headed over at the other end for Doncaster.
Gillingham almost took the lead on 80 minutes when a Jordan Graham cross was misjudged by the Doncaster defence and came back off the post. Kyle Dempsey’s follow up was then deflected over by Wright, before Robbie Cundy poked wide.
Rovers tried to play on the counter as Gillingham continued to ambush the box with set pieces, but seven minutes of added time wasn’t enough for either team to find a winner in the end. A thrilling game, and the points shared.