Gillingham suffered their first league defeat of the season after a tough outing at Doncaster Rovers.

Doncaster deservedly led at the break through Billy Sharp and that goal was enough for them to claim the points against a Gills side who struggled to create clear-cut chances themselves.

Gillingham’s preparations for the match were hampered by a lack of central defensive cover and it was Oli Hawkins who stepped in to partner Shad Ogie, wearing a cast on his broken wrist.

There was no involvement for Robbie McKenzie - one of Mark Bonner’s defensive options - having picked up a knock in the win over Chesterfield the previous week. Central defenders Conor Masterson (injury) and Max Ehmer (suspended) were both unavailable.

Bradley Dack was also missing from the line-up, initially named on the bench but replaced before kick-off by Joe Gbode.

Ethan Coleman was back in the eleven for the Gills - days after agreeing a contract extension - after returning from injury in the midweek EFL Trophy match.

The Gills struggled to create anything meaningful in attack during the first half.

Jordan Gibson fired wide for the hosts early on and was denied by a terrific Glenn Morris save before the home side took the lead.

Gibson won a header inside the box from a deep cross and nodded the ball down for Sharp, who fired home on the turn past Morris.

Luke Molyneux hooked an effort onto the roof of the net after Morris had punched clear and Sharp headed narrowly wide before the break.

The home keeper Ted Sharman-Lowe didn’t have a lot to deal with and the home defenders weren’t troubled by striker Marcus Wyllie, coping with any long balls forward with ease.

Wyllie was replaced by Elliott Nevitt after the interval.

Molyneux went close for Rovers early in the second half with a shot that flew just over the bar, aided by a deflection off Max Clark.

That man Molyneux - once rumoured to have interested the Gills - went even closer moments later with a cross/shot that clipped the crossbar.

Morris needed to be alert to deny Owen Bailey. He was played in by Sharp after the home side created another chance from a throw-in.

There was a rare moment for the Gills that almost got them level, Remeao Hutton’s corner nearly going straight in. Sharman-Lowe punched clear and Hawkins’ follow-up was blocked.

Changes on the hour saw Jacob Wakeling and Jonny Williams introduced to bring fresh energy to the attack. They combined to win a corner, which led to a period of sustained pressure, but Rovers survived.

Gillingham looked more like scoring in the latter stages with Doncaster protecting their slender lead.

The home side were hanging on at the end as the Gills went for it but they couldn’t find the magic they needed to score. Armani Little went close with a rising shot from distance.

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