Gillingham 1 Shrewsbury Town 0

Match 81/25/2423 - Saturday, 2nd May 2026 - League Two

Gillingham (0) 1 McCleary 90+2
Shrewsbury Town (0) 0
Attendnance: 6,415
Admission: £22
Mileage: 45/5,024

THE FINAL CURTAIN, THANKFULLY

I’m inclined to think that the loudest cheer of the afternoon was reserved for the final whistle that brought down the curtain on the most turgid of seasons.

Gillingham supporters have endured eight months of even less than mediocrity since they led the League Two table back in September in the midst of a record unbeaten run of 21 games. Perhaps prophetically, that run was brought to an end at Priestfield Stadium by Harrogate Town, who suffered relegation on the last day.

Where did it go so horribly wrong? Gareth Ainsworth’s sabbatical due to a major heart operation; or Ainsworth himself, who had the indignity of hearing his previous club’s supporters sing that his football was shit with the Rainham End joining the chorus; or was it just the players, who week after week, have brought the indictment from supporters that they just didn’t care and certain players were subject to ridicule that helps nobody.

Certainly, the indication that as many as 14 of the squad are about to be released tells its tale and the evidence of this game bares testament to that thought.

Two teams, Gillingham sitting 18th to Shrewsbury’s 19th with every club below still facing the prospect of relegation, bellowed mediocrity but sadly, with one notable exception, didn’t even reach that heady height.

As Shrewsbury had passed up chances to win the game which plodded its way into time added, substitute Gareth McCleary let fly from 25 yards to find the top corner, the polar opposite of what had previously gone by in regular time.

How John Marquiss managed to spoon the ball over the bar from six yards one will never know and he was just one of several visiting offenders.

The game had its emotional moments with goalkeeper Glenn Morris, saluted throughout on his last appearance for the Gills whilst Sam Vokes was given a guard of honour from his team mates on his 70th minute substitution to mark his retirement from the game.

Gillingham fans are a resilient bunch, in the past eight days they’ve travelled in huge numbers to suffer a 6-2 defeat at Barnet and had the embarrassment of the club’s end of season awards dinner cancelled presumably because of the lamentable season. But, nonetheless, 6,000 of them turned out for a meaningless game and despite the winner, you cannot say they were rewarded. They deserve better.