Notts County 0 Gillingham 1

Simeon Jackson fired Gillingham into second spot of the League 2 table after scoring the winning goal at Notts County.

Jackson struck midway through the second half to clinch a priceless three points for the Gills.

The diminutive striker had been guilty of missing a couple of great chances, however, before hitting the winner.

The best chance of the first half came with 37 minutes gone, when John Nutter whipped in a low cross but from just three yards out Jackson smashed a shot over the bar.

It was a half of few chances for Gillingham. Their only other real chance of the half came after just four minutes when Mark McCammon dragged a shot wide after Nutter again created the opening.

Notts County�s best moments came from former Gills striker Delroy Facey. He scored a quality equaliser in the 2-2 draw the last time the sides met and he came close on Tuesday night. One shot bounced just wide of the post after taking a ricochet off McCammon.

Jackson had another good opportunity early in the second half, after Mark Bentley broke from defence and played him through, but the shot sailed over the bar.

The Gills leading scorer was to make amends soon after with the winning goal on 58 minutes as he struck low past keeper Kevin Pilkington � his 16th league goal of the season.

Gillingham had to rely on good defending and a slice of luck to keep that lead intact as County retaliated.

Simon Royce had to claw Matt Hamshaw�s cross away from danger, Barry Fuller cleared John Thompson�s header off the line and Facey struck narrowly wide as the hosts dominated.

As the game opened up Andy Barcham found space in the box, but his low shot was saved by Pilkington. It didn�t matter in the end as Jackson�s solitary strike was enough to earn the Gills the win.

Gillingham manager Mark Stimson was happy to see his side sitting second in the league but wasn�t getting carried away.

He said: �For the players it should be a great feeling. It�s a lot better for them to be where they are now than where they were last year.

�All we can do is win as many matches as possible. It will give players a lift because the hard work really comes into play now.

�Tables mean nothing at the moment. It�s just about the boys getting another result.

�We had to dig in against a Notts County team who some people said before the game weren�t playing for anything, well the way they played and fought for their manager was a credit and we had to stand up and be counted.

�We did that and when we had to show that little bit of quality it was a fantastic finish from Jackson.

�We�ve just got to get as many points as we can and be in the race with three or four games to go.�

Gills: Royce, Fuller, Nutter, King, Bentley, Southall, Miller, Weston, Barcham, McCammon (Oli 60mins) Jackson (Richards 89mins). Subs not used: Julian, Lewis, Mulligan.

Notts County: Pilkington, Picken (Canham 90mins), Edwards, Hamshaw, Forte, Weston, Clapham, Hunt, Thompson, Facey, Butcher. Subs not used: Tann, Forrester, Strachan, Fairclough.

Attendance:3,189.