After losing 2-0 to our local neighbours Port Vale on Tuesday evening, Steve Holland wanted to see a positive reaction from his players. He certainly got one this afternoon with the Alex comfortably winning 3-0 at the Priestfield Stadium. A finely taken goal from Tom Pope in the opening seven minutes settled us down quickly in what was a pressure cooker environment at the bottom of League One. Crewe were excellent throughout and created more chances than at any previous time this season.

Although Adam Miller struck a Crewe post early on in the second half, the home side were second best all afternoon. Soon after Miller had the Gills best effort, Nicky Maynard slotted home our second goal following some great wing play from Gary Roberts.

Gillingham later damaged their chances of getting anything from this game when Kevin Maher's frustration got the better of him and he was sent-off for a reckless lunge on Kenny Lunt. It was Maher's home debut following a loan switch from Southend.

With Crewe in complete control in Kent it was no surprise that the opportunities continued to arrive and Dean Morgan finished off the home side with a well-taken third goal on 75 minutes.

Although, the Alex had the extra man advantage, that doesn't take away the fact that we controlled the majority of the match even when it was 11 Vs 11.

First team coach Steve Holland had to make one late change to his starting line-up for the trip to Gillingham after centre-half Chris McCready aggravated his hamstring in yesterday's final training session. McCready did not travel to Kent, which resulted in a recall for Danny Woodards in an unfamiliar central position.

Midfielder Gary Roberts was also recalled to the starting line-up ahead of Steve Schumacher following his late introduction against Port Vale on Tuesday evening. Roberts is currently struggling with a double hernia problem but is trying to delay a necessary operation until the summer.

Striker Nicky Maynard also came into the side following his second half appearance in the 2-0 defeat to the Valiants. Maynard came back into the side in place of our on-loan winger from Preston North End, Joe Anyisah, who had to settle for a place on the substitutes bench this afternoon.

In the absence of McCready and usual 'captains' Neil Cox and Julien Baudet, goalkeeper Ben Williams was handed the armband for the first time in his Crewe career.

Crewe had an early free kick taken by Kenny Lunt but it was cleared fairly easily from the edge of the Gillingham penalty area. The on-loan Dean Morgan then tried his luck from distance but was off balance when he struck and as a result his shot was rather wayward.

After 7 minutes, the Gillingham keeper Simon Royce was called into action for the first time, forced to rush out of his box and head a through ball clear before Maynard could get on the end of it. From the ensuing passage of play, Morgan was involved in feeding the overlapping Gary Roberts and he drilled his shot just wide of the far post.

It was a positive start from the Railwaymen and just two minutes later, we took the lead. Ben Williams' clearance was a flat one into the centre of the pitch, but as everyone hesitated Tom Pope got onto the ball to feed Morgan. The on-loan Luton midfielder then slipped Pope through the middle and he calmly clipped it over the advanced Royce. It was a wonderfully composed finish and gave the Alex the perfect start.

In reply, Adam Miller played a superb ball into the Crewe six-yard box but Daniel O'Donnell was well placed to guide it behind for a corner.

From the other wing, Mark Bentley did well to evade a rather rash tackle from Boyle but his cross was headed clear by George Abbey, with Delroy Facey applying pressure at the far post. With Gillingham struggling to settle down on their home ground, the crowd were quickly expecting better.

On 19 minutes a clever piece of skill from Morgan nearly conjured up a second chance for Pope, but the Alex was penalised for a barge on Simon King and the referee was handily placed to award a free-kick on the goal line.

Gillingham did make some progress into the Crewe half, but both Miller and the on-loan Kevin Maher were wasteful with their shots from distance. Neither effort troubled the Alex skipper.

The match had a lengthy stoppage after 25 minutes when Morgan absolutely hammered a shot into the side of King's head. The central defender's bravery resulted in him worryingly flat out on the edge of the Gillingham box. Thankfully, the player got to his feet after treatment.

After some more good hold up play from Tom Pope, his strike partner Nicky Maynard just couldn't keep his fierce shot down enough to really test Simon Royce.

On 36 minutes, a tidy through ball from Michael O'Connor created an even better chance for Maynard but the striker curled it just past the post from a very good position. With Maynard's striking ability, he would have been disappointed not to have at least hit the target.

Four minutes later, Maynard was rather unfortunate not to have scored a second goal for the Alex. The youngster stole in behind the Gills back four and rounded the advanced Royce, but from an acute angle, he could only stir it against the foot of the post. He was rather unlucky not to see it bounce favourably over the line. Instead it nestled in the side netting. It was certainly a let off for the home side.

Crewe certainly had the better of the first half and were good value for their lead given to us superbly by Tom Pope.

At the beginning of the second half, the Gillingham supporters tried to lift the spirit of their team with a rousing reception. Their fantastic support certainly saw them step up a gear and in the opening three minutes Adam Miller smacked the Crewe post with a powerful drive from just inside the Crewe penalty area. He could not have come much closer to finding an equaliser.

Gillingham made such a superb start to the second period, that it was a surprise that Crewe then went up the other end and hit them with an absolute sucker-punch. Morgan fed Gary Roberts down the Gillingham left and his low cross was turned home from close range by Maynard. It was just the response we were looking in our attempts to silence the home crowd.

Almost immediately, Roberts won a free kick after being tripped by Miller. From the resultant free kick, taken by Lunt, Roberts headed straight at the Gillingham keeper. Either side of Royce and he would have been struggling. With Crewe beginning to impose themselves on the play once more, O'Connor saw a shot blocked on the edge of the Gills D.

Gillingham's frustration was getting the better of them and Maher's completely boiled over when he recklessly lunged at Lunt. With both feet seemingly off the ground, it was no surprise when the referee produced the red card. 2-0 down and now reduced to ten men, Gillingham faced one hell of a task to turn this match around. After receiving lengthy treatment, Lunt gingerly made his way back onto the pitch.

With 30 minutes remaining, some more promising approach play from the Alex ended in a fine shot from O'Connor deflected over the top by Simon King. If the defender hadn't put his head in the way, it could have got considerably worse for the struggling home side.

With time against them, Mark Stimson elected to make two substitutions with Dennis Oli and Leroy Griffiths coming on for Facey and Bentley.

Gillingham so nearly got back into the game, but were denied a passage back only due to the heroics of the Alex captain. Griffith's accurate cross picked out Andrew Crofts superbly and the Gills captain must have thought he had scored when he connected with his head inside the six-yard box. Williams stood firm though to deny him from point blank range and following a bit of a scramble in front of the Alex goal, O'Donnell was well placed to clear.

Miller and John Nutter also shot off target, as the home side tried to make the last 20 minutes a little more anxious for the visitors.

Roberts so nearly made it 3-0 after some fine passing from Morgan and then Lunt. The Alex switched play to the right hand side and after Roberts had skilfully evaded the intentions of Adam Bygrave he drew a decent save from Royce.

With just over 15 minutes remaining, Tom Pope fed the onrushing Morgan who raced clear of the Gills defence. Morgan used his strength to hold off the intentions of King before slotting it calmly past Royce for 3-0. That was a cue for a mass exodus from the home fans, who had seen enough. The Alex fans behind the goal were enjoying their afternoon though.

Pope then had two chances to possibly net his first senior hat-trick. He was caught out at the death after Morgan had played him inside the six-yard box and the same two players combined again but Pope volleyed wide.

A hat-trick of good chances saw the hard working forward draw another fine stop from Royce. Pope's header was on target after Roberts had picked him out with a cross, but the Gills keeper was well positioned to push it away from danger.

At the other end, substitute Jackson went close twice to netting a consolation.

With Crewe home and dry, Holland introduced Ryan Lowe and Joe Anyinsah for Maynard and Morgan. Lowe had a great late chance to make it 4-0 but Royce saved his placed shot with his legs.