THE great British weather and Cherries on their travels are strange things.

As Kevin Bond's charges toiled in deepest Kent on Saturday afternoon, the battle-hardened Cherries faithful sat brutally exposed at one end of a bitterly cold Priestfield Stadium.

And after being treated to a cocktail of driving rain, biting winds, sleet, snow and minimal sunshine, Maxi Gradel's late penalty, saved by Gillingham keeper Derek Stillie, only proceeded to darken the clouds gathering above a season of unrest for the Dean Court support.

Although Bond's brave tactical switch on 30 minutes may have riled Brett Pitman, Jo Tessem's introduction paid dividends as Cherries moved the quality dial up to average' after a desperate opening half-hour.

But even Jo Kuffour's 28th-minute tap-in, which was cancelled out by Andrew Crofts's ninth-minute strike and Simeon Jackson's well-placed effort after 26 minutes, failed to lift Bond's spirits among the a-la-carte sandwiches of the Priestfield press room after the final whistle.

Bond was forced to make one change to the side that toppled Yeovil Town 2-0 at Dean Court seven days ago.

Warren Cummings missed out after having a minor operation on a shin injury following Saturday's victory and was replaced by Lee Bradbury who had recovered from a virus.

With both Cummings and Neil Young missing, Bradbury filled in at right-back for the first time in his career, with Shaun Cooper, Jason Pearce and Josh Gowling completing Bond's back four.

Gills created the first half-chance, with Jackson shooting wide of David Forde from just outside the Cherries box after three minutes.

And Mark Stimson's side could have taken the lead eight minutes in, but John Nutter's drive from Adam Miller's centre was deflected away for a corner.

It only took another minute, however, for Gills to break the deadlock.

Captain Crofts picked up a loose ball just outside the Cherries box and fired a swirling shot past keeper Forde, the Cardiff loan man deceived by a slight deflection.

Mark Bentley was cautioned for a 20th-minute tackle on Pitman, but Cooper blasted the resulting free kick over Derek Stillie's bar - and things almost got worse for Bond's side moments later when Gowling, looking to clear, headed into the path of Jackson, but Forde was equal to the Gills striker's shot.

Jackson, however, was rewarded for his efforts on 26 minutes when the hitman was played in by the persistent Miller.

Jackson, a £150,000 transfer window capture from Rushden and Diamonds, rounded both Gowling and Cooper to slot an easy left-foot shot past Forde for his first goal for the club.

Despite appearing to be in a whole world of trouble, though, Bond's charges showed their mettle just two minutes later when Kuffour got Cherries back in the game by tapping in his ninth goal of the campaign from Gradel's right-wing cross to make it 2-1.

But despite Cherries resurgence, a clearly unhappy Bond removed an even-more-unhappy Pitman from the fray after just half-an-hour, the Channel Islander replaced by former Southampton utility man Tessem.

Tessem almost made an unwanted instant impact, gifting the ball to Jackson, but the Gills goalscorer fired his fizzing drive over the crossbar.

Bond adjusted his system after the restart, moving Bradbury out to the left of a five-man midfield, with Cooper, Pearce and Gowling the three at the back, but Gills, like the first-half, had the best of the early exchanges after the break.

Jackson had a decent claim for a penalty waved away after 57 minutes, the Gills striker taking a tumble under a challenge from Pearce.

And Pearce almost gifted referee Mick Russell the latest entry into his book after squaring up to Jackson with accusations of diving.

Jackson then had a skidding right-foot drive well saved by Forde on the hour, before a moment of Gradel magic almost led to a Cherries equaliser.

The Leicester loanee twisted and turned his way around Nutter on the right flank before unleashing a teasing cross towards Sam Vokes in the Gills box, but the young striker was forced to watch as his bullet header was instinctively pushed on to the bar by Stillie.

Referee Russell then took centre stage on 69 minutes by bizarrely ruling out Lee Bradbury's headed goal for offside, before Stillie came to Gills' rescue again four minutes later by beating away Hollands's corner under pressure from Kuffour.

Kuffour was in the mix again on 76 minutes, the former Brentford striker miss-hitting his shot from Gradel's inviting cross, but it was referee Russell's decision three minutes later that left the gathered hacks picking their pens off the floor.

Vokes crashed to the turf in the Gills penalty area under pressure from Garry Richards, but the contact appeared minimal at best.

Russell, whose hit-and-miss showing in the centre of the park echoed the unpredictable Kent weather, pointed to the spot, however, although justice appeared to be done when Stillie parried away Gradel's penalty.

Kuffour's deflected 20-yard drive with seven minutes remaining was clawed away by Stillie at full stretch as Bond's men pushed hard for parity to no avail.

But Russell felt the full force of Bond's wrath with just two minutes left on the clock when he dismissed Cherries' claims for a penalty after Cooper's right-wing cross struck Gills defender Simon King cleanly and clearly on the hand.

  • DAILY ECHO MERIT MARKS

Cherries: (4-4-2) Forde 6; Bradbury 6, Gowling 6, Pearce 6, Cooper 6; Gradel 7*, Hollands 6.5, Bartley 6 (Partington, 86), Pitman 5 (Tessem, 31); Vokes 5.5, Kuffour 6.5. Unused subs: McQuoid, Franks, Pryce (g/k).

Booked: Cooper, Vokes.

Gillingham (3-5-2): Stillie; Richards, Cullip, King; Clohessy, Bentley, Crofts, Oli (Cumbers, 90), Nutter; Jackson, Miller (Griffiths, 81). Unused subs: Kiely, Howard, Fuller.

Booked: Bentley.

Referee: Mick Russell (Hertfordshire).

Attendance: 6,540.