KEVIN Bond did not need reminding. As he headed back to the ground floor after giving his post-match press conference, Bond wisely opted to take four flights of stairs rather than the lift.

It was understandable because, following this latest defeat, the last words he needed to hear were "going down".

Although not mathematically condemned, only a miracle of biblical proportions can save Cherries from the drop as Bad Saturday followed Good Friday.

Even the most ardent of optimists would agree that bridging a 14-point gap over the final seven games of the season is going to take a Herculean effort.

The fat lady is neither oiling her vocal chords nor practising her octaves. She is preparing for her encore.

Cherries fans can reach for the road maps as trips to Bury, Rochdale, Accrington Stanley and Morecambe - among other far-flung northern outposts - await.

An end to the season cannot come quickly enough. Fittingly, the Samaritans had an advertising hoarding at Priestfield and Cherries followers could have been forgiven for jamming their switchboard.

As Bond's disconsolate troops trudged off the pitch following a fourth successive away defeat, the PA announcer rubbed salt into their gaping wounds by playing The Last Waltz'.

However, a rendition of Kylie Minogue's number one hit I should be so lucky' would perhaps have been a more appropriate choice, such was the manner of the Gills' fortuitous victory.

And when the post-season inquest is convened, defeat at Priestfield is likely to be submitted by the prosecution as overwhelmingly damning evidence.

Cherries, without a victory at the Kent venue in 10 visits since 1983, deserved at least a share of the spoils following a spirited second-half display.

And if their case were to come before a judge and jury, they would justifiably call referee Mick Russell as a key witness in mitigation.

They looked hopelessly dead and buried after goals from Andrew Crofts and Simeon Jackson inside the opening 26 minutes had left them staring down the barrel.

Towels could easily have been thrown in and white flags raised as lacklustre Bond's charges offered precious little in response during the early stages.

Crofts netted a ninth-minute opener with the aid of a wicked deflection before Jackson profited from some charitable defending to double the Gills' lead.

Cherries responded when Jo Kuffour's tap-in offered hope midway through the first half, the goal coming as the home fans were still celebrating their second.

On an afternoon of countless tactical switches, replacing Brett Pitman with Jo Tessem after just 30 minutes proved a masterstroke by Bond.

But while Cherries went on to dominate for long periods and huffed and puffed with all their might, they could not blow down the Gillingham goal.

Pitman, the victim of a shuddering late tackle by Mark Bentley after 20 minutes, was sacrificed for tactical reasons. "I thought we were too open and weren't really getting on the ball enough," said Bond. "We seemed to be chasing around a bit so I decided to change it."

Tessem, sidelined recently by a back injury, was thrust into the fray to man-mark Gills playmaker Adam Miller. And while he often struggled to keep tabs on Miller, the switch enabled his team-mates to make hay as Cherries gained a firm foothold.

During the 90 minutes, Cherries seemed to employ more formations than a crack ballroom dance team as a dearth of available bodies forced Bond to tinker.

Striker Lee Bradbury started at right-back - for the first time in his career - while Shaun Cooper added another string to his bow by filling in at left-back.

And while other players were also asked to deputise in unfamiliar roles, one of Bond's more intriguing decisions centred on his use of Maxi Gradel.

In Bond's defence, the Ivorian winger had been largely ineffective during the opening skirmishes, something he had in common with the majority of his team-mates.

But switching him from the right flank to the left just minutes after he had supplied the cross for Kuffour to halve the deficit seemed odd to say the least.

Gradel also appeared to be having a field day against Gills left-back John Nutter during an absorbing second half - until he was again switched to the opposite flank.

Bond, however, felt Gradel had enjoyed more joy when faced with right-back Sean Clohessy, a point he claims was vindicated after watching a re-run of the match.

He said: "If you're not careful, Max can have a tendency to sometimes drift out of the game so we changed him over.

"He didn't get past the left-back too often but he still got in three or four balls. Late in the game, we swapped him over and again he got into four or five decent situations."

Gradel turned Nutter inside out and was the provider when Sam Vokes's 64th-minute header was pushed on to the crossbar by Gills goalkeeper Derek Stillie.

And he also supplied the cross, following a well-worked short corner, when Bradbury's 69th-minute header was ruled out for offside.

Bond described the decision as a "grave error of judgement" by the referee. Bond said: "The ref told me that Max was offside but I don't know how he could have been. Danny Hollands stopped the ball so it wasn't a forward pass."

Gradel, the popular Leicester City loan man was also in the thick of the action when his 79th-minute penalty was saved low down to his right by Stillie after Vokes had been pushed by Garry Richards.

Stillie then produced another top-drawer save to beat away Kuffour's effort before referee Russell inexplicably waved away another penalty claim after Simon King had blatantly handled Cooper's cross two minutes from time.