Captain Williams leads Gillingham to victory over Tranmere

Gillingham moved nine points clear of the relegation zone as Shaun Williams and Conor Masterson were the unlikely heroes in their 2-0 home victory over Tranmere.

Stand-in Gills captain Williams, who had only scored once this season prior to kick-off, proved to be an effective attacking outlet for the hosts throughout.

The Irishman had his goal-bound header blocked by team-mate Timothee Dieng early on.

Minutes after he almost connected with Alex MacDonald’s well-taken corner when unmarked in the box, Williams again evaded the Rovers defence to powerfully head home the opener with 32 minutes played.

Rovers have only won away from home twice since mid-October and failed to test Gillingham goalkeeper Glenn Morris at Priestfield Stadium.

Substitute Joel Mumbongo blazed wide from distance to end their best move of the match midway through the second half.

Williams went from scorer to provider seven minutes from time as his low cross was tapped into an empty net by QPR loanee Masterson for only his second goal in league football.