Friendly Fire: Gills 4-2 Colchester

Just seven minutes into the contest Facey opened the scoring for the Gills with a left-footed drive from 15 yards. U's goalkeeper Dean Gurken got a good hand to the shot, but was still beaten by Facey's power.

Gary Mulligan nearly scored an identical second, but again, Gurken managed to palm the shot upwards, this time allowing Danny Granville to clear from under his own crossbar.

Gillingham continued to set the pace, with Aaron Brown looking more confident with every passing minute. The new arrival from Swindon tested Gurken with a stinging drive from 25 yards, before he eventually doubled Gillingham's lead on the stroke of halftime, side-footing home at the far post after good build-up play from Nicky Southall and Mark Bentley on the right.

The second half brought more goals, with Facey making it three with his second goal of the night. The big striker broke clear of John McGreal, who rugby tackled the Gills striker, leaving referee Clive Penton no option but to point to the spot. Thankfully, unlike Saturday's referee Gavin Ward, Penton exercised his common sense and opted not to dismiss the veteran centre half for a clear professional foul. Facey took the kick himself and slammed the ball right-footed into the top right hand corner of the net.

Colchester rallied briefly, and Clive Platt took advantage of some flat-footed defending from substitute Sean Clohessy to reduce the arrears, but it wasn't long before Gillingham re-established their three-goal lead.

A defensive calamity from substitute goalkeeper Cousins gave Gary Mulligan the simplest of chances, which he duly smashed into the net from all of two yards.

Johnnie Jackson got up powerfully above Ian Cox to head a second for Colchester in the dying minutes, but the Gills were comprehensive winners.

Indeed, the crosses provided by Mark Bentley and Aaron Brown created a host of chances which could have made the margin of victory even wider, while at the back, the Gills looked organised, assured and confident.

In midfield, new signing Steve Lomas was impressive, and looks to be the missing piece in the midfield jigsaw for the Gills. Andrew Crofts was allowed more freedom to get forward, while Brown and Bentley were influential figures out wide.

All in all, it was a very encouraging performance as the Gills look to kick off their season at Whaddon Road next weekend.