Brought on in the 74th minute, Maher was sent off only three minutes later for a strong tackle on Simon King, but the home side were unable to capitalise.
With Yeovil having suffered two successive 3-0 defeats and Gillingham hovering just above the relegation zone, it was difficult to say which side needed a win the most.
The opening exchanges gave a clear indication as to the lack of confidence in both sides, with some tidy midfield play culminating in a disappointing final pass or cross.
Yeovil's Jaime Peters went close on 11 minutes when his shot from the edge of the area deflected off a Gills defender for a corner.
But the home side looked brighter going forward, with Leroy Griffiths' physical presence causing probblems, and three minutes before half-time Terry Skiverton's sliced clearance from Adam Miller's free-kick almost had the Gills in front, but missed the far post by a matter of inches.
Shortly after the break, Griffiths' strike partner Delroy Facey found himself in space and curled a speculative effort from 20 yards just over Scott Flinders' crossbar.
Ten minutes later, Griffiths narrowly failed to hook the ball over Flinders from Miller's cross as the Gills continued to threaten.
Despite these chances, it appeared that a breakthrough would come from a set-piece and once again it was the Miller-Skiverton combination that almost contrived to give Gillingham the lead, when the centre-half headed against his own post in the 72nd minute from another Miller free-kick.
Two minutes later referee Darren Deadman showed no hesitation in brandishing a red card to substitute Maher for his tackle on King to leave the visitors hanging on.
But despite a late appeal for a penalty, Gillingham were unable to break down Yeovil's watertight defence.