HARD-TO-BEAT Latics recorded their second goalless draw in a week with a hard-fought point at Gillingham.

The scoreline didn’t tell the whole story in what was a breathless end-to-end encounter.

Speaking of entertainment - and we do speak a lot about it these days under the exciting new regime - there’s a road directly facing The Priestfield Stadium called Redfern Avenue.

Not spelt the same as the Latics legend I know, but strolling up to the ground here in deepest Kent, I still couldn’t help but think of THAT penalty against Sheffield Wednesday in 1991 which crowned Athletic champions of the old second division. Great days.

Back then, on bright afternoons at least, baseball caps for goalkeepers were commonplace. As the sun shone down on the ground here, a visor wouldn’t have gone amiss. It really was cracking the flags – a far cry from the light covering of snow left behind in Oldham.

Richie Wellens made one change to the side which drew 0-0 with AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday. As expected, Dan Gardner returned from suspension at the expense of Paul Green in the engine room.

There were a couple of familiar faces in the Gillingham line-up with former Latics strikers Conor Wilkinson and Tom Eaves leading the line.

Although it was The Gills who started the brighter of the two in the very early stages – goalkeeper Johny Placide was forced to come racing out of his box and show some fancy footwork to clear – it was the visitors who fashioned the first real chance when a neat Eoin Doyle lay-off found Craig Davies, but his shot was saved.

Placide was called into action again at the other end, this time saving superbly from skipper Lee Martin following a mazy run down the left. Josh Parker followed up to meet the rebound, but his effort was deflected wide for a corner.

It would turn out to be Martin’s last contribution as he was carried off on a stretcher following a lengthy stoppage when Kean Bryan’s clearance accidentally smacked him full in the face.

Centre-back Bryan was heavily involved all afternoon as he had his hands full with powerful frontman Eaves every time the Gills foraged forward. The tall ex-Latics striker has really filled out into a strong unit. Wilkinson is no titch either.

Latics were causing problems of their own though, none more so than when Doyle latched on to a loose ball just outside the box and hit a rasping shot which swerved in mid-air to almost wrongfoot Tomas Holy in the home goal who recovered well to save. Divine intervention.

Doyle and Davies were making the Gillingham back three visibly nervous each time the ball was played into them. And no wonder. “Double D” must be the most dangerous strike pairing in League One.

Two penalty claims came and went during NINE minutes of first-half stoppage time. First, Jack Byrne ran into a defender as he attempted to wriggle free inside the box. Nothing doing. Gillingham thought Wilkinson was caught late by Bryan inside the Athletic penalty area soon after. Again, the referee said no.

Placide went down smartly to save from Gills midfielder Mark Byrne at the start of the second half after his run across the box appeared to be going nowhere. And when Eaves broke free after collecting a Wilkinson flick-on, Bryan did just about enough to block the shot.

As has been said of Athletic many times already this season, Gillingham themselves were putting in a performance belying their lowly league position. They simply couldn’t take their chances.

Eaves and Jack Hessenthaler were next to try their luck from range before Eaves again received the ball in a good position inside the box only to send his effort skywards. Josh Parker did the same moments later. His toe-bunged attempt was higher, if not wider and slightly less handsome.

The best chance of the match fell to Latics substitute Queensy Menig who, with his first touch of the game, jinked his way through the Gills’ defence, rounded the ’keeper and shot towards the net. For all the world it was a goal – until out of nowhere Mark Byrne slid in at the last moment to clear off the line.

Another Menig run down the left resulted in the Dutchman cutting inside onto his right foot - as instructed by Wellens - before placing a delicate effort over the crossbar.

Just as the Gillingham defence had looked nervy around Davies and Doyle, they must have been absolutely petrified at the sight of Menig running at them with pace late on.

Menig tends to drift in and out of games but when he has the ball at his feet and moves with real athleticism, it’s frightening.

Despite their obvious threat, it didn’t quite come off for Athletic, or indeed, their hosts. Steve Lovell's troops came within a whisker of a late winner when Luke O’Neill's free kick was somehow pushed onto the crossbar by Placide stretching every sinue to get to the top corner in added time.

There were incredibly strong performances throughout this industrious Latics side - Fane was fearless and Gardner gargantuan - but THAT unbelievable stop almost defied physics. A standing ovation for the Haitian.

LATICS (4-4-2): Placide 9, Dummigan 7, Gerrard (cpt) 7, Bryan 7, Hunt 7; Fane 8, Gardner 7 (Green 68, 6), Byrne 7, Nepomuceno 7 (Menig 64, 7); Davies 7 (Amadi-Holloway 58, 6), Doyle 7. Subs (not used): Ben Wilson, Brian Wilson, Clarke, Obadeyi. Booked: Gardner, Gerrard, Bryan.

Gillingham (3-5-2): Holy, O’Neill, Zakuani, Ogilvie; Hessenthaler, Martin (Wagstaff 19), Parker (List 80), Clare, Byrne; Eaves, Wilkinson. Subs: Arnold, Ehmer, Nugent, Chapman, Cundle. Booked: Byrne.

Attendance: 4,364 (229 away).