Bradley Dack's second-half strike gave struggling Gillingham a second victory in a week as they beat Oldham Athletic in a five-goal thriller this afternoon.

The Gills, who needed three goals in the final 10 minutes last week to beat Coventry City, made a rapid start as John Marquis burst towards goal before his low drive found the bottom corner of Paul Rachubka's net.

In the 14th minute Marquis was on hand to double the Gills' lead when he took advantage of Brian Wilson's mistake, before unleashing another low shot that the Oldham keeper was unable to reach.

However, the Latics' fortunes appeared to change when they were awarded a penalty following Dack's foul on Danny Philliskirk.

Philliskirk dusted himself down to take the spot kick, but saw his effort stopped by Stuart Nelson. However, Liam Kelly reacted fastest to the rebound to pull a goal back on 20 minutes.

By the 23rd minute Oldham completed the turnaround thanks to a fierce strike from Dominic Poleon, who drove the ball into the roof of the net.

Josh Pritchard went close to restoring the Gills' lead, while Michael Jones was inches away from giving the Latics a half-time advantage.

The hosts, still without a manager since the sacking of Peter Taylor last month, managed to edge ahead again with 20 minutes to go after Oldham failed to clear from a corner and Dack's sweetly-timed volley beat Rachubka.

Oldham threatened to score a late equaliser with Kelly and Jacob Mellis both squandering opportunities for the Lancashire club, but Gillingham were able to see out the remaining minutes to register a victory that pulls them four points clear of the relegation zone.