Despite taking a deserved first-half lead against Gillingham this afternoon, Pools lost out 2-1 as Mark Stimpson's side put in a second-half fight back to take all three points, with loan man Dennis Oli at the heart of The Gills victory.

The conditions this afternoon played their part in proceedings a s both sides had to battle the swirling icy wind, as well as the opposition and it took some time to adapt to.

The first fifteen minutes of play was slightly unsettled as neither side really found the opportunity to stamp their authority on the game.

Gillingham had an early chance on goal when loan signing Dennis Oli found himself through on goal but he hit his chipped effort high over the bar and Jan Budtz was largely left to keep himself warm in the freezing conditions.

At the other end, Simon Royce was slightly busier as Pools created a few openings; Ian Moore fired in from just outside the area only for the keeper to collect while James Brown proved a threat on the left wing from the off.

Ali Gibb, taking Brown's position on the right wing, whipped a brilliant low cross into the box from the by-line but his effort went untested as it just missed the out-stretched leg of Richard Barker.

As the game continued to pass from end-to-end, Chris Dickson fired a powerful effort towards goal but fortunately for Pools, Budtz was alert and pulled off a good save to hold the effort.

With twenty-five minutes on the clock, Pools finally took hold of proceedings; a trademark long throw from Ritchie Humphreys on the left wing caused problems for the inexperienced Gills defence.

Michael Nelson, sporting a slight showing of hair on his usually unshaven head, made good use of the new look to head the ball on perfectly into the path of James Brown and the young forward showed a cool head to take the ball down, turn and fire past Royce and into the bottom left hand corner of the net.

Eddie Nolan, making his debut for Pools at right back, settled straight into the action and impressed with come calm, controlled play. The Blackburn man reacted well to power a Stuart Thurgood free kick over the bar and out of danger,

And just minutes later, Nolan was involved as Pools moved forward, threading a great ball down the right wing for Ali Gibb. He took the ball forward to the edge of the box before whipping in another great cross into the box which was met by the head of Barker - only a top-drawer block from Simon Royce prevented it being 2-0 to Pools.

The goal definitely gave Wilson's men confidence as they settled into a more familiar stride and looked to make the scoreline more convincing.

James Brown, who looked at home on that left wing, tried his luck when he curled a shot through the area and towards goal but Royce reacted well once again to hold the effort as Pools finished the first half well on top.

The second half did not start well for Pools as Gillingham equalised within seconds of the re-start in quite untidy fashion. A ball into the box bounced and bobbled its way around the area, aided by the strong wind inside the ground, until it found Dennis Oli who just poked it past Budtz to make it 1-1.

With the bit firmly between the teeth now for The Gills, they went desperately close to taking the lead just minutes later when Craig Stone fired a thunderous strike across the face of goal which scraped narrowly wide of the far post.

Willie Boland, in determined mood this afternoon, tried to smash Pools back into the lead with a volleyed effort from distance but despite getting ever closer to his opening goal of the season, it was not to be for the powerful midfielder today.

Ian Moore saw his shot held well by Royce and Ali Gibb had a great opportunity to hit home from close range when he picked up possession on the right side of the box but Royce blocked when a goal looked a certainty.

As Pools pushed for a second goal while keeping things tight at the back, Nolan once again found himself involved at both ends. The defender rose highest to nod a header at goal which went just over the bar from a corner kick and then made his way to the other end of the pitch to save the day for Wilson's men.

With Budtz caught out of position on the edge of the area, Oli lifted a pacy ball over the top of the Pools defence but just as the ball looked set to roll into the back of an empty net, Nolan made it back just in time to nudge it wide for a corner kick.

But Dennis Oli, on loan from non-League outfit Grays, was to have his day on his debut for Gillingham and when he picked up the ball from a throw in on the left, he powered his way into the box, pushed through the defence and squeezed the ball through two men and just inside Jan Budtz's post to make it 2-1 to the hosts.

As Pools pushed hard in a good spell of pressure, James Brown powered a fierce shot at goal from the left of the area and, although Royce got down to block the shot, the rebound caught Moore off-guard and his shot rolled wide of target.

Jan Budtz made a good save to block from Adam Miller and Ali Gibb did well to block a shot from range from the Gillingham sub asthe hosts enjoyed their own spell of pressure in this end-to-end encounter.

With conditions worsening as the game progressed, Pools failed to find another breakthrough on goal and left the Priestfield Stadium on the back of a 2-1 defeat.

Next up is a difficult Tuesday night clash with Swansea City as Danny Wilson's men look to bounce back and get some more points on the board from what is a difficult period.

Pools: Budtz, Nolan, Nelson, Antwi, Humphreys, Gibb (Foley 78), Boland, McCunnie, Brown, Barker, Moore (Porter 85)

Subs: Elliott, Sweeney, Robson

Gillingham: Royce, Thurgood, Oli (Freeman 82), Bygrave, Griffiths (Miller 53), Bentley, King, Dickson, Clohessy, Stone (Southall 90), Armstrong

Subs: Stillie, Brown