BURNLEY'S players may have let themselves down at Molineux on Sunday but they left the Priestfield Stadium last night with their heads held high.

It was always going to be a difficult night for the team after the tragic death of assistant manager Sam Ellis's son the previous day.

As a mark of respect the players wore black armbands but they also wore their hearts on their sleeves as they dug deep to earn a deserved point and end a run of four successive away defeats.

Like at Wolves two days earlier Burnley quickly found themselves with a mountain to climb, despite making the better start. With Glen Little back in the starting line-up, linking well with the also recalled Dean West down the right, Burnley began brightly and Paul Weller might have given them an early lead if he had tried a first time shot from West's cross instead of attempting to control the ball.

But when the Gills scored from their first and second serious attacks, the first a gift, the second a sharp finish, it looked certain to be another away setback.

Nik Michopoulos has made some fine saves this season but he has also made a number of costly errors, not least in the eighth minute last night.

Nayworth Nodsworthy's low cross should have been held but he palmed it on to the foot of Simon Osborn who hammered it home for his first goal for Gillingham.

Seven minutes later from their first corner David Perpetuini hit a low shot through a crowd of players and Guy Ipoua flicked the ball past the Greek stopper.

Being two down so early on is bad enough at the best of times but given the black cloud that had descended over the team's preparations it was obvious that a superb team effort would be required to get anything from the game.

And that is what they produced.

With Little revelling in a roving role and pulling most of the strings the Clarets worked their way back into the match with a series of excellent passing moves.

Few were better than the combination down the left involving Lee Briscoe, Little and Ian Moore in the 22nd minute which ended with Little getting to the by-line and pulling back a cross that was crying out to be converted. Sadly, with the goal at his mercy, Moore volleyed wide.

Moore had already failed to capitalise on a mistake by the Gills goalkeeper Vince Bartram when he dropped Gareth Taylor's header and those misses summed up the way it has been going for Moore in recent weeks and he is stuck on the four goal mark for the season. That was also true of his strike partner Gareth Taylor, at least until the 32nd minute when he rose at the far post to power home a header from West's excellent cross.

It was a goal that the Clarets both needed and deserved and it set them up for the second half when they went in search of an equaliser.

Little and West combined in the 48th minute but Moore's weak header drifted wide but four minutes later they were level. Almost inevitably Little was involved as his cross from the right struck Perpetuini on his left arm and the assistant referee awarded the spot kick.

Paul Cook looked to be ready to take the penalty but he was jocked off by Little who was determined to finish what he had started. Three seasons ago he recorded his best ever goals tally with five in 34 games but when he slotted the ball past Vince Bartram he equalled that total by the end of October - and having missed a few games into the bargain.

Now it really was game on and within five minutes Burnley should have been trailing again. Osborn's trough ball deserved a better finish than that produced by Ipoua who slid the ball wide of Michopoulos's left hand post.

But the big striker was the chief threat to Burnley and birthday boy Steve Davis had to produce a couple of fine tackles to keep him out while Michopoulos partially atoned for his earlier error with a good save late in the game.

Having dominated the middle period of the match the Clarets had to withstand a late onslaught from the Gills but they were not going to give up the point they had worked so hard to win.

With Davis and Ian Cox in dominant form, the latter winning umpteen headers throughout the night, they kept Gillingham at bay and could even have nicked all three points in the 89th minute.

Once again it was a West cross that caused the problems and when Bartram missed the ball Little looked to have a chance to seal victory. The ball seemed to get tangled in his feet and the chance was gone leaving both sides with a point and probably the right result on the night.

Stan Ternent used all three of his subs, including a first appearance in the first team this season for Lennie Johnrose, and he also saw four more yellow cards for his players - Cox, Davis, Briscoe and Taylor the booked players.

But given all the circumstances it was an outstanding team effort and one that should be a source of pride for all concerned.

RESULT:

Gillingham... 2

Osborn 8, Ipoua 15

Burnley... 2

Taylor 32, Little pen 52

Attendance...8,067 at Priestfield Stadium