Gillingham 1 Shrewsbury Town 1

Match 82/13/1108 - Saturday, 3rd May 2014 - League One

Gillingham (0) 1 Barrett 70
Shrewsbury Town (0) 1 Miller 86
Att. 7,634

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: Sold Out
Mileage: 45/7,823

Match Report

The final game of the 2013-14 season pretty much summed up Gillingham’s season, frustrating. Despite the extraordinarily large attendance, 7,634, the game felt like a pre-season friendly with neither club having anything left to play for. The pitch looked great, the sun shone and the players went about their business mostly at half pace. It seemed the only difference was the substitutions were limited to three each.

One of those substitutions brought the heartwarming moment of the afternoon when Matt Fish became a 52nd minute substitution for an injured Leon Legge, bringing to an end nine months on the sidelines following his cruciate ligament injury in the very first game.

A second pleasing moment came pre-match when the honoured legend, [Sir] Keith Peacock, was given a rousing reception from all corners of Priestfield Stadium.

Gillingham, almost certainly, deserved to take the three points against a relegated Shrewsbury Town side and enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession. Joe Martin brought a good save from Joe Anyon following a well hit free kick whilst Stuart Nelson was called into action to make a good stop from a Luke Summerfield free kick.

The best chances of the half fell to leading scorer Cody McDonald in the five minutes leading up to the break. A superbly worked move ended with the striker hitting a post and a couple of minutes later, sent clear by Adebayo Akinfenwa, McDonald’s first touch took him too wide and the attack petered out.

Two chances in the 70th minute eventually gave the home side the lead. Danny Kedwell’s initial effort was cleared from the line before Jake Hessenthaler retrieved the ball and chipped a cross to the head of Adam Barrett who firmly planted a header into the net.

Gillingham had their chances to put the game beyond doubt, Bradley Dack brought a fine save from Anyon; Fish and Chris Whelpdale also saw efforts turned over by the keeper, before, frustratingly, Shrewsbury broke away and Shaun Miller headed home from close range a Joe Jacobsen cross to delight the near 200 travelling support, a fine effort from them to support a relegated club.

As the curtain fell on another season at Priestfield it was time to reflect on the past nine months with a series of questions self-answered.

At the start of the season would I have accepted 17th place? Without a doubt, I never bought into Martin Allen's assertion that he was building a side that would smash League One. It was a much tougher division than the one we left four years ago with some massive clubs (Wolves, Preston, Bristol City and Sheffield United) in comparison to Gillingham.

Would I have guessed that we would end the season without Martin Allen? Certainly did not see that one coming last August. At the time of his sacking, despite the desperately poor start, I thought he had earned the right to time having won the League Two title the previous season. But rumours of player unrest and a style of football that wasn't easy on the eye made it less of a surprise when it happened.

Have things changed for the better under Peter Taylor? Not totally, but he has fulfilled his mandate, that of keeping Gillingham in League One. The squad, in principle, is the one that Taylor inherited and if the football is any more pleasing, it is very marginal. But, having achieved the initial objective, I would hope that in the next couple of days he is announced as manager with a contract that enables him to build a team in his image and not that of his predecessor. This will not cut much ice with a section of the support that hasn’t taken to him and want him removed right now.

A season of not too many highs and far too many lows. The win at Sheffield United, sandwiched between the FA Cup games against Brackley produced both ends of the scale in a matter of days. The win over Wolves, despite being over-run for much of the game, was special in that it was quite unbelievable considering the run that the eventual champions went on after losing at Priestfield. Home wins against Coventry and Swindon were good days, whilst dreadful performances at Colchester and Stevenage highlighted the inconsistency. Thankfully, for myself, I didn’t suffer the humiliation that was Brisbane Road. The home game against Rotherham was a great game of football, but, of course, Gillingham lost it.

Who might we not see back at Priestfield next season? Get Stuart Nelson and Danny Kedwell under contract pretty damn quick and after that, within Taylor's budget constraints, I can see a mass exodus of players. The emergence of Jake Hessenthaler and Bradley Dack are huge bonuses and one would hope that both are given much greater prominence next term.

What would be considered a success next season? Progress. This might be considered another season of consolidation, but if Gillingham were to have a season when they head towards the top half of the table without looking over their shoulders at the relegation places, then I would consider this success of a relative nature.

Well folks, that's it for another season. I suppose I'm left to reflect that this season has been a frustrating one from the point of view of the clubs that this blog follows. To add to Gillingham's season already detailed, Tonbridge's relegation and Tunbridge Wells' failure to achieve promotion when highly fancied were big disappointments. Another frustration was the weather and three months of postponements, never quite knowing where I was going to end up on a Saturday afternoon, but this contributed in the end to the variety of fixtures that I've managed to attend this season. Roll on June 18th, release date for the Football League fixtures when the planning for 2014-15 begins.

Lifetime match total: 2,359
Number of grounds: 257

Gillingham 2 Tranmere Rovers 0

Match 77/13/1103 - Good Friday, 18th April 2014 - League One

Gillingham (0) 2 Dack 78, McDonald 90
Tranmere Rovers (0) 0
Att. 7,343

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 45/7,323

Match Report

Gillingham finally crossed the line that, in all but mathematical terms, assured their safety as a League One club for next season. While I have maintained that 48 points would probably have been enough, I’m as relieved as the next person that the 50 point barrier has been broken.

After last week’s catastrophic defeat at Leyton Orient when they were four goals behind in the first 35 minutes, Gillingham owed their suffering fans a performance, and whilst they did not exactly deliver on that score, the win would have been compensation enough for most supporters.

With one home game remaining, I’ll for the most part leave the reviewing of the season for that particular game but it is worth relating the thoughts of not only me but other supporters regarding the future of Peter Taylor and opinion remains fairly divided.

The vast majority, whether they want Taylor retained or otherwise, accept that, having achieved the objective of avoiding the drop, he will be offered the job on a longer-term contract (probably two years). In my opinion this is nothing more than he deserves. He took over in a difficult situation with almost everybody considering that Mr Scally had been a touch trigger-happy in his decision to remove Martin Allen, who still held a groundswell of support following the championship winning season and believing that he had earned more time.

The road has been far from straightforward for Taylor. Those that would have remembered his first reign at the club would have expected a style of football that would be more pleasing on the eye than that of Allen, but that has largely not happened. Whether the players have been unable to adapt to a more expansive style or whether it was the circumstance of needing points on the board, the style has not really improved to any great degree.

Taylor now should be afforded a summer in which I’m sure will see a complete overhaul of the playing personnel. There are a lot of players out of contract and the vast majority of those will fear the exit door. I would hope that Stuart Nelson (my player of the year) and Danny Kedwell would quickly be offered terms for the new season but beyond them I can see reasons why all of the others may not be retained. The trick, of course, is that new players brought in by Taylor are better than the ones going out.

Kids for a Quid boosted the attendance to above 7,000 but the atmosphere became nervous as the first half progressed without the home side finding an early lead. Gillingham began strongly, Charlie Lee brought a save in the opening minute and Steven Gregory missing the target in the opening three minutes but it took until a couple of minutes before the break for an Adebayo Akinfenwa header to bring a meaningful save out of Fon Williams in the Tranmere goal. In the final act of the half, a ball over the top was latched onto by the burly striker whose chip over the advancing Williams drifted marginally wide.

The second half was very much Tranmere’s in the opening stages, they were in even more desperate need of the points than the home club. The veteran midfielder, Jason Koumas brought a save from Nelson and Akpa Akpro also tested the home custodian.

On 65 minutes, Bradley Dack was introduced to replace Lee and five minutes later Danny Kedwell returned to the fray following a long period on the side-lines replacing Akinfenwa. Both were to make a major impression on the game.

Kedwell sent McDonald clear but his shot was saved at the near post before good work on the left side by Joe Martin whose cross was met with a volley from Dack that whistled into the top corner despite the attentions of a defender on the post who could only help the ball into the net. The shot was perfectly executed by the youngster, who signed a new four-year contract this week, unfortunately, his shirt removal in celebration brought the obligatory booking.

As the time and the game ebbed away from the visitors, they earned a corner and Fon Williams fancied a Jimmy Glass moment and left his goal to take his place in the opposing penalty area. The corner was delivered not too far from his head but the ball broke to McDonald who sprinted clear with the goal at his mercy. Ignoring the screams of shoot from the paying public he took the ball to within 30 yards and then fired into the empty net to seal the points and Gillingham’s League One survival.

Gillingham 3 Rotherham United 4

Match 73/13/1099 - Saturday, 5th April 2014 - League One

Gillingham (1) 3 Akinfenwa 30, Weston 57, Dack 83
Rotherham United (1) 4 Agard 1, Hitchcock 69,85,90+3
Att. 6,027

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 45/6,814

Match Report

Given Steve Evans’ penchant for involving the police whenever something is uttered that might mock his ever-expanding girth, his Celtic birthright or the mere fact that he is not considered a particularly nice person, I’m obliged to exercise a certain amount of caution for fear that the local constabulary are going to knock down the front door in the middle of night with one of those ramming tools.

Let’s get it straight from the outset. Evans is a manager that requires a club with ambition and a surplus of cash in relation to the division in which his plies his trade. Give him both and you have a damn good manager on your hands who is going to bring you a dividend on your investment.

What he also brings is an abrasive nature that must lend itself to every Rotherham away game being contested in a cauldron of hate and acrimony. Personally, I cannot believe that Gillingham and their fans are the only club that has an issue with the man.

The shame is that the distraction masks the performances of a really good Rotherham United side. Many people would, and certainly should, have walked away from Priestfield disappointed that they had seen their team lose a fiercely contested match, but also being magnanimous in their praise of their opponents. But, unfortunately, the conversation ends back with the touchline behaviour of Mr Evans and his later involvement with the police following the claims of racist chanting.

Is Steve Evans really that thin-skinned? If you dish it, take it, but perhaps that’s an out-dated virtue.

Amongst a game that produced an absolute thriller it was appropriate that a player called Hitchcock took centre stage.

Rotherham arrived in Kent on a run of 15 games without defeat and without a Gillingham player touching the ball they were in front after just 13 seconds. A long ball forward was headed into the path of Nicky Adams whose low, driven cross was turned into the net by Kieran Agard for his 21st goal of the season. It was a stunning blow for the home side and one that took 20 minutes or so to recover from before beginning to get a foothold in the game. In the meantime, Lee Frecklington was brought down in the box for what looked suspiciously like a penalty, sparking a first rant from our good friend on the touchline.

When Gillingham failed to return the ball following an injury, Mr Evans was once more to his feet this time confronting Gillingham’s manager, Peter Taylor.

If this match exposed a flaw that might deny the Millers a promotion place it would be in the shape of some poor defending, not that that was limited to the visitors.

After half-an-hour a flighted free-kick to the far post from Bradley Dack was headed back across the face of the goal and into the net by Adebayo Akinfenwa, a simple goal for which questions would have to be asked.

Gillingham turned the game on its head 12 minutes into the second half when a long ball forward from Elliott Hewitt saw Myles Weston outpace his marker and shoot past Adam Collin with a good finish. Weston again tested Collin five minutes later but this time the goalkeeper was equal to the task.

Rotherham benefited from a stroke of good fortune after 68 minutes when a speculative shot from Richard Smallwood turned into the perfect pass and Tom Hitchcock, a 60th minute substitute, coolly placed his shot beyond the hands of Stuart Nelson.

The game took on the mantle of a basketball match as each side took turns at attacking each other and Gillingham’s turn on 83 minutes appeared to have sealed an epic victory. Kari Arnasen dithered on the ball on the edge of his box and was robbed by Dack, who, with Collin advancing, exquisitely executed a lob over the keeper and into the net. It was a goal worthy of winning the match, but Hitchcock’s involvement in this thriller was far from over.

Within two minutes, a ball aimlessly headed forward got tangled under the feet of Adam Barratt and whilst he decided which foot was which, the ball was presented to Hitchcock for an easy finish.

Six minutes of added time were met with a collective groan as Priestfield sensed what was about to happen next, and so it did. Rotherham piled forward in search of the winner and with three of the minutes having elapsed, an overhead kick into the box fell at the feet of Hitchcock and with a sublime collection of the ball he deftly lobbed Nelson to produce heartbreak for Gillingham but absolute ecstasy for the 400 Millers’ supporters behind the goal.

A wonderfully entertaining game had brought a couple of horrendous pieces of defending and two finishes that were a fantastic advertisement for League One football. It is such a shame that, once more, the fixture is about Steve Evans and not the fine football teams that he puts on the park.

Gillingham 1 Crewe Alexandra 3

Match 69/13/1095 - Saturday, 22nd March 2014 - League One

Gillingham (1) 1 Linganzi 30
Crewe Alexandra (1) 3 Aneke 4, 53 Pogba 83
Att. 5,767

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 45/6,665

Match Report

There is a time, around the last couple of weeks in April when, with 50-plus points on the board, a player, or players, can possibly be forgiven for parking a deck chair and saying “my work is done”; that time is certainly not in March and certainly not with 45 points to the club’s name. Gillingham’s performance against Crewe Alexandra smacked of, almost stank of, complacency, whilst their visitors, in desperate need of points in their own relegation fight, went about their business with a team whose elder statesman was just 25 years of age.

Let’s not beef Crewe Alexandra up to be anything they presently are not. To start with, they looked a side that has shipped 70 goals this season and in their 19-year-old goalkeeper, Ben Garratt, they had a custodian who looked vulnerable under every high cross that Gillingham managed to plant into his six-yard box, unfortunately it wasn’t too many. This was also a Crewe team that arrived at Priestfield without arguably their best player, Harry Davis, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

But although we looked down at Alex’s lowly position and pinned the three points on the board in advance (I was as guilty as anyone), we should have known better as this was Crewe's fourth successive victory at Priestfield.

Another case in point, which I highlighted a couple of weeks ago at Bristol City, Crewe had a couple of loan players in their ranks who seemed, not only in terms of physical height, head and shoulders above the standard of player Gillingham have been able to recruit from the loan market. Two-goal Chuks Aneke borrowed from Arsenal and Uche Ikpeazu from Watford were a handful throughout. In fact, given the need for a back-up striker to Olivier Giroud at the Emirates, one wonders if the answer is already in their midst, but, of course, it’s mighty leap from League One to the Premiership.

Gillingham started lethargically, were punished by a fourth minute goal and it set their tempo for the entire match. Ikpeazu powered his way down the right hand side and crossed into the box, after a shot that was blocked the ball fell at the feet of Aneke and he cleverly lifted the ball over the diving body of Stuart Nelson. Gillingham claims that the ball had struck the hand of the initial striker, Anthony Grant, were waved away by referee, Stephen Bratt.

Gillingham forced their way back into the game and the first signs of fallibility under the high ball from Garratt came three minutes later when under a challenge from Adebayo Akinfenwa, the keeper flapped at a cross that fell at the feet of Michael Harriman who fired into the empty net, but Mr Bratt’s whistle had blown for the initial aerial challenge.

After 30 minutes, Garratt’s luck finally ran out as a corner from Elliott Hewitt to the far post was met with a header from Amine Linganzi to record his first goal for the club. Garratt was also involved in an incident just prior to the break when he appeared to handle the ball outside of the penalty area but the linesman decided in the young man’s favour.

Although the first half had not been good from a Gillingham point of view, it was felt there was more than enough in the tank to see them to victory in the second period. Sadly, from a home perspective the half was a complete non-event.

Eight minutes after the restart Grant and Matt Tootle combined to open up the Gillingham back line and Tootle’s cross was superbly met by Aneke who powered a header past Nelson.

Crewe could and should have put the game to bed long before Matthias Pogba, brother of Juventus’ Paul, placed the deftest of flicks past Nelson to seal the points on 82 minutes. Ikpeazu burst into the box and although his pass was slightly behind Pogba, the goalscorer manufactured a classy piece of footwork to score.

Crewe’s elation with three vital points would have been slightly tempered on the bus home with the pointless dismissal of Grant in the final minutes. Two bookings in the space of a couple of minutes, for time-wasting and dissent saw him on his way to a suspension that Crewe could do without as Grant had been one of their better players on the day.

Perhaps the only positive point that Gillingham fans could take away from the afternoon is that if complacency was at the root of this disappointing display then, hopefully, the players would have had a very rude awakening.

From a personal point of view, this was a big Saturday for my favoured clubs. As stated above a win for Gillingham would have all but sealed their safety; Tonbridge were involved in a relegation six-pointer at Whitehawk and Tunbridge Wells, a promotion six-pointer against Ashford. To my despair, all three lost.

Gillingham 4 Coventry City 2

Match 66/13/1093 - Tuesday, 11th March 2014 - League One

Gillingham (1) 4 Akinfenwa 25, 75 (2 Pens) Weston 56
Hessenthaler 90
Coventry City (0) 2 Wilson 53 (pen) Baker 80 (pen)
Att. 5,447

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/6,568

Match Report

One lesson you quickly learn on donning the Gillingham scarf for the first time is that you are embarking on a lifetime supporting a club that doesn’t know how to do things easy. Closing in on 40 years with the club nothing changes and to be honest, I’m glad it doesn’t.

So it was that, whilst this match against Coventry City produced the most thrilling of games, it was one in which had Peter Taylor the luxury of a sofa in his technical area he would have been hiding behind it as a professionals version of a horror story unfolded before his eyes.

Six goals, four of them penalties all converted which could quite possibly be a record, a sending-off, seven bookings, this match had everything and a little bit more, that little bit more being supplied by a quite outstanding first goal for Gillingham by Jake Hessenthaler.

This win gives Gillingham the breathing space which allows me risking severe egg on the face in a few weeks’ time, but I firmly believe that they are safe from relegation this season. Sure enough, a few more points are required but I’m convinced they will be attained.

Taylor has as many detractors as fans among the Priestfield support, but he will get a longer contract in the summer and a team can be rebuilt in his image on which he will stand or fall. In my opinion he has earned that opportunity.

This was not a match that I had budgeted three points for, but with Coventry coming to Kent on the back of three successive away defeats, the opportunity was there to be taken.

Gillingham took the lead after 25 minutes when Cody McDonald eventually wriggled clear of City central defender, Dan Seaborne, only to be wrestled to the ground to earn a penalty and a red card for the visitor's captain.

In the absence of Danny Kedwell, Adebayo Akinfenwa stepped up to subtly roll the ball into the corner sending Joe Murphy in the opposite direction. Bayo's not in the Kedwell school of thought on the art of spot kicks. Different style, same result is all that matters.

Just prior to the break, McDonald was on the end of header at the near post from Leon Legge to plant a header of his own into net only for a linesman's flag to deny him a goal against his former employers. The striker is in the midst of a goal drought at present and his persistent running at the Coventry back line deserved a goal on the night.

The first half had been interesting, but it hadn't prepared the crowd for the second half that was about to explode in action.

Going back to my point earlier that Gillingham never do easy, as is almost the norm when the opposition go down to ten men, Gillingham make heavy weather of their personnel advantage. Eight minutes into the second half and Coventry were on level terms courtesy of a penalty of their own. A long ball from John Fleck sent Callum Wilson down the left hand side and as he approached the bye-line he was needlessly fouled by Legge to concede the penalty that was duly despatched by Wilson himself.

The parity was to last only three minutes when a long throw from Charlie Lee was headed across the face of goal by Legge to, of all people, Myles Weston, who looped a header over Murphy from around eight yards. Weston is the butt of much criticism and a more unlikely scorer with his head you would be hard put to name, but this was an unlikely night.

On 75 minutes, Gillingham appeared to have made the game safe, with the aid of a strange refereeing decision. McDonald was brought down on the right side of the box by Jordan Clarke, but as the ball ran to Akinfenwa, the referee allowed advantage, the big man put his shot wide and then the referee pointed to the spot. Bayo placed his spot kick in the same manner as his first to put Gillingham 3-1 up.

Peter Taylor must take a lot of credit for the way he has time-managed Akinfenwa since his arrival. It is no secret that Bayo cannot make 90 minutes and certainly is going to struggle to play two full games in four days, but Taylor uses him to the maximum amount of time possible and the striker responds in kind. In the single art of collecting a ball with his back to the goal and bringing others into play, I cannot think of anybody better in my entire time watching the club.

The nothing comes easy tag was brought to bear once more with 10 minutes remaining when Mr Sheldrake awarded a fourth penalty of the game. Wilson, latching onto a pass that had been headed forward got between Legge and Adam Barrett and the former conceded his second penalty of the night that was coolly despatched by Carl Baker.

It had already been the game that had everything and one that would live in the memory but it wasn't finished yet. With Gillingham struggling to run down the clock as time added on was entered, Hewitt punted a long forward ball that had McDonald once more scampering after it. Joe Murphy ventured fully 30 yards from his goal to head clear, but only into the path of Jake Hessenthaler. The 19-year-old advanced a few yards, with the crowd bellowing "shoot" and the keeper in no-man's land, he let fly from 40 yards and everybody watched in amazement as the ball entered the unguarded net via the underside of the crossbar. If young Jake goes on to score a 100 or even 200 goals no one is ever going to forget his first.

The final whistle brought to a close a mad, memorable night and one that has gone a long way to ensuring League One football next season. Who needs easy when it can be this exciting!

Gillingham 1 Crawley Town 0

Match 65/13/1092 - Saturday, 8th March 2014 - League One

Gillingham (0) 1 Lee 88
Crawley Town (0) 0
Att. 5,973

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/6,523

Match Report

Football is all about results and no amount of discussion changes the scoreline that is published in the Sunday newspapers. But opinion is what gives the game its lasting appeal, if we had to take any result at face value, the pubs would be a lot quieter and Gary Lineker wouldn’t have a job in the media (there is a downside to opinion). It was my opinion, on this particular game, that almost appeared to be at odds with the world as I took to social media on Saturday evening.

The heavy majority posting on Twitter and Facebook were thankful for the three points attained by Gillingham but felt that they were very lucky to have done so. I’m not denying that Crawley crafted the greater amount of clear cut chances and with a striker on the pitch, Matt Tubbs, who had scored six goals in six games since returning to the club, they should surely have scored from one of those. But looking at the statistics (and stats, as we know, can be tailored to reflect your point of view) Gillingham lost the shots on goal total by 14-15, whilst shots on target were in favour of the home side by 6-3. Further, Stuart Nelson, albeit that he needed the aide of Jake Hessenthaler’s goal line clearance on one occasion, was only asked to make one comfortable save low to his right from Tubbs in the 53rd minute, while his counterpart, Paul Jones made four sprawling saves to deny Joe Pigott, Craig Fagan and Cody McDonald on two occasions. I rest my case that Gillingham were not particularly lucky and deserved something from the game, if not the full quota of points.

My detractors will quite rightly point to two terrible misses from Jamie Proctor, who shot high into the assembled support from West Sussex from no more than three yards and a header steered wide by Billy Clarke when it seemed easier to score.

Crawley, whose Broadfield Stadium has seen a plethora of postponements leaving them five fixtures behind most clubs, came into the game on a run of seven games without defeat whilst Gillingham, three successive defeats behind them, were looking anxiously over their shoulders at the relegation spots.

The first half was a tight affair in which Crawley undoubtedly held sway. The best chance fell to Proctor who having been sent clear down the left, fired a shot across the face of goal that narrowly went wide of the far post with Tubbs sliding in, failing to make contact.

Jones made his first save of the second half on 55 minutes when he dived low to his right to push away a shot from Pigott from the edge of the box and produced a similar save on 66 minutes when Fagan curled a shot towards the far post. In between those efforts, McDonald was set free by Fagan and, having wriggled his way past the lumbering challenge of Kyle McFadzean, his shot was once more parried to safety by Jones.

The wastefulness of Proctor and Clarke came back to haunt them when, with two minutes remaining, a corner from Hessenthaler was headed back across the face of the goal by Leon Legge to Charlie Lee, a 81st minute substitute for Fagan, who, with not the greatest contact he will ever make, shot into the net from around five yards.

This was a vitally important win for Gillingham. It lifts them six points above the drop zone and IF (deliberate emphasis) they can win their home games against teams below them in the table, then that should be enough to ensure their safety.

John Gregory, the Crawley manager, called the result a travesty and that his side should have won the game by three or four-nil. It’s all a matter of opinion, John.

Gillingham 0 Sheffield United 1

Match 59/13/1086 - Wednesday, 19th February 2014 - League One

Gillingham (0) 0
Sheffield United (1) 1 Coady 40
Att. 5,766

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,883

Match Report

It’s after games like this that I appreciate that real journalists, although in the privileged position of being paid to watch football, have a real skill in producing even 500 words when they have watched a game as desperately poor as the one witnessed at Priestfield last night. Consequently, I cannot imagine this post is going to amount to very much!

Gillingham’s win-lose sequence now totals eight games and should this continue to the end of the season more than enough points would be accumulated to avoid relegation. That’s the good news.

The referee, Brendan Malone, drew the wrath of the Gillingham support with some questionable decisions but nobody should hide behind the fact that it was a poor performance that was the ultimate reason why the home club didn’t complete a double over Sheffield United, perceived as one of the big clubs of the division despite their lowly league position and quarter-finalists in this year’s FA Cup.

Gillingham started the game brightly and the new loanee centre back from Crystal Palace, Ryan Inniss found himself the centre of the action. It was another loan player, Connor Smith that fired in the first shot of the match after four minutes that was saved by Blades’ Mark Howard and three minutes later Inniss shot across the face of the goal missing the far post very narrowly.

Mr Malone had already turned away a couple of appeals for penalties when the Sheffield United central defender, Neill Collins wrestled Cody McDonald to the ground as the in-form striker threatened to get clear of his marker; however Malone interpreted the challenge, simulation on the part of McDonald or just two players coming together, only he knows. Gillingham fans will remain convinced he got it wrong and it proved to be a pivotal point in the game.

Five minutes before the break Sheffield United took a largely undeserved lead. With Inniss lying off the pitch injured a couple of yard to the right of the post, Gillingham’s defence went into disarray. A shot from Chris Porter came back off the underside of the crossbar to Connor Coady who rifled a controlled low shot into the net to the delight of the 351 Blades fans behind the goal. Inniss was immediately substituted and we hope that after 40 encouraging minutes this is not the last we see of him.

The second half is where it becomes difficult to write up and can be best described as a non-event. In fairness to Sheffield United, they did everything they needed to see the game out and acquire three precious points in their quest for safety. They controlled the midfield as the home side were, quite frankly, clueless in their attempts to break the visitors down. Peter Taylor introduced Chris Whelpdale and Myles Weston, but things just went from bad to worse. Amine Linganzi, Bradley Dack and Leon Legge had efforts that were dealt with comfortably by Howard whilst Dack was required to clear from the line following a shot from John Brayford as the home support became increasingly, and understandably, frustrated. The game meandered to its conclusion and it was something of a relief when Mr Malone put everybody out of their misery.

Envy is all I have for the hacks at the Emirates that were able to describe two missed penalties, a sending off and a couple of goals that appear to have cemented Bayern Munich’s passage in the Champions League. Their jobs, on the night, must have been really, really easy.

Gillingham 3 Port Vale 2

Match 55/13/1082 - Saturday, 1st February 2014 - League One

Gillingham (1) 3 Akinfenwa 42,61 McDonald 64
Port Vale (0) 2 Robertson 81, Hugill 87
Att. 6,356

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,573

Match Report

With the amount of water that has dropped from the sky since New Year’s Day, for the month of January, I might well have considered giving this blog the temporary name of That’ll Be The Weather. In that time, Tonbridge have played twice, once each home and away, whilst Tunbridge Wells have managed just one home game and let’s not forget that January has also brought the wasted journey to Stevenage. So, as I sat at my Bermondsey workplace through the night from Friday into Saturday, with the rain beating against the windows, I figured that another change of direction was going to be needed come Saturday afternoon. So it can only be to the credit of the groundsmen, Tony Proven and Jay Berkhauer that Gillingham’s home encounter with Port Vale was given the go-ahead after a midday inspection. The pitch was obviously going to be heavy and with the rain continuing to fall through the first half, it cut up badly but there was never a doubt that the game would not get through to its completion.

This week has seen the end of the transfer window and although clubs like Gillingham are able to do loan business in a week’s time there has been significant transfer activity at Priestfield. Of the two Ipswich youngsters, Mick McCarthy took the viewpoint that if Jack Marriott was not going to be guaranteed first team football then he would be better off at Conference side Woking; in the case of Elliott Hewitt, his appearance prospects were far greater and the Ipswich manager was content to let him stay until the end of the season. The replacement for Marriott came in the imposing shape of Charlton Athletic’s Joe Pigott, a striker that has scored goals aplenty for their development squad and has served successful loan period at Bromley. The final signing, at least on the face of it, is a somewhat strange one. In September, I was watching Garry Borrowdale struggling for fitness at Tonbridge, before in November moving downwards to Ryman League Margate to get games and improve his fitness levels. Now at the end of January, he is making the step up to League One with Gillingham. Peter Taylor knows the player well, has picked him in an England Under-21 squad, but given that his fitness wasn’t at the level required in Conference South four months ago and is still two to three weeks away from being ready for selection, the signing is altogether . . . well, strange.

Pigott was selected on the bench as Taylor brought in Adebayo Akinfenwa and Bradley Dack from the side that played admirably in defeat at Brentford last time out and both were to have significant impacts on the game.

The opening half was one in which the home side dominated proceedings but it took until five minutes before the break when they finally made the breakthrough. A corner, won after a shot from Steven Gregory had been turned away, was swung in from the left by Dack and from the centre of the goal, Akinfenwa found a yard of space, enough to direct a header into the right hand corner of the net for a deserved half-time lead.

A clever free-kick routine almost brought a second goal ten minutes into the second half. Everybody was expecting Joe Martin to curl one towards the top corner, as he had with a first half effort, but Cody McDonald ran out from the assembled wall, took a short pass and fired low to goalkeeper Chris Neal’s right from where he made a parrying save and recovered brilliantly to save twice from Amine Linganzi and Dack.

Dack was not to be denied though and on the hour, retrieving a clearance, he delivered a Beckhamesque cross that was duly converted with a far post header from Akinfenwa and within two minutes, the youngster was once more the provider as he steered a pass from Gregory into the path of McDonald who scored from the angle of the six yard box.

With the game seemingly put to bed, Taylor opted to introduce Pigott for Akinfenwa, who received a standing ovation from the home support and also replace Linganzi, who although a little way from full fitness gave the fans a glimpse of what they have been expecting since the opening weeks of the season, with the Watford loanee, Connor Smith. Unfortunately, with the changes, the wheels somewhat fell off the wagon. With nine minutes remaining, after a period of Vale pressure, Chris Robertson’s header from a corner was adjudged by the linesman to have crossed the line and the visitors saw a way back into the game as Gillingham fell deeper and deeper towards their own goal.

A tense finale was set up three minutes from time when Doug Loft sent a cross into the box and Jordan Hugill found time and space to plant a shot past Stuart Nelson. Five nervous minutes of extra time were added in which Gillingham invited pressure and failed to relieve themselves of the same, but saw the game out to its successful conclusion.

Peter Taylor was criticised for the substitutions, but three goals to the good, there could not have been a better time to blood the new faces with both Akinfenwa and Linganzi not having the full 90 minutes in their legs. At the time is wasn’t even a gamble, but following Vale’s opener unnecessary panic set in with the new guys struggling to find their feet.

Nevertheless, the three points lifted Gillingham into the top half of the table and there are clear signs that brighter days are on the horizon, if only somebody could tell the weather gods!

Gillingham 2 Swindon Town 0

Match 52/13/1079 - Saturday, 18th January 2014 - League One

Gillingham (1) 2 Legge 18, Harriman 83
Swindon Town (0) 0
Att. 6,134

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,470

Match Report

Not being much of a movie-buff, I had to look up which one was the baddie out of Jekyll and Hyde. It turns out that it was Edward Hyde; I always thought that Dr Jekyll sounded the creepier. It was a work of fiction that eventually became associated with a rare condition called disassociative identity disorder, or a split personality. It’s a wonderful tool, Wikipaedia! If, presently, there is a club in football that cannot make up their mind whether they are Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde, then it is Gillingham.

As much as nobody expected Mr Hyde to turn up last week at Colchester, we equally didn’t expect Dr Jekyll to emerge as something resembling Jimmy Stewart’s part in It’s a Wonderful Life at Priestfield yesterday. To continue the movie analogy, George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart’s character) needed the help of an angel to reach his final conclusion, Gillingham only had Peter Taylor, but the tactical nous in which he won a game of football against the old enemy, may well lead to the belief that our guardian angel is in our midst!

Swindon Town arrived at Priestfield with their smallest following (372) that I’ve seen in recent years. Whether it was the weather coupled with the open skies of the Brian Moore Stand or away form that has been patchy at best, those that stayed away may well have had a good sense of foreboding. Whilst not wishing to diminish a very good Gillingham performance, there have been too few this season not to celebrate when they come along, Swindon were pretty poor. Three shots comfortably fielded by Stuart Nelson was all they could muster, shades of Gillingham last week.

Peter Taylor produced a tactical masterstroke in installing Ipswich loanee, Elliott Hewitt into the right back position and pushing Michael Harriman forward as essentially a marauding winger; it worked a treat. Whilst Hewitt produced a sound defensive performance, Harriman was an absolute revelation. I’m told that while I was on holiday, and missing the Oldham home game, this was tried without the same success but on this occasion it produced an outstanding performance and his first-ever goal for Gillingham.

The club and Danny Kedwell finally decided that the time was right for the striker to have his hernia operation and in his place in the starting line-up came Adebayo Akinfenwa. In the 18th minute, we were treated to one of those rare happenings, a free kick awarded for a foul on the big man. Joe Martin swung the kick into the penalty area, and while Swindon’s attention was drawn to Bayo, Leon Legge got in front of his marker to power home a header from 12 yards.

One of Swindon’s chances fell almost immediately, but Nile Ranger could only toe-end a cross from close range into the grateful hands of Nelson. Just before the half-hour mark, Harriman sent Cody McDonald clear but, cutting in from the right, the striker pulled his shot just wide of the far post.

Swindon’s best chance of the half needed the outstretched leg of Nelson to preserve their lead before McDonald was once more sent clear but the striker again pulled his shot wide no doubt to the dismay of his old striking partner from Witham Town, the pop [star] Olly Murs, who was sitting in the Medway stand.

On the hour, Alex Pritchard, who had taken Gillingham to the cleaners in the reverse fixture, deliberately attempted to palm a cross into the net with his hand and was justifiably booked in what had become an increasingly frustrating afternoon for the diminutive midfielder as his threat was largely contained by effective performances in front of the back four from Steven Gregory and Jake Hessenthaler.

On his substitution, Akinfenwa received the appreciative applause of the home crowd for a hard-working performance, shortly after steering a header wide from a Hewitt cross.

The game was finally put to bed seven minutes from time. Bradley Dack won the ball in the left hand corner and linked well with Martin who danced a couple of challenges before crossing from the bye-line to Harriman, whose shot found the net in the centre of the goal, albeit from a connection that appeared to be somewhere around the middle of the shin. If the connection was a little fortunate it was nothing that the Irish Under-21’s performance hadn’t earned.

Something a little more akin to Superman rather than Dr Jekyll might be needed at Brentford on Friday against, arguably the best side in the division, but in this topsy-turvy season, in our heart of hearts there is the strong suspicion that Hyde may well turn up again.

Gillingham 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 0

Match 48/13/1075 - Friday, 3rd January 2014 - League One

Gillingham (0) 1 McDonald 90+2
Wolverhampton Wanderers (0) 0
Att. 7,758

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,180

Match Report

In my mind, I begin to assemble my thoughts on a game with a few minutes remaining and these thoughts eventually become the posts you read on That’ll Be The Day. On this occasion, I was thinking along the lines of a spirited rearguard action that had brought a hard-earned point against one of the division’s top sides. But, those thoughts were about to change, we had already had a warning that the Priestfield bewitching hour was upon us as Leon Legge cleared a header from Wolves’ Sam Ricketts from the line. But this time the 90th minute jinx was about to be turned on its head as Gillingham won a corner in the last of two minutes added time. Jake Hessenthaler delivered from the right, Legge rose, but the ball only skimmed the top of his head and perhaps this caught Ricketts by surprise as the ball rebounded off his shins into the path of Cody McDonald who smashed the ball into the net from six yards to the wild celebration of the home support.

I’m not sure I can concur with the exultation of the Sky Sports commentator who proclaimed a “famous victory”, after all we are in the same division and this is not the first time that a Wolverhampton Wanderers team has left Priestfield empty-handed but it was undoubtedly a memorable win, if only for the lateness of the winning goal.

The match had progressed in much the way that most would have expected it to have done. Wolves dominated possession throughout, ultimately occupying 65 per cent of the ball, their corner count far outweighing that of their hosts as did their shots tally, but when it came to the number of real saves that Stuart Nelson was asked to make then, in truth, it amounted to just two.

In a first half of very few chances, the best of which fell to the visitors. After eight minutes, a right wing cross from James Henry was met by a sliding Michael Jacobs, but his toe-ender merely deflected the ball into the welcoming hands of Nelson. On the half-hour, a high cross into the area from Henry brought some desperate defending as Nelson missed a punch to clear, all too reminiscent of the goal conceded against Leyton Orient, this time the referee came to his aid with the award of a free kick.

Nelson’s save of note in this half came in the 38th minute when Jacobs burst into the box and his shot brought a good parrying save from the Gills’ keeper.

Gillingham were forced into an early second half substitution after 50 minutes when Charlie Lee limped out of the action to be replaced by Bradley Dack and this, coupled with the later introduction of Adebayo Akinfenwa, was to have a significant bearing on the game. Within five minutes of his introduction, fastening onto a Danny Kedwell pass, Dack turned inside his marker and his pass opened the way for McDonald to bring a good, low save out of Wolves’ debutant keeper, Aaron McCarey.

Whilst the visitors were maintaining their high percentage of possession, they were becoming less of a threat with Steven Gregory doing a fine job as the defensive midfield anchorman. Ten minutes remained when Akinfenwa flicked on a header to Kedwell, who outmuscled Danny Batth to strike a shot from the right hand side of the box that agonisingly hit a post with McCarey well beaten.

Had our moment come and gone without reward? That appeared to be the case, but when that 92nd minute corner was won, the Rainham End sensed that something extraordinary was about to happen. They rose to their feet and up went the decibel levels as the young Hessenthaler prepared to take the corner. The rest, as they say, is history but will live long in the memory.

Wolves failure on the night to secure the three points resulted in their position behind Leyton Orient at the top of the table remaining the same, but a look at the Wolverhampton Express and Star website, who described them as woeful and the subsequent comments from supporters, you would never believe they are second in the table with calls for certain players never to wear the gold and black again and the removal of Kenny Jackett, Jez Moxey and the owner, Steve Morgan. With that in mind, perhaps this was a famous victory, because in the eyes of some of the Molineux faithful, they are obviously way too big for this humble division.

Gillingham 2 Walsall 2

Match 47/13/1074 - Sunday, 29th December 2013 - League One

Gillingham (0) 2 McDonald 46, 90+2
Walsall (0) 2 Sawyers 61, Gray 90
Att. 5,394

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,000

Match Report

It’s an old cliché, much over-used, but football sometimes really is “a funny old game”. After two much-enjoyed games over the festive period, I was due a turkey and out of a game that had very little to commend it, came a goal that will live long in the memory and a quite unbelievable finish to the match.

Despite the disappointment of the loss to Leyton Orient on Boxing Day, there were plenty of positives to take into this fixture with Walsall, who sat quite handily outside of the play-off places at the start of play. Peter Taylor, preferred leading scorer, Danny Kedwell in attack to Adebayo Akinfenwa despite the need for Kedwell to have a hernia operation and Akinfenwa’s three goals in two games deputising for the striker.

The first half was a lesson in ball possession for Gillingham as Walsall passed the ball to death with Sam Mantom conducting affairs from deep midfield like the quarter back in an American football team, or the conductor of an orchestra. In front of him, Romaine Sawyers was collecting his passes and weaving patterns that the home defence struggled to contain. But in fairness, for all their possession, 68% in the first half, the visitors failed to test Stuart Nelson with anything other than routine saves and the best chance of the half fell to Kedwell, who failed to get his feet sorted out at the far post and managed only to find the side netting from Cody McDonald’s cross.

It was thought, at least hoped, that the second half would provide a greater source of entertainment at least from a Gillingham point of view and within a minute we were all staring at the pitch in utter disbelief at what we had just witnessed. From a yard outside of the box, McDonald executed an overhead kick that flew into the top corner past the despairing dive of the Walsall goalkeeper, Richard O’Donnell. As much as the Gillingham fans celebrated, the Walsall defenders just looked on in total shock.

Five minutes later with their tails up, Chris Whelpdale lobbed O’Donnell only to see the ball come back from the crossbar before the visitors equalised on 61 minutes. An overhit cross from the left saw Joe Martin fail to clear and the recycled cross found Sawyers in space in the box and although his initial attempt was blocked by Leon Legge, his second effort found the net.

Both sides had chances, with an Adam Barrett header being cleared from the line before the seeming 90th minute jinx struck once more for Gillingham as they failed to clear a Walsall attack and Julian Gray was on hand to cut in from the left of the six yard box and fire home what appeared to be the winning goal.

But this game was not done. Two of the three minutes of added time had expired when a pass through the centre saw McDonald scampering away from his marker. The striker was felled on the edge of the box, but instead of staying on the ground, he got to his feet the quickest and touched the ball into the net to the delight of the Rainham End.

In an amazing climax, McDonald was sent clear once more, but this time the trailing leg of O’Donnell was enough the divert the ball to safety to bring to an end a breathless final five minutes.

All this goes to highlight that live sport, sometimes dull in the extreme, continually serves up the unexpected, as Greavsie would say, oh don’t go there!

Gillingham 1 Leyton Orient 2

Match 45/13/1072 - Thursday, 26th December 2013 - League One

Gillingham (1) 1 Akinfenwa 3
Leyton Orient (0) 2 Bartley 70, Lasimant 90
Att. 8,613

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/4,929

Match Report

The first game of the Festive period saw Gillingham endulge in the true spirit of Christmas, whereby it is better to give than receive. They played the perfect hosts and gifted their visitor's two goals and allowed Leyton Orient to return to East London with three points and retain their position at the summit of the League One table.

After taking an early lead through Adebayo Akinfenwa's third goal in two games, his strike partner Cody McDonald became Orient's Secret Santa and good chances to put the game beyond their reach were frustratingly wasted. It is a reflection of Peter Taylor's tenure so far that back-to-back victories have eluded him and this was once more the fact following Friday's well-earned win at Tranmere.

The storms that brought havoc with fallen trees and flooding to Kent on Christmas Eve led to a slightly elongated journey to bypass the areas that suffered the worst of the flooding but the actual playing surface at Priestfield looked in good condition, if a little soft.

The injury problems that have also been a feature of Taylor's time show no signs of abating and Myles Weston, who picked up a hamstring injury at Tranmere was missing, whilst Danny Kedwell was only fit enough to take a place on the bench following the cancellation of a hernia operation.

Gillingham could not have asked for a better start and, within the first three minutes, McDonald had firstly struck the bar with a header and this was followed by Akinfenwa scoring with a looping header from a Jake Hessenthaler corner.

Hessenthaler and Bradley Dack have been beneficiaries of the injury problems and both are giving performances that are going to make it hard for those missing at present to regain their places when they return to fitness.

Leyton Orient slowly gained a foothold in the game and they were offered the opportunity to gain parity on the scoreboard when they were awarded a penalty following a foul by Leon Legge on ex-Gillingham striker Kevin Lisbie. Stuart Nelson dived low to his right to push Elliott Omozusi's spot kick to safety. Somebody will tell me the true statistic, but I cannot personally remember when Nelson last saved a penalty, so it was easy to believe that this might well be Gillingham's day.

Gillingham should have extended their lead early in the second half when a beautiful through pass from Hessenthaler sent McDonald clear one-on-one with the keeper, but cutting in from the left hand side, but he pulled his shot wide of the post.

Akinfenwa's lack of games forced his substitution on the hour and with his removal the momentum of the game changed completely and, after 70 minutes, Orient found their equalising goal. A corner from the left was met by a firm header from Marvin Bartley, who had made a late, unchallenged run into the box. It was criminal defending that would have brought nothing but despair to the Gillingham management team.

The balance of power shifted entirely with the goal and the league leaders laid seige on the Gillingham goal in search of a winner. Legge managed to clear the ball from the line before, as the clock ticked into the time added on, the O's skipper, Nathan Clarke, launched a huge cross into the penalty area. As the ball dropped out of the sky, Nelson flapped and failed to make a connection and from close range, Yohann Lasimant was on hand to nod the ball home to delight the 898 visiting fans behind the goal.

For the second game in succession, Gillingham had been denied points with a goal beyond the 90 minute mark bringing their fitness into question, this being the unfortunate result of losing players to injury that are being replaced by players coming back from injury that are not completely match fit or others that just have not had enough game time. Akinfenwa is a case in point, he was a handful when he was on the pitch, but the attack became toothless once he had departed and it is a worry that he doesn't have the fitness to get beyond the hour mark.

For the neutral taking in a breath of fresh air on Boxing Day, this would have provided some very decent entertainment but for Gillingham fans this was yet another example of their infuriatingly consistent inconsistency.

Gillingham 2 Peterborough United 2

Match 43/13/1070 - Saturday, 14th December 2013 - League One

Gillingham (0) 2 Martin 50, McDonald 67
Peterborough United (1) 2 Assombalonga 10, 90+7
Att. 6,949

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/4,822

Match Report

Returning to the daily trudge of life, work, household chores, etc., is the downside to any holiday, however, there is, of course, football and although Gillingham’s form has been found wanting whilst I was away, there was an eager anticipation of returning to Priestfield and the visit of Peterborough United was an attractive proposition.

One of the reflections I had whilst lying on a sunbed in Thailand, keeping abreast of England’s lame attempt to retain the Ashes in Australia on the iPad, was how life in terms of communication has changed. Back in 1987, we were on holiday in (bit of name-dropping here!) the Seychelles. With no internet or texting in those days and with television in the hotels only showing local stations there was little chance of finding out the result of a game such as Gillingham’s. In the middle of the week following a Saturday fixture, we were in the capital, Victoria, and I happened upon a shop that was selling English Sunday papers. As the papers were selling at about 10 times their cover price, I thought a sneaky look at the results page would suffice to find out how the boys back home had fared. As I came out of the shop, my wife said “how did they get on”. Err, I think they won, 1-0 I suspect, it actually says in the paper they won 10-0 but that has got to be a misprint. That was the famous victory against Chesterfield.

With Gillingham losing three out of four, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells both exiting their national cup competitions, whilst I was away, I mused that perhaps the ignorance of those days was better than the immediacy of today when you can know, wherever you are in the world, when Gillingham have a corner at the same time as those sat in their seats at Priestfield.

So, with form in mind, whilst I was looking forward to the game, I had very little expectancy of a positive result and even feared a bit of a hiding from a free-scoring Posh side that sat healthily in the play-off positions in the table. The first half lived up to those low expectations and despite starting the game well, with Jake Hessenthaler, on his home debut, setting up Bradley Dack with a chance that United’s keeper Robert Olejnik did well to palm to safety, Gillingham fell behind to a Britt Assombalonga goal after Stuart Nelson could only parry a shot from Michael Bostwick into the path of the free-scoring striker. The Congolese striker with 15 goals to his name prior to this fixture is living proof of the ability that is available in this division if you have a £1 million-plus to throw at one player alone. It should not be forgotten that another million pound striker, Tyrone Bennett, was only warming the Posh bench.

For much of the half, Gillingham were given a bit of a run-around and when they were forced into a double substitution due to injuries to Chris Whelpdale and Danny Hollands before the break, it wasn’t hard to be a little sceptical as to their second half chances.

But that wasn’t the way it turned out. The home side came out with plenty of spirit, witness Myles Weston tackling back as a case in point, and within five minutes of the restart they were back on level terms following a beautifully curled free kick into top right hand corner from the edge of the box by Joe Martin.

Assombalonga proved that he is only human when he blasted a good opportunity wide as the game ebbed and flowed in an entertaining manner. Twenty minutes remained when Gillingham deservedly went in front. A poor corner from Weston was returned to him and his long looping cross to the far post found Cody McDonald unmarked to place a header into the top corner.

With the game turned on its head, Peterborough threw caution to the wind and the proverbial kitchen sink at the opponents. A long stoppage, three minutes from time, ensued when referee Tim Robinson was, as the announcer pronounced, “relieved by the fourth official” and the subsequent eight minutes that were shown brought a collective groan from the Priestfield faithful.

Nelson saved at point blank range from Bennett as the game entered the time added on, but the game should have been ended as a contest moments later when McDonald sped past the last defender and one-on-one with the Olejnik, he lost out as his low shot was beaten away by the on-rushing goalkeeper.

With seven of the eight minutes having elapsed, Gillingham, and their fans, suffered severe heartbreak as a corner found its way through a packed penalty area to Assombalonga who back-heeled it across the line from close range. Whilst it was a devastating blow, the fair minded will draw the conclusion that Peterborough deserved their point and the vast majority would have taken a draw from the outset.

So, great though holidays are, it was good to be back in the cut and thrust of a damn good contest and with Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells also winning, I almost believe I’m suddenly a lucky charm!

Gillingham 1 Brackley Town 1

Match 39/13/1066 - Saturday, 9th November 2013 - FA Cup 1R

Gillingham (0) 1 Dack 90+6
Brackley Town (0) 1 Martin (o.g.) 67
Att. 3,004

Entrance: £15
Programme: £1.50
Mileage: 45/2,977

Match Report

The moment the fourth official raised the board showing six minutes to be added at the end of the game, I uttered the first words all afternoon that hadn’t been a grumble, “that’s a real lifeline.” And so it was, Gillingham’s threadbare hopes of staying in the FA Cup were given a breath of life by virtue of the very man that was holding up the board, the original referee, was the reason that the extra time was allocated. Mr Lee Collins retired from his role in the middle to hand over to Barry Holderness directly after Brackley Town had shocked Priestfield Stadium to its very core in the 67th minute when Joe Martin, under pressure, inadvertently diverted the ball into his own net to give the Conference North side a surprising, but well deserved lead.

The illuminated board acted like an alarm clock, awakening the hosts from their slumbers and for the first time in the game, the part-timers were put under serious pressure. The relatively small Priestfield crowd were exasperated with their own team’s woeful performance and with the time-wasting from, in particular, Brackley’s keeper, Billy Turley, but sensed their opportunity. In the very last of those minutes, Adebayo Akinfenwa sent a header across the face of goal and at the far post, his fellow substitute, Bradley Dack was on hand to sweep the ball into an unguarded net. Time still remained for Akinfenwa to prod a shot goalwards which Turley fumbled it away for a corner.

The final whistle brought a chorus of cheers and boos, either of which could have reflected the embarrassment or the avoidance of. Fair play to Brackley, from the fourth minute when a speculative lob from Steve Diggin dipped onto the bar through to those final minutes when they laid bodies on the line to protect their lead, they matched their League One opponents, but for the second week on the trot, Gillingham were truly shocking, an embarrassment that must put at least the thought in the mind of Paul Scally that Peter Taylor isn’t the man for the vacant managerial position. On that point we will see in the coming week, I still think Taylor is a shoe-in but he, himself, must wonder at the size of the task that he or anybody else faces to put this team back together again.

The first half of this First Round encounter was another horror story following last week’s terrible opening half performance against Carlisle. As with that game, Gillingham went through the entire half without troubling Turley with a single shot on target.

On the hour Turley was forced into his first meaningful save when Danny Kedwell forced the keeper to turn away a drive at the near post, but with that chance gone, Taylor chose to make a triple substitution, one of which the bizarre decision to withdraw central defender Callum Davies and to send Gills’ leading scorer back into defence to replace him. Whether this was instrumental in the Brackley goal, who knows, but a cross from the left by Glenn Walker, who had shown a decent turn of pace and purpose all afternoon, was headed goalwards at the near post by ex-Gillingham player, Gary Mulligan; in a despairing effort to stop the ball arriving at Diggin’s feet, Joe Martin turned the ball into his own net to delight the 231 visiting supporters who had been sensibly housed at the far end of the Gordon Road Stand.

The game might well have been put out of Gillingham’s reach as Stuart Nelson was forced to touch over the bar Walker’s free kick and as the minutes ticked away, Nelson fumbled a shot but recovered to save the follow-up at his post. In between, Gillingham had had a couple of scrambles in the Brackley penalty area when the non-leaguers were literally throwing their bodies in front of the ball to protect their lead.

This continued for the entire six minutes before Dack’s last gasp intervention spared Gills’ blushes.

I celebrated along with everybody else as the ball finally hit the back of the Brackley net, but when the final whistle went I could only concur with the thoughts that we had played our get out of jail card and that we barely deserved our place in the Second Round draw. Those Brackley fans must have had such mixed feelings, gutted at the final whistle, but after a quick reflection, they could only have been very proud of their team’s efforts and who could blame them if they held the opinion that they had nothing to fear in next week’s replay.

Peter Taylor’s after-match interview reflected on the poor performance but, confusingly, he praised the player’s desire and determination which, in my humble opinion was the attribute most lacking. If only that desire had been shown for the first 90 minutes rather than the six added on, then I’m certain that League One quality would have ultimately held sway. We will soon know whether Taylor has impressed on the chairman that he is the man to reinvigorate that desire because the rest of us remain to be convinced.

Gillingham 1 Carlisle United 0

Match 37/13/1064 - Saturday, 2nd November 2013 - League One

Gillingham (0) 1 Kedwell 63 (pen)
Carlisle United (0) 0
Att. 5,697

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00 (and lost!)
Mileage: 45/2,888

Match Report

An hour of pure tedium had passed when Gillingham mounted their first sustained attack on the Carlisle United goal; an Adam Barratt header was palmed away by the Cumbrian’s keeper Mark Gillespie, quickly followed by the custodian saving from underneath his crossbar. As the ball dropped to Danny Hollands, his feet were taken from under him by Danny Livesey, to send him tumbling to the deck. Danny Kedwell made it a tale of three Danny’s as his spot kick was put away in his customary fashion, a thumping drive leaving Gillespie with no chance.

A betting man at this point wouldn’t be getting odds from the bookies as to Peter Taylor’s future. Barring a disaster in next week’s FA Cup tie against Conference North club, Brackley Town, the manager’s post is all but his for the taking.

Taylor has steadied the ship, there is a hint that the style may become more attractive, but to take it forward the interim manager needs the full title confirmed. Only Mr Scally knows if there is a household name that has thrown his hat into the ring as a viable alternative but there is not so much as a whisper that anybody else’s name is in the frame.

A short burst of rainfall at the beginning of the match left certain sympathy for the 260 Carlisle fans seated in the roofless Brian Moore Stand. They didn’t deserve a soaking for their efforts of a 700 mile round trip and they, and everybody else, didn’t deserve the first half that was put in front of them. It can be easily described as . . . Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

The half-time whistle brought a chorus of boos, of which, later, Taylor admitted if he had paid, he would have booed the loudest.

The second half, from such a low baseline, was an improvement. Cody McDonald and Steven Gregory were introduced from the outset and whilst the tempo increased the level of competence failed to scale new heights. A single effort on goal from Adam Barrett was the only shot on target before the intervention of the Danny’s on 63 minutes.

The game took a strange turn at this point. From one that had barely seemed to raise the interest of the participants there were suddenly two red cards that set up a big finish. Twelve minutes remained when the referee’s attention was brought by the linesman’s flag and the visitor’s centre forward, Lee Miller, was given his marching orders for an elbow on Barrett. The personnel imbalance only lasted for three minutes before a lunging tackle by Leon Legge brought him second yellow card and his dismissal.

Kedwell slotted into the central defensive position and more than did his part in repelling the late charge from the visitors, who arguably might have deserved a point, but never stretched Stuart Nelson into any meaningful save. Kedwell, meanwhile, is flourishing under the stewardship of Taylor, a third man-of-the-match award on the spin, six goals in his last six games, the striker is one that surely will favour the appointment.

In the final moments, McDonald was sent clear and was tripped as he tried to round the keeper. The striker was too honest and attempted to stay on his feet allowing Gillespie to smother his effort, had he gone down it would almost certainly have been a second penalty.

Peter Taylor will not be a universally popular choice, some people fear a second coming will not be as successful as his first spell, but most consider the appointment is now a done deal, we just await the puff of white smoke from above the Medway Stand.

Gillingham 2 Notts County 1

Match 35/13/1062 - Tuesday, 22nd October 2013 - League One

Gillingham (2) 2 Whelpdale 24, Kedwell 29
Notts County (1) 1 McGregor 80
Att. 5,161

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 45/2,817

Match Report

“There were some good bits and some disappointing bits,” so said Peter Taylor in his first post-match press conference after the defeat against Preston North End. Wind-on three days and he could probably have repeated the same words despite this time gaining three valuable points against fellow strugglers Notts County.

After a turgid opening 20 minutes or so, Gillingham found themselves two goals to the good within the space of five minutes. One of my mentioned good bits from the Preston game was Stuart Nelson's distribution from his hands and with 24 minutes played he threw the ball towards Myles Weston on the half-way line. The throw was well directed but, unfortunately, it looked headed for a County defender, however, a slip allowed Weston to surge forward and cross to Chris Whelpdale who brought the ball under control off his chest and fire in a shot from the edge of the box.

Whelpdale then turned provider as a long kick out was headed on by the midfielder to Danny Kedwell who brushed aside the attention of his marker to smash a rising shot past goalkeeper, Bartosz Bialkowski.

Notts County were a side small in stature but also very talented and in Jamal Campbell-Ryce they had a lively winger with more than a few tricks in his repertoire and an on-loan Celtic striker, Callum McGregor that had already presented Gillingham with a problem or two. Within a couple of minutes of Kedwell's goal, Campbell-Ryce served notice that the Nottingham side were not out of this match when he cut inside and thumped a shot against the host's crossbar.

The early period of the second belonged to Gillingham and County were well served by Bialkowski who made saves from Lee and a flying save from Whelpdale as the home side sought the killer third goal.

On 66 minutes, Notts County manager, Chris Kiwomya made the strange substitution removing Campbell-Ryce from the action. A ripple of applause from the home support grew into a full ovation and the diminuntive appeared almost a little embarrassed as he acknowledged the reception. Kiwomya was not afforded the same sympathy as the Rainham End launched into a chorus of "You Don't Know What You're Doing!"

McGregor, meanwhile stayed as the centre of the action and with ten minutes remaining he set off on a run from just inside his own half and from 25 yards lashed a shot beyond the dive of Nelson who could do nothing but admire the finish.

This led to a nervy final ten minutes plus the time added on in which County searched for an equaliser. Gillingham were guilty of some time wasting in their quest to run down the clock and when the ball disappeared down the player's tunnel it was left to Danny Haynes to retrieve the ball and bring it back to the six yard box for Nelson to take the goal kick.

The good bits were a return to form from Whelpdale, a second successive man of the match performance from Kedwell and some green shoots that the Taylor style is going to be easier on the eye given time. It was disappointing that Gillingham were scratching around at the finish making hard work of what could have been a comfortable night, but, whoever is the manager, when have they ever made it easy on themselves?

Gillingham 1 Preston North End 2

Match 34/13/1061 - Saturday, 19th October 2013 - League One

Gillingham (0) 1 Kedwell 75
Preston North End (0) 2 Keane 47, Brownhill 52
Att. 7,054

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 45/2,772

Match Report

Six days have elapsed since I received a text carrying the news that Martin Allen had been sacked, I replied with an expletive and then started to consider the rights and wrongs of the move. In that time, thousands of tweets have been expended on the subject, the vast majority of which portrayed bitter disappointment at Allen's dismissal.

I was undoubtedly shocked by the timing of the dismissal, but wasn't, and shouldn't have been, surprised by the announcement. Rumours had begun to circulate amongst supporters at Crawley in September. I emphasise the word RUMOUR. The word was that all was not well behind the scenes and that the manager and the chairman had fallen out. Mr Scally in subsequent interviews has stated that the dressing room wasn’t good but no made word of any disagreement between the two of them.

The bizarre transfer-listing of four players and then their removal from the list was another twist that just gave further legs to the rumour mill. And the interviews, oh dear those bloody interviews. Twelve months ago we were chortling behind our hands at some of his statements, they were seen as a breath of fresh air in some ways, at the end I know that I’m not alone in finding each one rather embarrassing and cringeworthy.

Peter Taylor had been seen at Gillingham games and once again, the rumour was that he was the man in waiting for the job. All rumours, but so much of it has transpired.

So shocked, but not surprised. Personally, I felt that any manager that had earned his club a promotion deserved a lot more time at the start of a new season at a higher level than Allen was given. It was a bad start, but like the vast majority of Twitter users posting on the subject, I think he probably would have turned it around. But for all that, there is one abiding reason why I’m not sad that Martin Allen has left the club, I didn’t like his style of football and memories of Peter Taylor’s spell 13 years ago give me hope that there will be a change for the better in terms of style.

Rome wasn’t built in a day though, so it was always going to be too much to ask that three training sessions and there would be a bright new dawn. There were a few encouraging signs, Stuart Nelson rolled the ball out to a full back more times in the course of one half than he has for the rest of the season and although the midfield continued to struggle, they at least tried to play the ball on the ground.

Taylor might well have wished for a slightly easier re-introduction than Preston North End. In Kevin Davies and Stuart Beavon they have an experienced, robust strike force that cause problems for defenders up and down the country. Davies ruffles feathers, angers opposing supporters with the odd flailing arm, but how you would want him in your team, while Beavon, brought into league football by Taylor at Wycombe, is quality.

Most of the chances in the first half fell to Preston, the best of which saw tricky winger, Chris Humphrey bring out a decent parrying save from Nelson.

Having done well to get to the break all-square, some dozy defending quickly undid the hard work at the start of the second half. A throw-in sent Keith Keane clear, unchallenged and his shot from the right hand side of the box found the far corner of the net.

Before Gillingham could clear the heads they found themselves two down. A swift counter-attack ended with Beavon squaring the ball to Josh Brownhill who had the easiest of finishes.

Gillingham responded with substitutions, Myles Weston and Antonio German being introduced and with 15 minutes remaining they gave themselves the opportunity of a grandstand finish. A Chris Whelpdale free kick was met by the head of Danny Kedwell, who steered it into the far corner.

Unfortunately, Preston were pretty adept at winding down the clock and they comfortably saw the game out despite the hosts’ best efforts.

This is the dawn of another new era, we’ve had far too many new dawns over the last eight years and although Taylor is introduced as the interim manager, it’s not a brain surgeon’s guess that he has the job to lose. The club needs stability and Taylor is a safe pair of hands that can offer a little bit of the style that is felt lacking. It might even be a bit dull without the Mad Dog!