Gillingham 1 Northampton Town 0

Match 43/10/861 - Saturday, 15 January 2011 - League Two

Gillingham (1) 1 McDonald 32
Northampton Town (0) 0
Att. 5,613

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/6,497

Match Report


Gillingham overcame difficult windy conditions and the jinx of the Manager of the Month Award to inch themselves into the play-off positions. Their visitors, Northampton Town, had limited resources in attack and asked their club captain, Andy Holt, a defender to lead the front line. Subsequently, they offered very little threat and a long-range shot from Michael Jacobs that was easily gathered by Alan Julian with 10 minutes remaining was their only shot on goal.

Gillingham’s surge up the table during December had earned Andy Hessenthaler the award and he reportedly refused to touch the trophy (which is pretty ugly anyway) for fear of invoking the curse. Such is the strength of the squad at present that, despite last’s week’s five goals at Stockport, it was something of a surprise that an unchanged side was selected with ex-Cobblers favourite Adebayo Akinfenwa sitting it out on the bench.

Gillingham’s path may have been eased as Curtis Weston was offered an early chance, but his shot was blocked by keeper, Chris Dunn. With neither side settling in the conditions, chances were at a premium. Top scorer Cody McDonald saw an effort into the side netting and then forced Dunn into a save before opening the scoring on the half-hour.

A long cross field pass from John Nutter was helped into the box by Danny Spiller, where a cushioned header from Josh Gowling gave McDonald a clear shooting opportunity which he took with ease for his 12th goal of the season.

The second half was much the same as the first with the wind and an over-fussy referee, Trevor Kettle, dominating proceedings. McDonald, had a carbon copy of his opportunity at Wycombe a couple of weeks ago, with unfortunately the same result, this time his lob narrowly clearing the bar. The arrival from the bench of Akinfenwa and Luke Rooney injected a bit of life into the game, big Bayo setting up McDonald and a rocket from Rooney narrowly missing a post.

A free kick into the box that narrowly evaded ex-Gill Dean Beckwith evoked bitter memories of the winning goal at Sixfields back in October, but this time drifted harmlessly wide.

Man of the Match was given to Gowling, who alongside Matt Lawrence, earned his award by controlling the conditions as much as the toothless Northampton attack.

Tonbridge 2 Hendon 1

Match 42/10/860 - Tuesday, 11 January 2011 - Ryman Premier

Tonbridge (1) 2 Olorunda 38, Collin (pen) 73
Hendon (1) 1 Aite-Ouakrim 8
Att. 267

Entrance: £10
Programme: £2
Mileage: 26/6,452

Match Report

Tonbridge inched themselves to within one place of the play-off places with a second come-from-behind win in four days against a lively Hendon side.

The shine was taken off the victory by an injury to Scott Gooding, who only recently returned to fitness following a long lay-off. Gooding was prostrate on the floor as Hendon’s Belal Aite-Ouakrim collected a pass after Chris Piper had been dispossessed and scored with ease. Nobody was actually near the defender as he went down, appearing to catch his studs in the turf. The game was stopped for a good five minutes as the unfortunate defender was stretchered off.

Aite-Ouakrim proved to be a handful throughout the first half showing great pace and this was the hallmark of the visitors who moved the ball about with great purpose. Ben Judge came on for Gooding and slowly the home side regained an element of the control of the match.

Five minutes from half time Tonbridge were helped back into the match. Lee Browning passed forward towards Ade Olorunda. The Hendon goalkeeper, James Readings, charged from his goal without a hope of reaching it before the striker. Olorunda took it past the keeper and slotted into the empty net from the edge of the box. It was a well-taken goal, but the keeper should never have been so far from home.

Tonbridge enjoyed much the better of the second period but it was the aforementioned striker with the impossible name who went closest firing into the side netting from a good position.

The home side eventually took the lead with 17 minutes remaining following a soft penalty award. Frannie Collin attempted to turn away from a Hendon defender and was hauled to the ground. Collin despatched the penalty himself sending the keeper the wrong way.

Readings redeemed himself for his first half error with an excellent double save denying Piper and Lewis Taylor before saving once more from Browning.

On a chilly night, only 267 attended and although there was Carling Cup football live on BBC2, I’m more inclined to think that doubt surrounding whether the match would go ahead following heavy rain was a greater contributory factor. A late postponement of the last home fixture would have played on some people’s minds. Those that decided that the risk was worthwhile were treated to a good night’s entertainment.

Bury Town 1 Tonbridge 2

Match 41/10/859 - Saturday, 8 January 2011 - Ryman Premier

Bury Town (0) 1 Ives 58
Tonbridge (0) 2 May 78, Hill 90
Att. 592

Entrance: £8
Programme: £2
Mileage: 218/6,426
New Ground: 239

Match Report

It may have been with a few wishful thoughts of regret as mobile messages relayed goals aplenty for Gillingham at Edgeley Park culminating in a 5-1 hammering of Stockport County, but none of it. I had no regrets whatsoever choosing Tonbridge’s visit to Bury St Edmunds, home of Bury Town. The Ryman League once again served up a memorable encounter and a magnificent comeback win for the Angels.

Confirmation that the match was on wasn’t the greatest of comforts as I set out on the two hour journey to Suffolk. Heavy overnight rain had left local roads with lots of standing water and I was fearful that further downpours could leave the trip fruitless. On arrival at Ram Meadow, first sighting of the pitch confirmed my fears had been well founded. It was certainly the worst pitch I’ve seen this season and would not have taken a lot more rain to deem it unplayable.

The first half was even in terms of possession, but the home side had the better of the chances and one save after half-an-hour by Lee Worgan from Tom Bullard was truly outstanding. Neither side completely mastered the condition of the pitch in a first half that was more absorbing than exciting.

The second half was totally different. Bury continued to carve out the better chances and Worgan was forced into two more brilliant stops before he was helpless to stop Cambridge loanee Sam Ives scoring following a well-crafted move.

The goal was the catalyst for a reversal in the balance of play. Manager Tommy Warrilow made bold substitutions and the visitors seized the initiative. Bury’s goalkeeper, Marcus Garnham became centre-stage as he repelled Tonbridge’s efforts almost single handed. In one assault, Garnham watched as the ball rebounded from the bar but excelled as he twice saved follow-ups.

The goal that Tonbridge richly deserved arrived 12 minutes from time. Jay May, who had seconds earlier been thwarted by Garnham, perfectly placed a header into the bottom corner to the delight of the sizeable following from Kent.

Garnham continued with the heroics and, whilst a point at the second-placed side would be no disgrace, it was felt that perhaps a winner might have been deserved. Step-up Rory Hill. The substitute cut in from the right hand side and cracked a low shot into the bottom corner past the despairing dive of the keeper. Such was Hill’s delight that he took a yellow card for his exuberant celebration with the fans gathered behind the goal, small price to pay for a magnificent end to an exhilarating second half.

Ram Meadow is a bit of a hotch-potch of low covered enclosures and a main stand that housed little more than a 100 seats. I found the back-drop behind each goal the perfect contrast, behind the far goal was the British Sugar Refinery belching its smoke into the winter sky and at the other end perfectly silhouetted was the Cathedral of Bury St Edmunds. Touch of beauty and the beast, but these two sides proved that on a beast of a pitch, the beautiful game still has much to admire.

Wycombe Wanderers 1 Gillingham 0

Match 40/10/858 - Monday, 3 January 2011 - League Two

Wycombe Wanderers (0) 1 Winfield 64
Gillingham (0) 0
Att. 4,617

Entrance: £18
Programme: £3
Mileage: 178/6,208

Match Report

Gillingham fans returned to their Theatre of Nightmares on Monday and the matchday announcer was not going to allow them to forget their last visit. His interviews with the mascots relived that fateful day with his questions to the kids allowing replays of the goals on the video screen and, did you know, that Gillingham haven’t scored at Wycombe since 1999, he added with a tad too much relish.

Wycombe are a good side that won’t be too far from the top of the table come May and had already won the reverse fixture convincingly in November, so it was to be expected that the five game winning run was going to come under pressure.

There were minor snow flurries as we walked the chilly path through the industrial estate to Adams Park. Often depicted as picturesque, its only real redeeming feature is the backdrop of the rolling hills. Such is our record here, we are never going to see it as a place of beauty.

Gillingham started brightly and created a clear shooting opportunity in the first minute, sadly it fell to Matt Lawrence, a central defender who blasted over the bar. The home side then seized the initiative and Gillingham were subjected to a mainly rearguard action, although they were never really threatened.

Gillingham’s front line partnership of Adebayo Akinfenwa and Cody McDonald that had been so effective during the successful run was being well-marshalled by Dave Winfield and ex-Gill Leon Johnson.

The game encapsulated itself around a 10 minute period from 65 minutes. Wycombe took the lead following a corner that was headed against the cross bar by Scott Rendell, the rebound found Winfield in space to head home. 10 minutes later, Cody McDonald ran onto a Luke Rooney pass, lobbed the keeper, only to see the ball hit the bar and was cleared to safety.

Gillingham made a good effort to retrieve the deficit with sustained pressure in the final minutes, but the moment McDonald’s effort rebounded from the woodwork it was written that the matchday announcer would have another year to add to his tally on our next visit.

As we walked away, we felt that whilst not deserving to win, a draw would have been a fair reflection of the game. If Gillingham were not to get promoted this season, I hope Wycombe do, not that I have any particular affection for the club, I’m just sick of Adams Park.

Gillingham 1 Stevenage 0

Match 39/10/857 - Saturday, 1 January 2011 - League Two

Gillingham (1) 1 Akinfenwa 38
Stevenage (0) 0
Att. 5,429

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/6,030

Match Report

Sometimes winning just has to be ugly and this hard-fought victory over Stevenage was one such occasion. It stretched Gillingham’s winning run to five games and installed them in the play-off positions for the first time this season.

A diving header from Adebayo Akinfenwa on 38 minutes was the ultimate difference between two sides that on the day were stronger in defence than attack. Cody McDonald, on another day could have had a hat trick, and some stunning combined defending by Alan Julian and Joe Martin in the closing minutes contributed to the single goal scoreline.

Stevenage set their stall out early in the game when Chris Beardsley was booked for a late tackle on Gills’ skipper Barry Fuller, but overall they were a battling side that will survive their first season in the Football League with something to spare.

Akinfenwa and McDonald’s partnership is blossoming with every game and it was quite significant that on Bayo’s substitution in the 76th minute, McDonald made the point of shaking his hand on his departure. In the 16th minute the partnership produced a one-two that left McDonald advancing on the Stevenage keeper, Chris Day, who narrowed the angle sufficiently to turn away the shot.

Julian was called into action with a good save turning away a Byron Harrison header before the home side opened the scoring. Spiller, having been fed by Akinfenwa, curled in a inch-perfect cross and the big man dived in to score at the near post with a flying header.

The second half saw chances for McDonald to get onto the score sheet, but it just wasn’t his day. A superb block from Luke Foster denied him on one occasion, he should have done a whole lot better with a free header from a Spiller corner and twice more spurned chances.

Stevenage mounted a spirited effort to rescue a point in the final stages and when Alan Julian, fine save though it was, only parried to Ben May, it looked a certainty that the striker would equalise but a fantastic block from Martin, who had reverted to full back following John Nutter’s substitution saved the day.

Not convincing, certainly not pretty, but no Gillingham supporter left Priestfield complaining that they had been short-changed by commitment, something that was severely questioned little more than a month ago.

Gillingham 3 Port Vale 0

Match 38/10/856 - Tuesday, 28 December 2010 - League Two

Gillingham (2) 3 McDonald 1, 37 Akinfenwa 60
Port Vale (0) 0
Att. 5,364

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,985

Match Report

Although I’ve been penning this blog for the past four years it is only recently that I found the stats page that reveals that browsers in several countries have stumbled across this page whether by accident or design. It would be nice to think that the viewers in footballing hotbeds such as Brazil (34 page views), Holland (91 page views) and Germany (173 page views) have found their way in search of football content rather than accidently finding the page whilst looking for an old David Essex film of the same name.

My reason for beginning this review of Gillingham’s Christmas fixture against Port Vale with such details are that far-flung countries of the world may not have realised that a mere four inches of snow in the United Kingdom can bring the country to a standstill and decimate the sporting calendar in the meantime. So to those of you in the United States (an impressive 285 views) that have two feet of the white stuff and still function, this is why there have been no postings since Macclesfield on 11th December. Two home postponements and an away fixture at Aldershot scheduled for Boxing Day fell to the weather as have all Tonbridge’s fixtures in the same period.

So it was with much relief that the freezing temperatures started to relent on Boxing Day and come the 28th December had reached the balmy heights of 4degC. The frost covers at Priestfield Stadium had protected the ground and no inspection was needed for the game to go ahead as scheduled. After a successful three game winning sequence on the road, it was hoped that the lack of action would not curtail the momentum that had been achieved.

There was to be no sign of rustiness as Cody McDonald needed only 40 seconds to fire Gillingham into the lead from just inside the box. Port Vale, who came to Priestfield with an impressive defensive record having only conceded 10 goals in 19 League games, were looking to regain the top spot from the frozen out league leaders, Chesterfield but showed, or were not allowed to show any of the form that took them to the higher reaches of the Division.

The dangerous Marc and Justin Richards partnership were being well marshalled by the ever-improving Josh Gowling, who before his loan move to Lincoln led to my own derision of being one of the worst defenders to pull on a Gillingham shirt, and the ever-reliable Matt Lawrence.

Leading the line was the imposing figure of Adebayo Akinfenwa and the Port Vale back line really had no idea on how to contain him and it came as no surprise that he was involved in the 37th minute goal for McDonald to put the home side two in front. His control and pass to a surging Barry Fuller allowed the Gills skipper to send a pass across the face of the goal to be met by McDonald who scored from close range.

The start of the second half saw the same three characters involved once more which culminated in McDonald hitting a post and Akinfenwa putting the rebound just wide.

Andy Barcham made a welcome return to the line-up as a 54th minute substitute for debut-making Joe Martin who suffered a head wound that required six stitches.

On the hour Akinfenwa got the goal that his performance richly deserved. A long throw from Curtis Weston was met by Lawrence whose shot was parried into the path of the big striker who powered home from the edge of the six yard box to make the game safe for the Gills.

In the closing half-hour Barcham had some encouraging moments that gave hope that the loss of Whelpdale will be counter-acted by the return of the player of the year.

So we go into 2011 with renewed hope that Gillingham will push on into the play-off positions and might still threaten the top three places. To all my readers in far-flung corners of the globe, keep bringing the page to your screens and have a Happy New Year.

Macclesfield Town 2 Gillingham 4

Match 37/10/855 - Saturday, 11 December 2010 - League Two

Macclesfield Town (1) 2 Bencheriff 7, Bennett 71
Gillingham (4) 4 Whelpdale 8 Gowling 12 McDonald 19 Akinfenwa 33
Att. 1,507

Entrance: £18
Programme: £2.50
Mileage: 504/5,940

Match Report

Gillingham fans for so long endured nothing but heartache on the road, but at Moss Rose, Macclesfield on Saturday when Adebayo Akinfenwa tapped home a fourth goal in less than 25 minutes, those with good memories were able to use a chant long since forgotten, Easy, Easy. Gillingham are now on a run of the more acceptable variety and with it a march up the League table to a position where another win would put the Kent club within touching distance of the play-off places.

In a crazy first half, in which as many gilt-edged chances were missed as the five goals scored, both defences looked suspect from the outset. Gillingham went behind to an early goal from a free kick by Hamza Bencheriff. Kevin Maher had needlessly given away the free kick from which the Algerian scored with a wicked deflection that wrong-footed Alan Julian. Unfortunately the vocal muppets among the travelling support failed to spot the deflection and decided to abuse the Gillingham goalkeeper without reason.

They need not have wasted their breath as the visitors replied within a minute. Charlie Lee’s long throw unforgivably found its way to the left hand side of the box from where his fellow Posh loanee Chris Whelpdale drove the ball into the ground and high into the net with the home keeper Jose Veiga helpless.

Three minutes later Whelpdale produced a sublime piece of skill to turn, leave a couple of defenders in his wake, and cross to the far corner of the box where the unlikely figure of Josh Gowling volleyed home.

Whelpdale was instrumental again in Gillingham’s third goal on 19 minutes. His initial cross found Danny Spiller on the right who picked out Cody McDonald with an inch perfect cross that the striker converted with a close range header. Twenty minutes gone, four goals, two dodgy defences brought visions of Accrington Stanley to mind, but the hope that if seven goals were to be scored this time around it would be by the visitors.

When Gowling shot narrowly wide after 25 minutes, with the Silkmen’s defence once again AWOL, the thought of a high scoring victory strengthened. But two golden chances for the home side also embedded the fear that no amount of goals was actually going to make this game safe for the Gills.

After 33 minutes, some absolutely rubbish defending allowed Akinfenwa to tap home from a yard after his initial header had been parried by the goalkeeper. Safe, none of it, as Macclesfield spurned a couple more chances before the half-time whistle.

The second half was more of a pedestrian nature mainly due to both sets of strikers losing their eye for goal rather than either defence appreciably improving.

Chris Whelpdale was removed from the action on 56 minutes and when, late in the game, Charlie Lee joined his team mate on the bench, the Gillingham faithful had shown their full appreciation for the Posh boys’ contribution in turning Gillingham’s away fortune on its head. Thank-you for your help lads, you are welcome back anytime.

Chances fell to Akinfenwa and McDonald to put the game beyond the reach of the home side before Tyrone Bennett pulled a goal back with 20 minutes remaining, re-opening the fears that Gillingham’s away resurgence might implode as the home side finished strongly. Julian was forced to claw away a last minute effort from Bennett before referee Keith Hill brought the curtain down on Gillingham’s third successive away win.

Moss Rose is still rather non-league in its make-up, but is quite appealing in the process. The Main Stand that straddles the half-way line is small but perfectly formed and has a classic style not imitated anywhere else in the country. We were housed opposite in the functional Alfred McAlpine Stand that is the usual flat pack design that has none of the endearing features of the Main Stand. The open terrace behind the goal that in the past allowed the visitors standing positions is now only used for large support, so despite around 250 making the trip this was not enough to warrant its use.

A kindly lady pointed us in the direction of a Fish and Chip shop that took us past a genuine Coronation Street, with an old-fashioned road sign identical to that celebrated this week in the opening titles for the past 50 years. Funny, a fortnight ago, it seemed a similar length of time since we last won away.

Everybody appears to be very accommodating at Macclesfield, and that includes their defenders.