Grays Athletic 1 Gillingham 0

Match 02/08/686 - Saturday, 19th July 2008 - Pre-Season Friendly

Grays Athletic (1) 1 Kedwell 29
Gillingham (0) 0
Att. 425

Entrance: £13
Programme: £4
Mileage: 77/114
New ground: 224

Match Report

We are told that Pre-Season results mean absolutely nothing and the good results of last pre-season ultimately meant for nothing, but . . .

This was same old, same old from Gillingham. Virtually shot less during the first half and a couple of efforts in the second that didn’t test the Grays keeper, the words Gillingham Nil are already beginning to set alarm bells ringing in my head. Two Conference sides have now managed to keep clean sheets against the Gills and today Grays did it with ease, even managing the last 20 minutes with ten men, having been refused a substitution by the referee.

The second half pairing of Oli and Jackson were marginally more potent than the first half duo of Luke Rooney and Mulligan, who needs goals very soon to save himself from a body of the Gillingham support that want more than his acknowledged work rate. Latching on to a poor back pass, he was one-on-one with the keeper and decided to round him rather than shoot, but the ball appeared to get stuck in his feet and the keeper smothered. A second half header from Simeon Jackson that cleared the bar was the closest we got, but he should at least have made the keeper work.

Danny Kedwell, an ex-Gillingham triallist, and the son-in-law of a good mate of mine, showed how to bury a header when he out jumped everybody to plant a firm header into the top corner despite Simon Royce’s best efforts.

I get the impression that youth is going to be a big part of Mark Stimson’s thinking in the coming months. Walder, Wynter Thomas, Howard and Hill have all figured and today, for the most part, they looked no worse than anybody else in a Gillingham shirt. Whether this is borne out of necessity or desire, one can only speculate.

The New Recreation Ground is rather too compact for the Conference, but it is tidy with a good playing surface. Hemmed in with flats overlooking the ground, there is no room for expansion and it is no surprise that the club are looking to move away. Approval for a site has not been obtained and it is planned for 2009 that they will leave their present home and share with Aveley while a new stadium is built.

The afternoon began with a sobering minute of applause for Ernie Cooksey, a Grays player that recently lost a fight against cancer, but was lightened by some good humour from the referee when ushering on an attractive, blonde female physio. “I feel a groin strain coming on”, he shouted to the assembled Gillingham fans.

An outrageous £13 was charged for entrance and the £4 cover price for a programme compounded the feeling that we were being taken to the cleaners. Unfortunately Gillingham provided very little to compensate and entering into the week of their prestige home friendlies, perhaps it will take a first appearance from Mark McCammon to lift the spirits or, at the very least, find the way to goal.