Accrington Stanley (0) 0
Gillingham (1) 2 Jackson 18, Oli 65
Att. 1,308
Entrance: £13
Programme: £3
Mileage: 606/6,545
New Ground: 230
Match Report
As the season enters its business end, points are gold dust and performances without points are worthless. Remembering back to scrappy 1-0 wins recently at Morecambe, Chester and Macclesfield, another win of the same nature would have been happily accepted. Thankfully, without having to reach a performance of quality against a poor Accrington side, a couple of scrappy goals were more than enough to earn a sixth away win of the season. When Gillingham were taking those early season hammerings at Shrewsbury and Exeter who would have predicted that they would have six wins on the road at this stage?On a mild but damp afternoon at the Fraser Eagle Stadium, Gillingham dominated the possession but the best early chance fell to Paul Mullin who managed to lob the ball over the bar after an uncharacteristic mix up between Simon King and Barry Fuller.
King was instrumental in Gillingham taking an 18th minute lead. A corner had been earned by Dennis Oli, whose shot had been deflected away and from the corner, the ball fell to King whose shot appeared to be going wide before being turned in from close range by a predatory Simeon Jackson.
Gillingham were now comfortably in charge of the game and a further couple of chances for Jackson were off-the-mark before Accrington began to get a foothold in the final 10 minutes of the half. Simon Royce and Fuller combined to deny Proctor and then Craig Lindfield was truly wasteful when he blazed over in the final minute of the first half.
The momentum that Stanley had managed to gain at the end of the half was not replicated at the beginning of the second as the Gills regained the upper hand and the main threat, Paul Mullin, always a handful, was being successfully marshalled by King and Mark Bentley. Another goal was going to put the game beyond the home side and it duly arrived 20 minutes into the half. Adam Miller won a challenge and carried the ball across the edge of the box before setting up Dennis Oli, who fired home with the aid of a huge deflection that wrong-footed Kenny Arthur.
With the game safe, it would now be satisfying to gain a fourth successive open-play clean sheet following the defensive debacle against Aldershot. Ultimately this was achieved, but not before a Nicky Southall’s own goal-bound header brought a fine save from Royce.
Accrington were a very poor side and a rapid improvement is going to be needed for them to avoid a relegation scrap back to the Conference. I hope they make it. The sparcity of attendance was compensated by the friendly nature of their supporters. A couple took time out to ask if we had a good journey up to Lancashire and another wished us a safe journey home. The bad news this week that Fraser Eagle, their main sponsors, had entered administration is concerning those supporters who fear that there will be no return to the Football League should they drop this season. If Stanley were to follow their sponsors into administration the 10 point deduction would make their position very precarious.
The new ground factor was evident as a healthy Gillingham contingent bolstered the tiny 1,308 total. My guess would be that at least the 308 had travelled to support the Gills. As for the new ground they came to see, to be kind it is nothing more than a non-league stadium and I’ve seen a good deal better in those lower reaches. The Gillingham support were housed on an open terrace and we can be grateful that only a light drizzle had to be endured. Two uniform low stands housed the home support with the behind the goal contingent standing. One length of the ground I can only imagine is condemned with nobody inhabiting the shack-like structure that cannot be considered as a covered enclosure. The toilets were awful and the dressing rooms for the players were no bigger than you would see on the average park ground. So, it was no oil painting, but the traditionalist in me hopes that this grand old name of football, Accrington Stanley (it has such a ring to it) survives to fight another day.
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