Gillingham (0) 1 Jackson 70 (pen)
Blackburn Rovers (1) 3 Dunn 5, Nzonzi 46, Pedersen 74
Att. 7,203
Entrance: £20
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/1,856
Match Report
Gillingham bowed out of the Carling Cup and can have few complaints at their exit at the hands of Premiership side Blackburn Rovers.Following Saturday’s poor performance and defeat against Hartlepool, manager Mark Stimson opted to make four changes for the game. Simon Royce continued in goal after his second half appearance, Garry Richards made way for Mark Bentley to play centre back, into midfield came Kevin Maher and Dennis Oli in preference to Adam Miller and Jack Payne with Mark McCammon partnering Simeon Jackson upfront.
The club also sprang a surprise with the announcement of Danny Jackman, pictured, arrival at Priestfield following his signing from Northampton Town. It has been no secret that Stimson has sought Jackman’s signature for some weeks. He was named on the bench and his late appearnce on the pitch for the warm up suggested that he had just arrived as he spent the time shaking hands with his new team mates and introducing himself.Gillingham set themselves up in a 4-4-2 formation and within Stimson’s programme notes he wrote: “We must set our stall out to try and stay in the game for as long as possible. That means defending correctly . . .” Unfortunately neither was to happen in the first five minutes. Within two minutes of the start Royce was forced to make a fine one-handed save from a Morten Gamst Pedersen shot before a John Nutter mistake was seized upon by Nikola Kalinic who slid a pass for David Dunn with finish with ease.
The change in personnel and formation also seemed to signal a change in mindset for the home side. Gone was the possession and passing game that had been a highlight of the opening league fixtures. In its place came a more direct style with McCammon the target. Gillingham took time to settle into the game but slowly recovered from the early setback. A couple of efforts on goal from Jackson and Oli failed to test ex-Gillingham favourite Jason Brown, pictured, before a right wing cross from Jackson offered a good heading opportunity for McCammon, who didn’t quite rise high enough and was under the ball as he headed wide. A Fuller free kick was fumbled by Brown but the keeper reacted quickly enough to smother McCammon’s follow up as Gillingham’s confidence grew.Priestfield’s hopes that the encouraging first half display would lead to the Premiership side coming under pressure were all but extinguished within a minute of the restart. Dunn’s cross into the box was only headed on by Mark Bentley and Steven Nzonzi dived in to head home from close range. The game was now completely in Rovers’ control and they retained huge amounts of possession and created numerous chances to wrap it up including a Jason Roberts header that was tipped onto the bar by Royce with the rebound gratefully gathered by the Gills’ keeper.
Jackman and Payne were brought into the fray with the game meandering towards its close when a clumsy challenge by Zurab Khizanishvili on Jackson resulted in a penalty that was safely despatched by the Gills leading scorer. Suddenly there was hope, and just as quickly it was gone. A corner was unnecessarily conceded and from it Pedersen scored directly with an in swinging cross that completely deceived Royce. As if to prove it was no fluke, Pedersen repeated the trick minutes later but this time the keeper was just about equal to the action with a punch away under severe pressure.
A chance was made for McCammon to shoot wide in the closing minutes epitomising the big striker’s performance. His all round game had been good, he had won more than his share in the air, had linked up well with Jackson, but three reasonable chances had failed to test Jason Brown.
Perhaps it is the difference in stature between the Carling Cup and the FA Cup that the intensity on and off the pitch in January against Aston Villa was missing this time. Blackburn Rovers might be Premiership but they are not box office in the same way as the Villa and a crowd of 7,203 was disappointing with an early goal in each half sucking the atmosphere out of the occasion. The Rainham End did their best to rally the troops but Jackson’s penalty was countered too quickly for any pressure to be exerted from the terraces.
A cup exit but far from disgraced Gillingham return to league action on Saturday with Danny Jackman adding to Stimson’s midfield options and McCammon giving an alternative in the front line. It would be sad if the passing game was jettisoned completely to accommodate the big striker, surely a compromise in style can be found.
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