Gillingham (2) 2 Barcham 6, Weston 40
Millwall (0) 0
Att. 8,097
Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/2,447
Match Report
Bragging rights among supporters are an important part of football. Tonight I hold those rights on the Bermondsey shop floor at which I work and I’m going to enjoy lording it for some little while. Once again little Gillingham have upset mighty Millwall, a club that is perennially in the wrong division and are only in these nether regions of the Football League due to administrative conspiracy.Gillingham have been victims in the past of the curse of the returning ex-player. Curtis Weston, a Millwall cup finalist at 17 years of age, haunted the south Londoners with a high quality performance and a 25-yarder into the bottom left hand corner to put the home side two goals clear at the break. Weston was absolutely superb and run himself into the ground culminating with a standing ovation on his substitution with 10 minutes remaining and the game all but won. In the absence of Mark McCammon, he played further forward than usual, dovetailing wonderfully well with Simeon Jackson in a first half in which Millwall had very few answers to the questions skilfully posed.
Millwall just could not cope with the pace of the home side. Andy Barcham and Dennis Oli time and again left defenders trailing in their wake and the forward pair’s movement left them with spinning heads. There was just six minutes on the clock when Weston (pictured) laid off to Barcham who let fly from 25 yards with a searing drive into the top corner.If there was a negative within the first half performance it was that Gillingham should have been home and hosed by the time the whistle sounded on 45 minutes. Jackson had a goal ruled out for offside, pulled another couple of chances wide and Danny Jackman shot weakly when in a good position. In reply, Steve Morison, who once interested Mark Stimson, was a bit of a handful, but was admirably contained by the central defensive pairing of Josh Gowling and Mark Bentley. He was through on goal just before half time but was thwarted by a smothering save by Simon Royce. Meanwhile, ex-Gillingham favourite, Neil Harris made little impression in his quest to be the ex-player doing the haunting.
Whilst the home support roared their approval at the half time whistle, the near 2,000 Lions fans filling the Town End greeted their side with a chorus of boos. They are knowledgeable football people, they knew their side had been comprehensively outplayed. A little green man from Mars could equally have come to the same conclusion.
The second half began with a couple of substitutions from Kenny Jackett and Millwall made a better fist of the next 45 minutes, but still the better chances came and went to the home side as the killer third goal threatened but failed to materialise and there was always the nagging worry that one goal might just let the visitors back into the game.
For leading scorer Jackson it was not to be his day, at least in a goalscoring capacity, as another couple of chances went begging and Oli blasted into the Rainham End with reckless abandon. Royce was forced into his only real save of the half from a Jimi Abdou header but by this time many of the Lions fans were on the A2 heading home.
In his after-match Radio Kent interview manager Stimson commented that the first 45 were the best in his term at the club and it would be hard to disagree. Gillingham’s movement was a delight, both goals were stunning strikes and until we meet again in April the Bermondsey shop floor is my stage. Now . . . to gloat or not to gloat that is the question!
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