Gillingham 1 Bristol Rovers 0

Match 46/09/798 - Saturday, 20th February 2010 - League One

Gillingham (0) 1 Jackson 90+2
Bristol Rovers (0) 0
Att. 5,302

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,346

Match Report

It was 470 minutes of playing time and in front of just 78 hardy Gillingham souls at Hartlepool when supporters last witnessed the elation of a Gillingham goal. Whether it was joy or sheer relief that greeted Simeon Jackson’s 92nd minute winner is for each individual to recount, personally it was relief that the winless streak of 10 matches was finally brought to an end.

Enough of the stats, as this was the ludicrously labelled homecoming of a Messiah, the Prodigal Son, but in fact no more than a mere mortal, Chris Dickson, the subject of the most drawn out transfer deal in the history of the club. Six months of conjecture and a falling-out between the clubs concerned ended when the striker finally pulled on the Number 15 shirt for this game against his previous loan club, Bristol Rovers.

If Dickson failed to score on his return his presence had a galvanising effect on the Priestfield crowd. Gone was the negativity of the past couple of games and with it a welcome respite for Mark Stimson who was able to call on the services of Rene Howe to partner the returning hero.

In a first half in which the home side made the majority of the running it was Howe that failed to profit from a Dickson pass when he weakly shot straight at Rovers’ keeper Rhys Evans, who would have fielded harder back passes in his time.

Dickson who was busy, but at times appeared to be trying almost too hard, set up another chance for Howe who skied over the bar just prior to the break.

The second half was so one-sided it is hard to believe that the home side had to wait until time added on to seal the points. Howe tested the Rainham End rather than the keeper before he was replaced in a double substitution that brought Jackson and Dennis Oli into the game.

As the chances mounted, Gillingham got closer and closer to a breakthrough without actually managing it. A Danny Jackman free kick was inches wide, Dickson was even closer with a header and with time running out Jackson saw his shot pushed onto the post by Evans. When the resultant corner was blasted into the roof of the Rainham End by Andy Barcham, it appeared that another afternoon was about to come up blank for the home side.

The Rovers’ keeper had been a major irritant with his time wasting and when the board showed just three minutes of added time it seemed less than generous, but it was enough. Adam Miller found Jackson with a long pass and from the edge of the box the Canadian drilled the ball into the bottom corner to cue a celebratory run to his manager on the sidelines. As the rest of the squad joined the celebrations the feeling that unity had returned to the club was almost tangible.

Chris Dickson’s return might not have yielded a goal, but it may well have produced something even more important in the fight against relegation, a sense of togetherness that permeates from the terrace to the boardroom, ironically something that was almost demanded in his programme notes from the chairman himself.