Bromley 2 Gillingham 1

Match 01/10/817 - Saturday, 10th July 2010 - Pre-Season Friendly

Bromley (0) 2 McDonnell 66, Scarborough 73
Gillingham (0) 1 Onibuje 78
Att. TBC

Entrance: £10
Programme: £2.50
Mileage: 76/76

Match Report

This was a stereotypical Pre-Season Friendly. A roasting hot day, a different eleven for each half, a clutch of triallists, one of which even had the press box boys scratching their heads and a Gillingham away defeat.

The thermometer on the car dashboard showed 31degC as I pulled into the Hayes Lane car park for Gillingham’s second friendly in 48 hours following a 2-1 defeat at Braintree on Friday evening.

Nicky Southall and Ian Hendon were putting out the cones and while kicking a ball about Hendon thundered two successive volleys into the net from 20 yards and he’s just the assistant manager were my thoughts. Danny Spiller warmed up with the squad but did not feature and Mark McCammon went through a light session away from the rest.

Bromley’s Hayes Lane pitch looked absolutely perfect, although with the lack of rain it was probably a bit on the firm side.

Andy Hessenthaler began the game with a recognisable first eleven. Triallist Tony Sinclair lined up in centre defence alongside Josh Gowling sporting an almost comical new hairstyle and Andy White, the young summer signing from Reading, took up a position on the left side of midfield.

Gillingham dominated the first half; Luke Rooney was the stand-out player drawing a couple of saves from Bromley’s Craig Holloway and was in the thick of most of the visitors attacking intentions. White drifted across the front line and looked comfortable on the ball. In the back line, Sinclair, although lacking in height, was untroubled by Bromley’s strikers. Jack Payne also had an industrious 45 minutes.

A convenient injury mid-way through each half allowed the referee to implement an American-style time-out for the players to take on much needed liquid countering the searing heat.

Alan Julian was forced into just one save before the break, but for all of their possession and Rooney’s efforts the half remained goalless.

Gillingham’s second half eleven included triallists Oliver Kelly, a former Reading academy player; Craig Stone making a return in a Gillingham shirt; Serge Makofo and Fola Onibuje (pictured) making up the front line. Makofo, Congolese, had great pace and proved quite a handful, whilst Onibuje, a Nigerian, was simply huge.

The second half began badly for the visitors and got progressively worse. Connor Essam was caught in possession inside the box and Nic McDonnell made him pay dearly for the mistake with a well taken shot past Julian into the bottom corner, for a 66th minute lead. Shortly after Dean Rance had to be helped from the field following a knock to the ankle to be replaced by Youssef Bourezghi, a triallist that even Wikipedia cannot place.

Three minutes later a corner found defender Jon Scarborough standing in an ocean of space from which he capitalised with a thunderous volley reminiscent of Hendon’s warm-up efforts. Mark Bentley looked questionably at Kelly and Bourezghi regarding their whereabouts at the moment of conversion. Neither went on to redeem themselves greatly and this might well be the first and last we see of the pair in a Gillingham shirt.

A typical jinking Andy Barcham run and cross from the left hand side left the towering Onibuje to head home from close range to halve the deficit and in the last act of the game, Makofo weaved his way into a good shooting position but spoilt his good work with a shot that was smothered by the Bromley keeper.

Successive defeats will not inspire confidence but results pre-season mean nothing. First half passing was crisp and effective, second half defensive howlers were the contributory factors to the defeat. 45 minutes viewing is not enough to rule in or out any of the triallists, but first impressions are that they will not make the grade.

Dartford’s Princes Park sees the next stop on the Pre-Season trail.