Gillingham (0) 1 Akinfenwa 75
Cheltenham Town (0) 1 Thomas 53
Att. 5,655
Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/320
Match Report
They came in sizeable numbers to welcome back the small man that is a Gillingham legend, they left singing the praises of the big man, who could become a cult hero at Priestfield Stadium.Andy Hessenthaler walked the touchline at 3 o’clock to rapturous applause from a support that has been reunited by his appointment and whilst, two hours later, the result might not have been the perfect end to the day, the performance offered positive encouragement for the coming months.
A Cheltenham side that offered far more than their previous season’s lowly finish would have expected, played their part in a highly entertaining first day encounter.
First day nerves played their part as the new-look Gillingham side back in their popular blue and black stripes struggled to find their feet in the opening stages but once Andy Barcham realised he had the beating of his full back the chances started to fall to the hosts. He created an opportunity for Curtis Weston that the midfielder shot over and had a couple of chances of his own, one of which might have brought a penalty.
Young 18-year-old debutant, Stefan Payne was asked to lead the attack as a lone striker and his inexperience led to him wanting a touch to many to create the perfect shooting opportunity but he did more than enough to foster the believe that Hessenthaler may have unearthed a prospective talent.
In midfield, Danny Spiller produced a performance of high energy and endeavour. Now 29, Spiller has a five-month contract in which to convince the man he once played alongside that he is worthy of a longer term and his near man-of-the-match display showed a willingness to earn it.
Cheltenham, who had barely threatened the Gillingham goal in the first half, opened the scoring eight minutes into the second half. Despite having an early chance in the second half, the goal came from such an innocuous situation that it took the home crowd by surprise. A free kick from Keith Lowe found Wes Thomas who poked home from close range despite the attention of Josh Gowling, who otherwise had a very solid game.
Gone were the dithering substitutions of Mark Stimson's reign as Hessenthaler immediately introduced Adebayo Akinfenwa into the action. Nicknamed “The Fridge” by Millwall fans during his spell at The Den, after the legendary William Perry of the Chicago Bears, the Gillingham supporters have adopted the label “The Tank”, and what a first impression he made.
For such a big man, his touch is remarkably deft. Within two minutes he had produced an overhead kick into the goalkeepers welcoming arms that belied his physicality. His hold-up play was excellent, winning and laying off passes as Gillingham searched for an equaliser that deservedly arrived with 15 minutes remaining.
A long throw-in from Jack Payne found Akinfenwa at the near post and his flicked header took a deflection to nestle into the far corner of the net. It wasn’t a classic goal but Bayo held an arm aloft, was engulfed by his team mates and carried on walking towards the centre circle!
Gillingham sensed a winner but chances for Luke Rooney, Tony Sinclair and Andy Barcham failed to deliver the three points.
Despite the result, the referee’s final whistle brought a positive response from the Gillingham faithful. Overall they must have been pleased with what they had seen. An outstanding performance from 18-year-old Jack Payne, a performance from Danny Spiller in the image of his boss and, then there was Akinfenwa, the big man that took the first steps and the first goal towards cult hero status.
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