Crewe Alexandra (1) 1 Sinclair 26 (o.g.)
Gillingham (0) 1 Weston 56
Att. 4,012
Entrance: £15
Programme: £2.50
Mileage: 464/7,794
Match Report
Just how full is your glass, half full or half empty? Gillingham’s recent away form begs that question of their supporters. Leaving Torquay a month ago, I was satisfied with a point given the lateness of Luke Rooney’s equaliser and likewise, following a physical battle at Stevenage, a point was considered something to value. On to Crewe yesterday, and after a hard fought game, whilst I am able to trot out the same old line, I’d have taken a point, so let’s be happy, I can’t get past the thought that we need to start turning some of these draws into wins if we are going to be contenders for one of the automatic places come May.Make no mistake; this was a decent point, well deserved within the context of a fair result. Defeats this weekend for Chesterfield, Wycombe, Bury and Rotherham add weight to the argument that the result was certainly not to be sniffed at.
Simon King returned to the starting line-up in place of the injured Matt Lawrence, but the recent jinx of the centre half struck the defender and a hamstring pull after just 20 minutes curtailed his return. Tony Sinclair, himself returning after a lengthy lay-off, was King’s substitute and within 10 minutes he got his legs in a tangle in an attempt to clear a Danny Shelley cross and inadvertently sliced the ball into his own net.
Previously, the game had been evenly balanced, with the best chance falling to Shelley who benefited from a counter-attack following Gillingham’s trademark corner routine that allowed Barry Fuller a shot from the edge of the box that was blocked. The swift counter-attack saw the visitors exposed and it took a good stop from Alan Julian to maintain the goalless scoreline. Gillingham made half chances during the first half, but keeper Rhys Taylor was not seriously tested.
From the outset of the second half, Gillingham took the game to their hosts. A mix-up between the keeper and defender allowed Cody McDonald to get between them and the nudge the ball goalwards, but his little toe-poke was cleared away from the line.
Two refereeing decisions in front of the assembled 320 Gillingham supporters brought howls of derision and laughter in equal measure and in between came the joyous moment of Curtis Weston’s well-struck equaliser. First, referee Karl Evans angered the visiting support with the booking of McDonald for a challenge on Mathew Mitchell-King, it was the overriding opinion that the Crewe player went down without a touch, unfortunately my eyes followed the ball and therefore cannot make a personal judgement. The referee was later guilty, in my opinion, of exercising the letter of the law but not an element of common sense. A misplaced Gillingham pass was heading out of play when an over-zealous ball boy dived forwards to complete an admirable catch right on the touchline. The referee, correctly deciding that the ball had not gone out of play, awarded a drop ball, but with no player in the near vicinity and the ball obviously going to go out of play, could he have spared the lad’s blushes and just given a throw to Crewe?
Rhys Taylor had no need to blush either a couple of minutes earlier, clutching at thin air as a screamer from Curtis Weston flew into the top corner from 25 yards. Collecting a pass from Danny Jackman, it was a case of a couple of steps forward and the cleanest of strikes that whistled into the net.
Gillingham continued in the ascendancy for the following 20 minutes and Adebayo Akinfenwa brought a save from Taylor with his feet after a clever bit of ball juggling and a half-hit shot before the home side finished slightly the stronger without stretching Alan Julian.
Gresty Road has the strangest proportions of any ground in the Football League. The Main Stand is massive; it dwarfs its counterparts on the other three sides, I understand that it accounts for 70% of the overall capacity of the stadium. From our viewing position opposite, without bending down, the top of the stand was obscured by the roof of ours. It is simple in design, certainly not a monstrosity, but just so damn big! Our view was also slightly obscured by a pillar. A big plus was the large car park with a charge of just £2, a little bit of a bottleneck getting out, but an early park gave a good position for a reasonably quick getaway.
I'm yet to decide whether my glass is half full or half empty, I guess it is a case of time will tell.
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