Gillingham (3) 4 Kuffour 10, 30, 45 (pen) Kedwell 90 (pen)
Northampton Town (1) 3 Berinho 35, 60 Langmead 54
Att. 4,704
Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 45/1,706
Match Report
As the final whistle went on this crazy match several of the Northampton players slumped to the turf in utter despair and whilst pleasure was being taken from an important victory for our favourites it wasn’t hard to understand the dismay of the visitors. They had held the balance of play for much of the game, their speedy forwards had tested the Gillingham back line beyond breaking point and, in fairness, a point was no more than they deserved for their endeavours.There was a focus on the two centre forwards, the past and present of Gillingham Football Club and strikers as different as chalk and cheese. For the visitors was the unmistakeable figure of Adebayo Akinfenwa, a man whose physique was never meant for that of a footballer, let alone one with the touch that the big man possesses and his counterpart for the home side, Joe Kuffour, a man of small stature, a real livewire.
The initial stages of the game suggested that it might be the game for the big man to remind his previous employers of what they were missing as three chances, a golden one within 90 seconds of the start, fell his way in the opening eight minutes. So it was completely against the run of play when Kuffour guided the ball into the net as a long punt into the box from Matt Lawrence virtually dropped out of the sky. If the Northampton defenders looked around themselves and asked questions how the striker was afforded the time and space it was only a foretaste for an afternoon that defenders on both sides will wish to forget.
Gillingham continued to be hard-pressed by the pace of Chris Arthur, Lewis Young and the very impressive loanee from West Bromwich Albion, Saido Berahino, but on the half-hour the home side doubled their advantage with an outstanding piece of improvisation from Kuffour. Frank Nouble lofted a cross to the far post from where Chris Whelpdale nodded down to Kuffour, who with his back to goal, backheeled the ball into the net from the edge of the six yard box.
The advantage was short-lived when Akinfenwa barrel-chested the ball into the path of Berahino who sped past Andy Frampton and finished clinically. Akinfenwa’s time at Priestfield wasn’t laden with goals, but his contribution for this goal was everything that he will be remembered for.
A penalty on the stroke of half time restored the home side’s two goal lead. Danny Kedwell played a pass to Kuffour who was brought down in the box by Kelvin Langmead. The referee initially waved aside the penalty claim but his attention was drawn to the linesman who had signalled the foul. Kedwell stood aside from his penalty taking duties to allow Kuffour the honour of a first half hat trick which he safely completed.
Kuffour was once again in the thick of the action almost immediately from the outset of the second half but was denied by some last ditched defending before the Cobblers turned the game around in a five minute spell. A long, long punt forward somehow eluded the Gillingham defence finding Langmead with time and space to direct a shot inside Ross Flitney’s left hand post. Five minutes later and a dozy defence allowed a free kick to be simply played back to Berahino who blasted in from just inside the box.
The visitors were now in the ascendancy and when Akinfenwa was sent clear by his strike partner Berahino it seemed that it was written in the script that the big man would return to score the winner, but he wastefully blazed the ball over the bar.
Further chances were spurned by both sides before the unfortunate Langmead conspired to be centre stage one last time. A superb pass inside the defender from Kedwell allowed Nouble a run into the box where a nudge from the defender, who tasted disappointment at Gillingham’s hands in the 2009 play-off final whilst with Shrewsbury, sent the winger to the ground. This time the referee needed no persuading and Kedwell resumed his duties to keep his nerve to dispatch the 91st minute winner from the spot.
Andy Hessenthaler and Gary Johnson would have endured similar sleepless nights following the nightmare defending but for the paying public it made for an enthralling encounter.
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