Gillingham (0) 2 Fish 51, Whelpdale 85
Macclesfield Town (0) 0
Att. 4,562
Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 45/4,433
Match Report
The air at Priestfield was thick with apathy. Gillingham’s mid-week defeat at Burton Albion had evidently been met by the travelling support with a stunned silence and it appeared that the vow of silence had carried itself into this fixture against relegation-threatened Macclesfield Town.In a dire first half that epitomised an end-of-season game for a club with nowhere to go, the Rainham End failed, or their players failed to raise them, from their slumbers to the point where the only noise, albeit whispers, came from the 39 travelling fans.
Macclesfield are in the bottom two for a reason, they cannot score goals. The lowest scoring team in the Division wasted a series of chances in the first half as defensive weakness, especially in the full back positions shouted loudly. Matt Smith was allowed successive free headers in the box, the first of which was directed at Paulo Gazzaniga and the second wastefully high, wide and not very handsome. Macclesfield were a big side and the home side struggled with their physical presence throughout this drudge of a half.
In fairness, Gillingham had their moments, Chris Whelpdale thumped in a 25 yard shot that was parried by Macclesfield keeper Richard O’Donnell, the rebound falling agonisingly a couple of yards away from the lurking Jo Kuffour.
The second half couldn’t have been any worse and thankfully it wasn’t. An early chance fell to Kuffour but he was only able to hook the ball into the arms of O’Donnell before the home side took the lead from a most unlikely source. Matt Fish, a target for the boo boys for much of the season, was on the end of a fine move that involved Whelpdale, followed by an incisive pass from Lewis Montrose who found the full back in space, 10 yards out, to slot coolly past O’Donnell for his first goal for the club.
Macclesfield’s response was instant and Gazzaniga made an impressive save to thwart Tony Diagne’s downward header followed by the wasteful Smith blazing high once more.
Andy Hessenthaler introduced Rowan Vine for the out-of-sorts, but with after-match knowledge, seemingly unfit Kuffour, and he announced himself with a powerful shot from 30 yards that stung the hands of O’Donnell before Gillingham wrapped up the points with another beautifully crafted goal with five minutes remaining. Danny Kedwell, who had an impressive return to the side, sent Danny Spiller galloping down the left hand side, whose superb cross was powered home by a diving header from Whelpdale.
It was one of those strange contradictions that a game of mediocrity was settled by two outstanding goals.
Spiller thought he had a third when he headed the ball into the net after Joe Martin’s shot had rebounded from the bar, but a linesman’s flag ruled the goal out, presumably for offside.
So where there was no hope, results at Crewe, drawing at home to Northampton with our old friend Bayo scoring the Cobbler’s equaliser; Oxford’s surprise home defeat to Morecambe and Cheltenham's defeat at Southend on Friday evening, new life was breathed into this stuttering campaign. Four points adrift there is very little room for even the slightest of setbacks, but the season is still alive . . . just.
No comments:
Post a Comment