Gillingham 2 Plymouth Argyle 1

Match 57/12/1010 - Saturday, 9 March 2013 - League Two

Gillingham (1) 2 German 30, Whelpdale 55
Plymouth Argyle (0) 1 Banton 75
Att. 10,260

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 45/4,444

Match Report

The Saturday night frown that has accompanied Gillingham home games of late was at last turned upside down as a really decent performance on the pitch was matched by a passionate effort from the fans in the stands. Recognising the dreadful lack of atmosphere at Priestfield in the last couple of months, a group of fans got together and initially using the power of social media and at the turnstiles issuing a Kitchener-style card to rally the support and, to be fair, it worked. The team likewise responded and everybody went home happy for a change.

I’ve no idea whether the club rallied to the supporters’ call, or it was a pre-conceived plan, but it was rumoured that upwards of 4,000 tickets were given away that boosted the crowd to a season’s best 10,000-plus. As far as I’m aware, there was no official announcement of any ticket giveaway and it was a complete surprise to me to see long queues formed at the Gordon Road entrance half-an-hour before kick-off. I can only visualise the massed ranks of the club’s staff stationed down the High Street with fistfuls of tickets being offered to passers-by. Before I’m sued by the club, I am joking and I understand the tickets were given to schoolchildren and service people.

The Kitchener-card spoke of days when Gillingham fans had a voice and a FA Cup game against Chelsea in 2001 when from
3-0 down at half-time the Priestfield crowd dragged the home side back into the game and had the top division giants wobbling at 3-2. Let’s get the place buzzing again was the call and the combination of the extra attendees and commitment of the regulars produced an atmosphere not enjoyed at Priestfield for a very long time.

Top versus virtually bottom should mean only one result, but with Gillingham’s home form nobody was taking anything for granted. As is Martin Allen’s style he produced the first surprise of the afternoon naming Bradley Dack and Antonio German in the starting line-up at the expense of Charlie Lee and Deon Burton and when the supporters would have been digesting the game in the bars or their sitting rooms later in the evening those two names would have been uppermost in their thoughts.

The home side set the tempo from the outset and the first chance of the game fell to Chris Whelpdale, in the fourth minute, who failed to convert a Dack cross with a header that sailed over the crossbar. German announced his arrival on the scene with a shot that had the Plymouth keeper, Jake Cole, saving low his right.

Dack and German joined forces to engineer Gillingham’s lead on the half-hour. Dack swept in a free kick that wasn’t dealt with by the Argyle defence and when the ball dropped to the Brentford loanee on the edge of the six yard box, German reacted quickly and volleyed home into the centre of the goal.

The Bradley Dack first half show ended with a diving header that was saved by Cole just before the break.

Plymouth, who had barely threatened in the first half, stretched Stuart Nelson to his first save after 10 minutes of the second half when a shot from Jason Banton took a deflection and was dipping in before Nelson produced a fine save, tipping the ball over the bar.

Gillingham doubled their advantage just after the hour with a move started and finished by Whelpdale. A defence splitting pass sent German through on goal, but having rounded the keeper, his shot hit a post but thankfully rebounded kindly for Whelpdale to slot into an empty net.

With the game seemingly won, Gillingham made substitutions, Dack leaving the field to rapturous applause, and German after taking a knock. The hosts lost momentum and Plymouth started to find a way back into the game. With a quarter-hour remaining a corner was only cleared to the edge of the box from where Banton, on loan from Crystal Palace, drove a low shot through the crowded box and into the right hand corner of the net.

The raucous crowd were now on the edge of their seats as relegation-threatened Argyle sought a valuable point and when Gozie Ugwu toppled under a challenge from Leon Legge, there was a collective holding of breath from the Gillingham end of Priestfield and indignation from the Green Army as the referee waved away the appeals.

It was almost as if everything would be alright on the night when the roar that greeted the final whistle was complemented with the news that Port Vale, Rotherham and Cheltenham had all lost their matches and Gillingham’s lead at the top of the table stood at five points.

Stand up the people that brought Priestfield back to life, promotion is now within touching distance, my prediction is that 78 points will be enough for promotion alone and that amounts to just three more wins and the passion that was created will drive those red shirts over the line (and then we can go back to our proper colours!).

The classic programme covers that are being replicated for this centenary season today came from the 1969-70 season.