Gillingham 2 Swindon Town 0

Match 52/13/1079 - Saturday, 18th January 2014 - League One

Gillingham (1) 2 Legge 18, Harriman 83
Swindon Town (0) 0
Att. 6,134

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 45/5,470

Match Report

Not being much of a movie-buff, I had to look up which one was the baddie out of Jekyll and Hyde. It turns out that it was Edward Hyde; I always thought that Dr Jekyll sounded the creepier. It was a work of fiction that eventually became associated with a rare condition called disassociative identity disorder, or a split personality. It’s a wonderful tool, Wikipaedia! If, presently, there is a club in football that cannot make up their mind whether they are Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde, then it is Gillingham.

As much as nobody expected Mr Hyde to turn up last week at Colchester, we equally didn’t expect Dr Jekyll to emerge as something resembling Jimmy Stewart’s part in It’s a Wonderful Life at Priestfield yesterday. To continue the movie analogy, George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart’s character) needed the help of an angel to reach his final conclusion, Gillingham only had Peter Taylor, but the tactical nous in which he won a game of football against the old enemy, may well lead to the belief that our guardian angel is in our midst!

Swindon Town arrived at Priestfield with their smallest following (372) that I’ve seen in recent years. Whether it was the weather coupled with the open skies of the Brian Moore Stand or away form that has been patchy at best, those that stayed away may well have had a good sense of foreboding. Whilst not wishing to diminish a very good Gillingham performance, there have been too few this season not to celebrate when they come along, Swindon were pretty poor. Three shots comfortably fielded by Stuart Nelson was all they could muster, shades of Gillingham last week.

Peter Taylor produced a tactical masterstroke in installing Ipswich loanee, Elliott Hewitt into the right back position and pushing Michael Harriman forward as essentially a marauding winger; it worked a treat. Whilst Hewitt produced a sound defensive performance, Harriman was an absolute revelation. I’m told that while I was on holiday, and missing the Oldham home game, this was tried without the same success but on this occasion it produced an outstanding performance and his first-ever goal for Gillingham.

The club and Danny Kedwell finally decided that the time was right for the striker to have his hernia operation and in his place in the starting line-up came Adebayo Akinfenwa. In the 18th minute, we were treated to one of those rare happenings, a free kick awarded for a foul on the big man. Joe Martin swung the kick into the penalty area, and while Swindon’s attention was drawn to Bayo, Leon Legge got in front of his marker to power home a header from 12 yards.

One of Swindon’s chances fell almost immediately, but Nile Ranger could only toe-end a cross from close range into the grateful hands of Nelson. Just before the half-hour mark, Harriman sent Cody McDonald clear but, cutting in from the right, the striker pulled his shot just wide of the far post.

Swindon’s best chance of the half needed the outstretched leg of Nelson to preserve their lead before McDonald was once more sent clear but the striker again pulled his shot wide no doubt to the dismay of his old striking partner from Witham Town, the pop [star] Olly Murs, who was sitting in the Medway stand.

On the hour, Alex Pritchard, who had taken Gillingham to the cleaners in the reverse fixture, deliberately attempted to palm a cross into the net with his hand and was justifiably booked in what had become an increasingly frustrating afternoon for the diminutive midfielder as his threat was largely contained by effective performances in front of the back four from Steven Gregory and Jake Hessenthaler.

On his substitution, Akinfenwa received the appreciative applause of the home crowd for a hard-working performance, shortly after steering a header wide from a Hewitt cross.

The game was finally put to bed seven minutes from time. Bradley Dack won the ball in the left hand corner and linked well with Martin who danced a couple of challenges before crossing from the bye-line to Harriman, whose shot found the net in the centre of the goal, albeit from a connection that appeared to be somewhere around the middle of the shin. If the connection was a little fortunate it was nothing that the Irish Under-21’s performance hadn’t earned.

Something a little more akin to Superman rather than Dr Jekyll might be needed at Brentford on Friday against, arguably the best side in the division, but in this topsy-turvy season, in our heart of hearts there is the strong suspicion that Hyde may well turn up again.