Gillingham 1 Charlton Athletic 1

Match 42/16/1350 - Saturday, 22nd October 2016 - League One

Gillingham (1) 1 Dack 41
Charlton Athletic (0) 1 Ajose 90
Attendance: 8,670

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 58/3,445

Match Report

Referee are either your 12th man or the 12th man against you, they are as important to the result as your star striker or your top drawer goalkeeper. I remain, for better or worse, of the opinion that no man in black (or any other colour they wear these days) steps out onto that pitch at kick-off time with any intention to influence the game towards one side or another. But then there are times when your conviction that all things are fair and equal become seriously tested. There was little indication that Mr Mark Haywood would become the villain of the piece in the first half of this game, but come the end, he was the man taking the abuse of the crowd.

As a Gillingham supporter, I'm not going to hide behind the referee. The reason Gillingham failed to acquire all three points and failed once more to collect a clean sheet was mainly of their own failings, but it might have been different with another referee.

Hayward had four penalty claims to adjudicate. There is no doubt that both of the penalties he awarded to Charlton were the correct decisions, but the claims that he denied for fouls on Cody McDonald were controversial to say the least and, from my seat, the second one was clearly wrong. If it had been given and if (if is a huge word) it had been converted, then Charlton's last minute spot kick would have been mere consolation.

After watching Cody McDonald perform the thankless task of lone striker against Walsall, Justin Edinburgh made the surprising, but welcome, change by adding both Frank Nouble and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to his front line. With Bradley Dack at the front of the midfield diamond, nobody on this occasion, could complain about the potential firepower.

The opening quarter was dominated by the home side but without creating any clear cut chances. Pot shots from distance by Ryan Jackson and Chris Herd was about as good as it got. After 26 minutes Emmanuel-Thomas sent Dack clear but the Charlton goalkeeper, Declan Rudd, smothered his attempt to lift the ball over him.

On the half-hour mark, Jonathan Bond, suffering a groin problem, needed to be replaced between the sticks for Gillingham by Stuart Nelson.

Four minutes before the break Gillingham took the lead. Emmanuel-Thomas switched the ball to Paul Konchesky, and the left-back cut in and hit a right-footed cross, where Dack popped up with a top-class header to make it 1-0.

Nelson made a great save to deny Josh Magennis, clawing the striker's header away from the top corner.

The respite was not to last. From the resulting corner, the referee pointed to the spot after adjuding that Ryan Jackson had held his man as the ball was in the air. Nelson confirmed his hero status, pushing Ricky Holmes' spot kick to safety.

After the hour mark, and in the space of five minutes, came the two contentious Gillingham appeals. For the second claim, McDonald, through on goal, was brought down from behind but the appeals were waved away.

Charlton threw everything at Gillingham, who were guilty of their season-long failing of dropping further and further back to protect their slender lead, in the closing 20 minutes but were up against a top notch display from Nelson.

In time-added, one last punt into the box, saw Herd needlessly handball and from the resultant penalty, Nicky Ajose sent Nelson the wrong way to delight the massed ranks of away support that had filled the Brian Moore Stand.