Gillingham 0 Peterborough United 1

Match 111/16/1418 - Saturday, 25th March 2017 - League One

Gillingham (0) 0
Peterborough United (0) 1 Morais 90
Attendance: 7,561

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 58/7,668

Match Report

In the week that Paul Scally, the Chairman of Gillingham Football Club produced a document that told the tale of a football club that, inside a new stadium, could see a path to Premier League football, his employees went on to the pitch and produced the worst performance of the season in an absolutely shocking advert for League One football.

I understand Scally's long-term ambition for the club that will endure long after he, and I, have departed the scene. I appreciate the need for alternative revenue streams and a facility that will serve the local community seven days a week, but at very nearly 66 years of age, I doubt that I will ever see the scheme through to fruition and, rather selfishly, I would prefer to see the here and now dealt with. What we have now is a crap team that are staring League Two football in the face and I don't particularly want to watch it next season, and as a season ticket holder, I will not.

Mr Scally offers up Brighton & Hove Albion as the template for success via a new stadium and he is right to highlight that particular club as they stand on the threshold of the Premier League, but they had the benefit of a benefactor with bottomless pockets and building the stadium and assembling a winning squad was able to be done hand-in-hand. Mr Scally's pockets, by his own admission, are not bottomless.

If the land required to build the stadium at Mill Hill is allocated to Gillingham in the near future, and I hope for the future of the club is does, unless an investor with wads of cash to throw at the project comes on board, the high percentage of each season's budget is going to be directed towards Mill Hill and where will that leave the playing budget?

The game with Peterborough had to be earmarked as one of the remaining games to put three points on the table, they were on a poor run with nothing much left to play for, and to be honest, they looked it. Sadly, Gillingham were worse.

One hour elapsed before Cody McDonald directed a header goalwards that was comfortably collected by Luke McGee.

Gillingham gave a debut to Czech goalkeeper Tomas Holy. Some of his handling was a bit nervy but his kicking was solid and he made one very good save to deny Chris Forrester whose shot from 35 yards was destined for the top corner.

If one could suffer the boredom of the game being served up, then the biting wind that blew under the sun-starved Gordon Road Stand made life really uncomfortable. It was bizarre to look across at the Medway Stand soaked in sunshine and people in shirt sleeves whilst we literally froze.

Out of nowhere came a goal that deserved to win a thriller, not this tedium. On the stroke of the 90th minute, Junior Morais, derided for his body shape and lack of height, let fly from 30 yards into the top corner giving Holy no chance.

I look forward to the outcome of Medway Council's deliberations on the future of Mill Hill, but I fear that by the time they make their decision they will be looking to re-house a League Two club.