Gillingham 0 Bradford City 1

Match 17/17/1467 - Saturday, 12th August 2017 - League One

Gillingham (0) 0
Bradford City (1) 1 Poleon 19
Attendance: 5,267

Entrance: Season Ticket
Programme: £3
Mileage: 58/1,105

Match Report

What are we to expect from Gillingham this coming season? My social media timelines are largely pessimistic and my personal thoughts are little different.

I'm sure Adrian Pennock's side will be more resilient with far greater endeavour than last year's dressing room rebels, but will that be enough to avoid the drop, on this display not without an injection of quality.

The reports from the opening league game at Doncaster, a goalless draw, and an honourable defeat at Championship Reading were encouraging but the fat zero following our name loomed large. The chances that went begging this afternoon highlighted that unless something changes, sooner rather than later, this could be a long, hard season.

Bradford City will probably prove to be very capable opposition and might well go one step further than last year's losing playoff finalists but Gillingham mostly matched them over the 90 minutes.

Tomas Holy was only asked to make a meaningful save in the dying embers of a game that Gillingham were chasing, but one defensive lapse was their undoing.

Bradford were the better side in the opening period and when Alex Jones was given a free ticket to cross from the bye line to a waiting Dominic Poleon with time and space to sweep the ball home from six yards.

Gillingham wasted a great chance to equalise when a cross into the box from Lee Martin found Alex Lacey who steered a free header wide.

Josh Parker brought a good save out of Colin Doyle but Bradford should have doubled their advantage when Max Ehmer was dispossessed on the edge of his box allowing Poleon to round Holy but then, unbelievably, rolling the ball past the post.

The second half saw Connor Wilkinson's claim for a penalty turned away and from a Martin corner, Josh Wright spurned another headed opportunity.

Wilkinson saw red after 74 minutes when a reckless challenge gave the referee a decision to make regardless of claims that there was no contact made.

The Gills showed their resilience with a fighting finish to the game despite their numerical disadvantage but were denied a point when their last kick equaliser from Gabriel Zakuani was ruled out for offside.