Gillingham 0 Blackpool 1

Match 54/18/1647 - Tuesday, 6th November 2018 - League One

Gillingham (0) 0
Blackpool (0) 1 Delfouneso 50
Attendance: 4,055

Admission: £19.75
Programme: £3
Mileage: 44/3,382

Match Report

It became very apparent to me, sitting in the Rainham End on a pretty dismal evening, that I’ve now put a lot of distance between myself and Gillingham Football Club.

I made a fundamental mistake in deciding to sit in the Rainham End where I would meet up with a few old friends. Non League football is not sanitised, and immune from the industrial language of the man on the terrace, indeed in such close proximity to the action you are aware of how much bad language is dispensed on the pitch. But such was the verbal abuse coming from behind me, every two minutes, with each tirade at the referee, the opposition, even the Gillingham players ending with the dropping of the C-bomb it became such a distraction that the game became almost a sideshow. If I return to Priestfield this season, a return to the relative sanctuary of the Gordon Road Stand is a must.

Gillingham came into this game, rearranged after the pitch was relaid, on the back of two home wins scoring seven goals in the process. Steve Lovell has emerged as a manager that, when it appears his job is on the line, he can find a result.

Overall, Gillingham probably didn’t deserve to lose this game but when you think back to the amount of saves that the Blackpool goalkeeper, Christoffer Mafoumbi had to make during the game it becomes less of an argument.

Connor Ogilvie crashed a shot against the bar from outside of the box after 12 minutes with the follow-up from Darren Oldaker going close but it wasn’t until six minutes before the break that Mafoumbi got his hands on the ball again fielding a effort from Mark Byrne.

That is not say that Blackpool were any more productive, not registering a single shot in the first period.

The first shot on goal for Blackpool proved to be the winner. Chris Taylor fastened on to a poor Max Ehmer clearance and his left wing cross found an unmarked Nathan Delfouneso who headed home at the far post.

Blackpool, much the the annoyance of the home support, embarked on 40 minutes of clocking winding but the Gills were unable to fashion anything resembling a golden chance until the last five minutes when Barry Fuller tested Mafoumbi.

This, at least, sparked a furious assault on the visitor’s goal for the time remaining, the best chance of which falling to substitute Elliott List.