Crawley Town 1 Gillingham 2

Match 77/14/1186 - Saturday 28th March 2015 - League One

Crawley Town (0) 1 McLeod 63
Gillingham (1) 2 Dack 40, McGlashen 81
Att. 3,570

Entrance: £14 Senior
Programme: £3
Mileage: 88/5,686

Match Report

Gillingham broke through the 50-point threshold and with that achieved; the vast majority of supporters will give Justin Edinburgh the thumbs-up to Carry On Tinkering. Of course there are a few optimists out there that will still point to the possibility of making the play-offs with the deficit being only five points, but realistically that is an unlikely scenario.

Now we know, from the manager’s own words, that preparation has begun for next season, the benching of Cody McDonald didn’t appear as strange a choice as the previous Saturday when Luke Norris was preferred to John Marquis. Norris failed to impress against Colchester United, but his performance at Crawley was better.

Crawley, fighting a relegation battle, came into the game in good form having won three games in succession and climbing out of the bottom four in the process.

The shortest trip of the season brought out a 1,000-plus following for Gillingham and they enjoyed a first half in which their team dominated. Despite their superiority it took until the 40th minute to break down the Crawley defence. Bradley Dack, who had an eye-catching first half, latched onto a John Egan pass and skipped a couple of challenges before shooting across the face of the goal into the far corner.

If there is something you can guarantee about the Crawley striker, Izale McLeod, it is that he will score against Gillingham, he always does and this game proved no different. After 65 minutes, with very little appearing on, McLeod received the ball on the edge of the box and engineered a bit of space by side-stepping Egan to drill a shot past Glenn Morris. McLeod is the Gillingham fans’ pantomime villain, but, as usual, this was a quality finish.

Edinburgh responded by throwing McDonald into the fray and the ex-Burnley ‘keeper Brian Jensen made good saves from Doug Loft and Marquis as the visitors ramped up the pressure in search of a winner. The post denied Max Ehmer before, with nine minutes remaining, Dack stood up the perfect cross for the diminutive winger, Jermaine McGlashen to head home from close range.

Gillingham survived a scare at the death when Lanre Oyebanjo shot against the outside of a post, but to have been denied maximum points at that late stage would have been unjust.

It’s a nice easy trip to Crawley and there isn’t too much to dislike about them now that the Fat Scotsman has departed in search of the next pot of gold and the money has run out at the Broadfield Stadium. Personally, I hope they stay up.

Crawley Town 3 Gillingham 2

Match 22/13/1049 - Saturday, 7th September 2013 - League One

Crawley Town (0) 3 McFadzean 55, Clarke 66,81
Gillingham (0) 2 Kedwell (pen) 46, Legge 69
Att. 3,984

Entrance: £19
Programme: £3
Mileage: 104/1,673

Match Report

Ultimately, from the chairman to the fan, there are the same hopes and wishes for Gillingham’s season, but between now and its conclusion, there will be disagreements about the methods employed to get the club to whatever might be considered success.

Those opinions at present differ between the professional, through the eye of manager Martin Allen and the critical eyes of the club’s supporters. At what point does our present position constitute a worry, or using a more extreme word, crisis? Three successive League draws had seen an improvement in form and confidence and, if you are in the mode of positive thinking, it relates to three games without defeat. Unfortunately, a loss transforms into six games without a win from the opening day of the season and throwing in two cup defeats, the run rises to eight. Crisis or not, you pay your money, you state your opinion.

Personally, I’m not in crisis thinking, but I am worried and my thoughts do not always align themselves with those of the manager. Without question, he has a job to maintain the confidence of his squad going forward, but in so doing, his after match press conferences are becoming that of a repetitious nature that leads to the public not listening because they have heard it all before.

In essence there is nothing wrong with what is being said, but being told that "it was a good performance" after another game that hasn't been won doesn't explain as to why it was lost. What is wrong in saying that Gillingham might have got something out of the game if Billy Clarke hadn't been allowed to wander unchallenged through midfield before cracking home a fierce shot into the top corner?

That said, this was a strange game in which Crawley should have been home and hosed by half-time, quickly found themselves behind in the second before a red card apiece had a major bearing on the ultimate outcome.

The first half will be remembered, not fondly, for a series of saves by Stuart Nelson that kept the visitors in the game as Crawley thoroughly dominated. After half-an-hour of one-way traffic, Allen withdrew Adebayo Akinfenwa much to the big man's indignation. Fact was Gillingham were being over-run and without the agility of Nelson, a cricket score was in the offing. Following the reshuffle which involved Myles Weston being introduced the ship was at least steadied.

The second half was an end-to-end affair in which the two teams traded goals and red cards. In the opening minute Danny Kedwell turned Kyle McFadzean and was brought down to earn a penalty which he duly converted. Gillingham appeared to be on the way to a famous victory when, after 52 minutes, the home side were reduced to 10 men as Gary Alexander was sent off for an apparent stamp on Leon Legge.

Parity, in terms of personnel, was restored within a minute when Charlie Lee was sent off for a second bookable offence. The first half booking right in front of me looked extremely harsh and from the length of the pitch diagonally the second seemed similarly harsh. From the resulting free kick McFadzean was on hand at the far post to smash home an equaliser.

The home side were now back in ascendancy and after 66 minutes a free kick from Nicky Adams hit a post with the livewire Clarke quickest to react and score past the prostrate Nelson.

If heads went down on the terraces, they didn't on the field and within three minutes Gillingham were back on level terms. Bradley Dack crossed low into the box and Legge managed to bundle the ball into the net from close range whilst almost on his knees. He took a knock for his trouble and coupled with the injury inflicted when Alexander was sent off, he needed to be replaced with 15 minute remaining.

The unfamiliar back four of Whelpdale, Devante McKain, Barrett and Martin were being stretched to their limit as Nelson made save after save to preserve the point but he was finally undone with nine minutes remaining when Clarke surged forward and let fly an unstoppable shot from 20 yards for the winning goal.

Clarke's effort was nearly undone in time added when McFadzean deflected a ball onto his own post but on the day Gillingham fell just short.

"A good performance"? It was certainly spirited and one that was heavily influenced by the sending-off of Charlie Lee. But whether we deserved better than the narrow defeat is obviously open to interpretation and whether you need to indulge in a bit of old fashion flannel.

Crawley Town 1 Gillingham 2

Match 35/11/922 - Monday, 26 December 2011 - League Two

Crawley Town (1) 1 Tubbs 34 (pen)
Gillingham (0) 2 Kuffour 50,52
Att. 4,255

Entrance: £16
Programme: £3.00
Mileage: 105/2,880
New Ground: 247

Match Report


Every club that leaves the Conference for the Football League departs the non-league scene with the best wishes of that fraternity, except one . . . Crawley Town.

Crawley supporters point to jealousy, similar to the green-eye that blighted Chelsea in years gone by and Manchester City of today. But those clubs were transparent as to where there money was sourced, two very rich men who were willing to use their clubs as boys toys, but Crawley are different, where does the wealth that took them from administration on two occasions to the Football League come from, the Football Association like the rest of us, would like to know. So far, despite the fair and proper person’s rule, Crawley’s mysterious backers remain unmasked.

But, it seems that it is not jealousy of wealth that tarnished their success in non-league it is the actions of a single man . . . Steve Evans, their buffoon of a manager and a man with a past as shady as the mysterious Crawley backers.

In 2006, Evans and the former chairman of Boston United, Pat Malkinson, were given suspended prison sentences after pleading guilty to conspiring to cheat the public revenue between 1997 and 2002. Evans’ QC said that the manager was a different person to the “bombastic” character that managed Boston from 1998, if that remains the case 10 years on, he still knows how to rub people up the wrong way.

The bitterness that followed Crawley’s defeat to Gillingham manifested itself as the floodlights were turned off as the visiting players were going through their warming-down and his after-match comments were those of a bitter man that not only does not like losing but cannot take losing.

Evans said: “The best team lost today . . . There will be parties in Gillingham tonight; it’s as if they have won the World Cup.” Excuse me, Mr Evans, whilst not dwelling on our past, we have been to the Championship and beaten the likes of Leeds United, Charlton Athletic and reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup, they were reasons for street parties, not beating a Fourth Division team in front of a Football League record crowd of just 4,255.

Twitter on Boxing Day evening was absolutely addictive as Gillingham fans, and supporters of erstwhile non-league opponents of Crawley, reacted to Evans’ comments. For those of you that don’t do Twitter a hash tag can get a comment “trending”, #steveevansisaknob became a trend. A female Wimbledon supporter, under the title afcw_alice posted, Glad you Football League fans are starting to realise what a vile man we have had to put up with for the past few years.

It is all quite sad really because Crawley Town as a club yesterday were warm and welcoming. Their stewards were polite and helpful and on leaving the stadium their fans were fine; one even shook hands on our victory.

Let’s give Mr Evans some latitude; he was probably right when he said that the best team lost, however bitter he sounded. Despite going down to 10 men following the sending off of Claude Davis after just 18 minutes, the league leaders on a record of 15 games without defeat, continued to take the game to their visitors with their front two, Matt Tubbs and Tyrone Barnett a real handful.

In the opening stages of the game, Danny Kedwell was hauled to the ground by Pablo Mills, despite admitting to blue tinted glasses, it looked a nailed-on penalty but referee Darren Sheldrake waved away the appeals.

Davis’ dismissal was fully justified, a loose back pass was seized upon by Joe Kuffour and when the striker got clear of the giant defender, given Kuffour’s later opportunism, would almost certainly have scored had it not been for the clumsy challenge that earned the red card.

Gillingham failed dismally to take capitalise on their man advantage and quite frankly were pretty poor in a first half which ended with the home side with taking a 34th minute lead from the penalty spot after Matt Lawrence had needlessly pushed Kyle McFadzean in the back, allowing Tubbs to convert.

Midway through the half, there was an altercation on the touchline which evidently is going to be referred to the Football Association in the form of complaint against the coaching staff of Gillingham, pot kettle black.

The game was quickly turned on its head in two minutes early in the second half. Chris Whelpdale swung in a cross to the far post where Kuffour got in front of his marker to turn the ball in from close range. Two minutes later and the celebrating Gills following, a record for the Broadfield Stadium of 1,301, were delirious as Kuffour doubled his tally. Thirty-five yards from goal he took a pass from Luke Rooney to run at defenders already nervous of the damage he had caused with his pace, as they backed off he picked his spot with a low shot into the far corner past the despairing Scott Shearer.

Now needing to chase the game and a man light Crawley should have been ripe for picking off with counter attacking football, but Gillingham retreated and put their fans through 30 minutes of torture as the home side sought to salvage something from the game. One horror moment saw the ball inch past the post with Ross Flitney helpless following a Lawrence deflection, but it was the same defender that came to Flitney’s rescue on the stroke of the 90 minutes, beaten by Tubbs header, but Lawrence cleared from the line.

Luke Rooney’s return to first team action ended with a second yellow card in time added on, as the clock was finally wound down.

Broadfield Stadium just about meets the Football League criteria, but needs developing as they progress through the Divisions. Plans are being processed to develop the east side of the ground that at this time houses a couple of steps of uncovered standing. At present the Stadium is dominated by the West Stand which is a modern, functional structure running two-thirds of the length of the pitch. Behind both goals are covered terraced areas.

For my final paragraph I will return to Twitter and a late night posting from Matt Lawrence, who on the back of our World Cup Final winning match against Brazil went to bed with the Jules Rimet Trophy and we should also remember that next season we will be able to stitch a single gold star above our badge. For that, Mr Steve Evans, we thank you.