Match Reports
Three-sy does it for Gills
Published by Simon Head on September 5, 2009
Gillingham claimed their second league win of the season as they comprehensively defeated Exeter City 3-0 at Priestfield.
A brace from Simeon Jackson and a stunning debut strike from substitute Luke Rooney gave Gillingham the three points in a match that Gillingham dominated from start to finish.
The key factor in Gillingham’s strong start was the pace of wide men Andy Barcham and Dennis Oli. Both wingers terrorised the Exeter fullbacks and created chances aplenty as the Gills dominated the early exchanges.
Oli was involved in the creation of the first goal, combining well with skipper Barry Fuller, who was clumsily floored inside the penalty area by Marcus Stewart.
The referee’s assistant flagged immediately and put his flag across his chest, but he needn’t have bothered, as the referee had already pointed to the spot.
Simeon Jackson composed himself and beat Oscar Jansson with a shot that went in off the inside of the post.
Gillingham dominated the rest of the half and should have gone in at halftime with a more emphatic lead. Such was their dominance Exeter’s first shot of the half came with just nine minutes remaining – and that was a speculative lob from all of 45 yards.
The Gills came out in the second half and immediately picked up where they left off. Before many fans had taken their seats for the second half Simeon Jackson had put the ball in the net to give Gillingham a two-goal lead.
A poor back header was pounced upon by the Gills’ number ten, who lifted the ball over the stranded Janssen to effectively win the game for the Gills moments after the kickoff.
Gillingham continued to play impressively, denying Exeter space when they had the ball and breaking with skill and pace when they had it.
In the middle of the park Danny Jackman and substitute Kevin Maher looked assured as they broke up play and started Gillingham’s attacks, while in front of them Curtis Weston appeared to be enjoying the attacking freedom of an advanced midfield position.
Out wide, messrs Oli and Barcham were both prominent every time Gillingham attacked – and fans might have been forgiven for thinking that the home side’s attacking impetus might have been curtailed when Mark Stimson withdrew the pair midway through the second half.
But the two replacements, John Nutter and Luke Rooney, combined to spectacular effect just moments after their introduction.
The impressive Chris Palmer sent Nutter away down the left flank and the Gills number three crossed deep for Rooney who found the top corner of the net with a stunning strike.
Rarely has a Gills side created so many chances in a game, and Jackson very nearly finished the match with another hat-trick, but his last-minute effort was brilliantly palmed away by Jansson.
The match ended with a 3-0 win for the Gills, but make no mistake, this performance was every bit as good as the one against Swindon on opening day. In fact, in terms of the quality of the play, it may even have been better.
That win moves Gillingham up to 11th place in League One and gives supporters plenty of positives going into a busy month of fixtures. Next up, it’s Millwall at home.
Gillingham: Royce, Fuller, Palmer, Gowling, Bentley, Oli (Rooney 74), Barcham (Nutter 74), Jackman, Weston, Jackson, McCammon (Maher 22)
Simon Head
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