fan_of_mulligan
fomblog: Bristol Rovers (A)
Published by fan_of_mulligan on November 23, 2009
I got up at 7.10 and made sure I had everything I needed for the day (Money, Mobile Phone, Coat, Radio, Spare Battery, My trusty can of Lynx and my 500ML bottle of Coca Cola) and I made sure I not forgotten anything before I left the house at 8.30 and I got a lift down to where The Reliance Coach was parked.
I got on the coach at 8.40 and sat in my usual seat which is four rows from the very front and Keith said to me that he was doing a free copy of the Playoff DVD for Rose with material he had collaborated together on his PC and Keith asked if I wanted a copy and I said Yes I wouldn’t mind having a copy as I had been asking in The CLUB Shop for the Playoff DVD since the very start of the season.
Once everyone was on the coach we left Gillingham at 8.55 and to my left Derek and Jolley (who are both on Gills 365) were talking about old electronic devices with two pins and in-particular old Radio’s and the frequency would only go upto 1,00,00 FM so Classic Radio or Radio Kent would not be picked up on these old radio’s – I asked if these radio’s were very much the ones you see used in War Films or the one that Winston Churchill announced that England was at war and it was very much that type of radio.
There was a man who was on Meridian Tonight this week and every electronic device in his house is from the 1940’s his Hoover, Television, Radio and Toaster were from that period and one thing this man said stuck and that was things were built to last where as now that isn’t the case and all these devices still work to this day including the black & white television. (Which I am surprised that it still works)
So we went round the pick up points and Callum couldn’t goto the game as he had a cold, I am sure Callum would be kicking himself if this was the first away game he would miss and we would so happen to earn all three points.
Jordan got on the coach outside Strood Sports Centre and sat in-front of me and straight away we were speaking about today’s game and how we hoped that this would be the one where we end our winless run away from home, Jordan missed Gillingham’s match against Oldham last week as he watched England play at Wembley in gale force winds, I said I would be surprised if you were at Doha (referring to the Brazil V England match).
Pam came round with the tickets and to sort out our travel for future away trips, my ticket for The Rovers match only cost me £8 as I decided to stand and I put myself down for away trips to Leyton Orient and Huddersfield so if anyone does decide to come to future away games then I will be there for both of those games – Carlisle away is certainly one I want to do this season and while I don’t know the price I know that Huddersfield away will cost £25 so at a complete guess Carlisle I think will be £30.
I know that Jordan play’s for a side and his side beat Callum’s team a few week’s ago – both teams are in the same division and I asked do you get parents who shout every four letter under the sun and Jordan said yes because I know that The FA and other governing bodies want to cut this behaviour out – Jordan asked if I played for a team and I mentioned that a group of us do have a kick about but some of us are more competitive and more committed then others and all it takes is 2-3 people not turning up and it ruins it for everyone else. Me and Stewart have been abit fed up with 1-2 letting everyone else down that we are considering joining a team, when you want to be involved in a proper match and 1-2 cannot be bothered then it is very frustrating – Jordan mentioned that though swearing is condoned there are times where you cannot help it but swear and I know the feeling because football is a passionate game and while I won’t swear in-front of children if it is a group of mates then sometimes I swear but not in every sentence like some people do.
We did the draw for the first goal scorer and I pulled out Jo Kuffour, Charlie Reece and Dominic Blizzard for Bristol Rovers and Mark McCammon for the Gills, Kuffour has always been a decent lower league striker and at Bournemouth he always get around the 10 – 15 goal tally so he is one player we need to keep a close eye on but generally my chances of winning the tenner were low indeed.
By this point everyone was doing his or her thing to pass the time and I tend to listen to the Radio and I was listening to Vernon Kay on Radio 1 and he was speaking about this weekend’s football and of course the handball incident, which denied the Republic Of Ireland a spot in the World Cup.
We then stopped off at Membury Service Station around 11.20 and as I got off the bus the man sitting behind me know is on Gills 365 though I didn’t catch his name had commented on my recent blogs and mentioned I had a knack for it – I am taking this opportunity to thank whoever it was for giving me positive feedback on my blog and always nice to met with fellow members on Gills 365 as I have met quite a few this season and hopefully I bump into a few more as the season progresses.
I went into WH Smith’s and brought a Ham & Cheese Sandwich, a 500ML Bottle of Coca Cola and The Sun and headed back to The Reliance Coach and on the way out I saw a few Leyton Orient supporters making their way to their game and I check the paper to see who Orient were playing but they were the only supporters I could see at Membury Services, on the way out I was given a leaflet by the highway agency notifying those who are travelling to take duo care and attention on the roads.
I got back on the coach and eaten my sandwich and read the paper, Jordan was back on soon afterwards and he brought The Daily Sport thinking it was a sports related newspaper when it quite clearly isn’t – Derek mentioned he should of brought The Guardian as there is always a decent pull out sports section while I mentioned Jordan should buy the Sun and offered the paper to him to have a read.
We left Membury Services at 12.15 and didn’t have long till we got to Bristol and we were about 70 miles away from Bristol so we should get their by 2 at the latest though traffic may have apart to play – upto this point the weather had held out and it wasn’t raining but it wasn’t sunny either but as we got closer to Bristol it really did start to pelt it down with Rain.
Jordan asked if Bristol City is in the same city as Bristol Rovers and I mentioned that both teams are rivals and I think that both grounds on opposite sides of the City because Bristol is a huge place and Jordan made a point that it felt longer to get to Ashton Gate then the Memorial Stadium and Jordan did have a point because it did feel longer to get to Ashton Gate when we went their for the FA Cup match – their have been plans for both teams to share a massive stadium but both teams do want newer stadiums with Bristol City wanting their new stadium to be the focal point for a 2018 World Cup Bid.
We were listening to the radio so that we could hear if the game was going to go ahead but the last thing we want is to drive all this way for nothing and so far I have never been to a away game where we have had to drive all the way back because of postponement and this could be a possibility.
We were making good time and should be outside the Memorial Stadium much earlier then expected and better to get to a game early then late, Thoughts of The Bournemouth match last season came to mind and how we got to the game 20 minutes late and that is the only game I have been too where we have missed kick off though Southend was a close call last time round and also Rochdale when their was a cow / bull in the road.
We made our way through a very crowded residential area trying to find our route to the stadium, we could clearly see the floodlight’s and made our way down a small alley to the car park and parked down the very bottom and we were outside the ground at 1.30 and deju vue came to mind because it pelted it down two years ago and my match day programme turned into paper mashie that day, so when the match day programme’s went on sale I brought my match day programme and went on the coach and stayed their – Interesting enough Bristol Rovers ran their own supporters coach for home matches and a few kids were giving us some stick and all you can do is smile at this point – I am assuming because Bristol is so huge that both clubs run their own coach services so that supporters can get to the game from various pick up points, also the car park isn’t the biggest either so I guess one coach is better then 15 – 20 additional cars.
Jordan got off the coach at 2 and made his way into the ground and I got off the coach at 10 past 2 and made my way in and by this point nature does call because of the wet and windy conditions and really you want the rain to stop so that we can dry off – I would of ideally wanted to take a picture or two for my blog but I didn’t want my phone to get soaked so no picture for my blog this time round.
One unusual aspect about the Memorial Stadium is the old stand on the opposite side which has terracing in-front of seating and that stand looks like something you see at Lords because it does slightly resemble a cricket stand rather then a football stadium and with markings on the floor for Rugby you can see why Bristol Rovers want to build a new stadium.
Their was a food counter and seeing as their was mostly pasties I decided to only buy a drink and stood at the top of the terracing to try and get the best view as possible as I am not the tallest person in the world, not the shortest either but all it takes is one person who is taller who stands in-front of you and your looking at the back of someone’s head rather then the match.
So their we all were standing in the rain and just like two years ago we badly needed to get something from the game and a win would be ideal as we be closer to mid table then we would be to the relegation zone.
The Bristol Rovers Team Sheet read out which included Number 9 CHRIS DICKSON – and me and 6-7 other cheered and applauded Chris Dickson because Dickson really lit up our season two years ago and we been trying to sign Chris either on loan or on a permanent basis ever since – had Dickson stayed for the rest of that season I am sure we would of stayed up.
While myself and 7-8 other cheered Dickson’s name some decided to boo him and I don’t understand why because Chris wanted to join Gillingham just that the politics at Charlton Athletic prevented such a move happening and I couldn’t understand why Phil Parkinson was so desperate to keep a player he had no intention of playing.
We then heard the Gillingham Team Sheet over the PA System and the team announced was as follows…. Royce, Fuller, Gowling, Fry, Palmer, Lewis, Maher, Bentley, Weston, Barcham, Brandy SUB Julian, Nutter, Payne, Rooney, Oli, Jackson, McCammon
Having heard the team news it was clear that we were sticking with the 4.2.3.1 / 4.5.1 formation we played last weekend against Oldham, looking at the pitch and it was cut up in places but I was expecting the pitch to be cut and dug up in worse conditions then it was and as we stood under the stairwell for abit to get some shelter from the rain a few us spoke about how we felt the match would go and I said to Gary that I take a point now – which is what we got two years ago and Nutter scored on that day.
The Memorial Stadium is a very old stadium with one stand behind the goal which is all standing and where the Rovers supporters are sat, at the other end is the covered away end – well really the stand is shared amongst home and away supporters and the supporters are covered with a tent like roof, end of the day your covered from the rain while we stood down one side of the pitch getting well and truly soaked and I wasn’t expecting lighting to strike twice but that certainly was the case and soaked is really a understatement – maybe Callum was lucky not going to the game after all.
So we stood and waited for the players to come out onto the pitch in torrential rain and very windy conditions hoping that this would be the day where Gillingham turn things round on the road.
ANYWAY ONTO THE MATCH……….
Both teams were out onto the pitch and after the hand shake before match the players came over to where the away fans were situated inside the ground and applauded those who made the trip because the weather was terrible, only those who were their could really say just how bad the weather was because I have never known it to rain like that before.
And right from the off both teams had their moments as our build up play sent Barry Fuller down the right and Barry whipped in a cross with a lot of pace which Danny Coles had to clear and we got to see for the first time how would Bristol Rovers back line cope with our style of play and no sooner had we attacked we then had to defend as Andrew Williams whips in a cross which Kevin Maher half clears and Dominic Blizzard collects the ball out wide and whips in a cross which Josh Gowling has to header clear – so a action packed first five minutes as both teams looked to try and get that early goal which will make all the difference.
Danny Coles is next to try one from distance but his rising drive was always going to go over the crossbar and in actual fact Coles effort had his the top of the stand but with the wind blowing in our faces we were always going to find it tough battling the elements.
Both teams were taking a while to get used to the conditions and it wasn’t going to be a classic but if we could repeat the result we got against Oldham eight days ago then we will leave Memorial Stadium with smiles on our faces
Chris Palmer tried a effort from distance which blazed wide though I do think that Mikkel Andersen had it covered but least we were showing some intent even though we had not had a shot on target so far.
Rovers came close to scoring when they broke with Chris Dickson but Royce was quickly off his line and just got their before Dickson and Simon was able to gather the ball at the feet of Dickson and prevent Chris from getting a decent goal scoring opportunity off on goal because if we give Chris the time and space he will punish us.
Rovers had won a free kick after Kevin Maher concedes a free kick in a decent position after fouling Chris Lines, the resulting free kick was swung in and Barry Fuller gets a hood header on the ball and their was another touch which took the ball into the path of Chris Dickson and Dickson teed himself up for a over head kick which Royce does well to save but Dominic Blizzard has the awareness to pull the ball back into the danger zone and Chris Lines drills the ball into the bottom corner, delight for Rovers supporters but a gut retching feeling for the Gills supporters – questions were asked about the marking and the reaction time because defensively we should of dealt with that a lot better.
The next five minutes saw periods of stop and start football with free kicks given for various fouls and Simon Royce’s goal kick was kicked long up-field, the wind caught hold of the ball and blew the ball out for a throw on and that really said it all as far as conditions were concerned and their were stages where we couldn’t get out of our own half.
At least we could sing in the rain and try and rally the lads forward so that we could get back on level terms, the atmosphere inside The Memorial Stadium was quiet duo to the lack of football on show as the conditions like last Saturday played a major part in this football match.
We get the ball down the left and Barcham weaves his magic and goes on a mazy run and cuts inside and Jeff Hughes makes the clearance and we honestly thought at one stage the referee was going to point to the spot and 1-2 in-front of me felt that was a penalty but all we had was a corner which Palmer whipped in superbly and Coles headers the ball out of the Bristol Rovers penalty area but only as far as Maher and Maher’s first time ball is half cleared by one of the Rovers defenders and Weston drives one from 20 – 25 yards and forces Mikkel Andersen into a very good save and their might have been a slight deflection on the way through, it was one of those where you jump in the air in celebration thinking it was a goal except yu held your head in your hands as the keeper has done enough to keep it out.
The wind and rain was relentless and still continued, I could now no longer feel my toes while Jordan’s light weight jacket had no changed colour and we were hoping that we could pull ourselves level and give ourselves something to cheer about because we could do with jumping about for abit.
The game was so stop and start that eight fouls were given in eight minutes as neither team was really in this match and their were shouts from both sets of supporters while Paul Trollope clearly was upset about something and I couldn’t really se the home team dugout but a few lads below where I was started to sing “Sit Down, Shut Up” and were moving about – often I found that I was singing to myself as no-one joined in though with no roof it was very difficult to get any sort of atmosphere going plus the weather and the current score-line might have drained many people’s enthusiasm.
Then we were building up a attack and Lewis neat layoff saw Barcham run and run and run while Bristol Rovers kept backing off and Palmer was make a run down the left and we were all expecting a pass out-wide then Barcham cut inside and lifted the ball over Andersen with a curling and dipping effort and Gillingham had equalized.
YES – WHAT A GOAL – and that raised the volume in the away end as we started to sing “The Last Waltz” and “Your Not Singing Anymore” to the home supporters and we just couldn’t stop talking about that wonder strike by Andrew Barcham and we were like “Cannot wait to see that on The Football League Show” Great goal by Barcham and just what we needed as well.
COME ON GILLS – just hang on till half time and we just about managed to do that as Matthew Fry and Mark Bentley put in some crucial blocks, we booted the ball clear into touch and really that was it as far as the first half went as both teams had scored but their wasn’t really much in-terms of clear cut goal scoring chances.
HALF TIME: BRISTOL ROVERS 1 . 1 GILLINGHAM
That will do lads can we go home now and take the point because having stood out in the rain for 80 minutes we wouldn’t mind if the full time whistle went now – great goal by Barcham and really the only moment of genuine quality throughout the match, a lot of effort and endeavour on show but just lacking that bit of quality and that killer pass that can make all the difference.
One thing I couldn’t help noticing in the first half was when Simon Royce took goal kicks their was a splash of water underneath his feet which suggests that certain parts of the pitch were waterlogged and you start wondering what happened if the referee does in-fact abandon the match – the toilets was the only thing in the away end that provided shelter from the wind and rain and a bunch of us stood in their and used the towels to get dry or at least get some of the water off but I like everyone else was soaked from head to toe.
As we stood at half time the stewards at Bristol Rovers started asking those who were standing if you like to go into the seated area, everyone around where I was declined the offer plus the small section given to away supporters looked packed and maybe 1’a and 2 seats looked available – plus many felt well we are soaked now and bared the brunt of the elements so we mind as well stand for the rest of the match.
We were waiting for the second half to start and it wasn’t long before the players were coming out for the start of the second half, optimism was high that THIS would be the game where Gillingham finally win on their travels and after pulling ourselves back to level terms you felt that Gillingham would have the more happier dressing room that we can take this match to Rovers and really go for it in the second 45.
So the players were out for the second half and their was a loud cheer from the away end as we rallied team on hoping that this would be the match where we pick up three valuable away points.
SECOND HALF………..
The first five minutes saw both teams give away two fouls each and both Gowling and Fry gave a foul a piece in the early stages of the second half as both teams were getting to grips with the conditions as Gillingham now had the wind in their favour while Bristol Rovers were kicking into the wind so earl optimism was their that we can capitalize and use the conditions to our advantage.
But Rovers were the first side to have a serious effort on goal just past the 50 minute mark as Jo Kuffour tried to get a shot off on goal which was well blocked by Fry but Chris Lines followed up and his rising drive was tipped round the post by Simon Royce who kept us in the match with a very important stop as Rovers were clearly unaffected by the conditions – Rovers didn’t even get the consolation of a corner as Royce prevented the ball from going behind sliding on the ball and Royce continued to slide across the six yard box such was the slipperiness of the playing surface.
Jeff Hughes hacks Febian Brandy down and rightfully goes into the referee’s notebook and the resulting free kick tested Mikkel Andersen and now both keepers had been tested in the second half and you just felt could we nick this and get three valuable points ???
The wind and rain continued and their seem to be no restbite from the conditions and I said to Jordan “that this was even worse then two seasons ago” as it just didn’t stop raining.
Andrew Williams had a shot that he shanked wide of the far post with Royce stranded on the line while one minute later Barry Fuller delver’s the ball far right which Mikkel Andersen has to claim and the Rovers keeper did extremely well to keep hold of the ball considering the conditions which is tough for both keepers to deal with.
We were coming upto the hour mark and a loud cheer went up as Simeon Jackson was preparing to warm up and if you need someone to pop up and score a goal then Simeon is the player you want on the end of that chance, talking with Jordan about who will come off and Maher seemed the most likely of the two to come off though Stuart Lewis was on the end of some tough challenges against Oldham so he could well make way, clearly we were going to see a Jackson/Brandy strike force for 25 – 30 minutes.
Byron Anthony concedes a free kick for a foul on Febian Brandy and from the resulting free kick we created the best chance of the half as Maher’s perfectly weighted ball falls to Weston but Curtis effort takes a ricocheted into Mikkel Andersen’s greatful hands and those are the minor details that can win and lose football matches as the bounce of the ball was just not quite going our way, had Weston hit a cleaner strike we be 2 . 1 up and I think everyone in the away end knew it as well.
Matthew Fry goes into the referee’s notebook for fouling Jo Kuffour and I think Fry has 3-4 yellow cards so Fry is close to suspension and we are lacking in defensive cover, the resulting free kick is taken by Stuart Campbell but Curtis Weston makes the clearance as we tried to keep things tight at the back but this meant we had little attacking movement upfront.
Weston goes on a mazy run down the left and Campbell clips Weston and is rightfully shown the yellow card and eventually Simeon Jackson comes on and to our surprise Curtis Weston is the player being subbed off, was Weston injured or had he ran out of steam, either way we went for it with a 4.4.2 formation and with Jackson and Brandy upfront we felt we had a good chance to earn three valuable points.
Still raining at this point and we then heard the attendance mentioned and 6,210 people had turned out for this match and you got to credit those who did turn up in terrible conditions and some people would of stayed home and of that 6,210 that turned up we must of brought a good 200 – 400 with us for this match and we do have a decent lot of supporters that goto many away matches and these games are not cheap either.
Rovers then had their best chance of the match as Darryl Duffy took the ball past Matt Fry but Duffy took a extra touch and this allowed Royce to spread himself and block Duffy’s goal-ward effort – a big moment in the game that and Royce had again saved us at the crucial moment but we still had a corner to defend and Campbell’s set play needed to be cleared by Matthew Fry as we were defending deep and punting long balls upfield as we tried to use the wind combined with the pace of Jackson and Brandy to try and get us a goal and this clearly wasn’t working.
A big moment of controversy by this point as one of Bristol Rovers players went charging down the right and Barry Fuller did enough to intercept the ball and Kevin Maher slid in and just about kept the ball in play and we were about to clear the ball up-field when the linesman gave a corner which quite clearly was never a corner – the outcries of frustration vented at the linesman were obvious from many supporters particularly from myself and a few others because we could quite clearly see that the ball hadn’t crossed the line and we all felt “If Rovers score from this then it would be very harsh” – thankfully justice was given as Stuart Campbell’s corner didn’t really test our defence or Simon Royce.
Mark McCammon then comes on for Febian Brandy as we look to have some aerial presence in the final third so that we could try and score a late winner but Rovers played a ball down the channel which Andy Williams ran onto and it looked liked Matthew Fry had done enough to shield the ball out of play, both players tumble and we thought a drop ball or free kick would be given and when the linesman signalled to the ref and the referee pointed to the spot we were all furious and angry that the linesman had given such a poor decision. (Now having seen the highlight’s I can say that the decision given was correct but I had a side on view and my reaction at the time was that it was a terrible decision from the officials.)
COME ON ROYCIE was the chant where I was standing – I chanted ROYCIE and a few others were hoping that Royce could be our hero and save this penalty, up stepped Jeff Hughes who put the ball into the bottom left corner while Royce dived bottom right and Bristol Rovers had gone back in-front and the score-line was 2 . 1.
We had ten minutes to save a point and get the draw I felt our efforts deserved and we vented our frustration at the linesman while others below where I was standing were absolutely fuming with the decision and the chants of “Cheat, Cheat, Cheat” could be clearly heard where I was standing because Gillingham were cheated and that was the view we all had at the time as their was no luxury of TV replays.
From conceding in unfortunate circumstances we nearly scored with some slice of luck as Bentley’s cross was mis-kicked by Danny Coles and that just about cleared his own crossbar, but didn’t go into the back of the net and that sort of luck is something we are not quite getting on the road this season.
Royce went steaming up for this corner to see if he could be the one to equalize and we were all shouting for Royce to go up their and as Palmer whipped the ball in Royce almost got the telling connection onto the ball but Mikkel Andersen got a strong punch onto the ball and Rovers could of broke away but Matthew Fry fouled Jo Kuffour on the breakaway and we defiantly got some luck there as everyone was expecting a second yellow card to appear.
We were going for it and Palmer whipped in three quality crosses and all three times a Bristol head or boot got on the end of the ball and made the telling connection and we just needed someone to get on the end and gamble to get in the box and just cause Rovers a problem and give them someone else to think about – I thought that Oli might come on for a defender at this point as we mind as well go all out for the equalizer.
Kuffour went off for Mark Wright and a minute later Mark McCammon slid in just after Jeff Hughes played the ball and Cammo was booked and a few of us felt that was a strange decision and surely the referee should take into consideration just how slippery the playing surface is.
But then their was a glimmer of hope as the 4th official signalled FIVE ADDITIONAL MINUTES of stoppage time – COME ON GILLS and this got a loud roar from the away ends as we were hoping that Gillingham can salvage something from the match.
And in the first of those minutes we thought we did find that equalizer as Palmer whipped in a ball and Jackson’s effort to the far corner was hacked off the line by Danny Coles and Rovers supporters behind the goal cheered almost as if they had scored and that was a big big chance for Gillingham and you just felt that was it, some supporters felt that was it and walked out of the ground, me, Jordan and many others stuck around till the end hoping that we could score a late equalizer and though we huffed and puffed and put in the effort and commitment and the players gave it everything they got it just wasn’t to be and we were pretty much devastated that we didn’t get the point I felt we deserved.
FULL TIME: BRISTOL ROVERS 2 . 1 GILLINGHAM
Absolutely gutted and major ley disappointed that we didn’t get a point at the very least because I felt we deserved something out of the game and our away form in my opinion doesn’t represent what I feel we should have got out of the game.
The players walked towards the away end and applauded us and the supporters in-turn applauded the players for their efforts, many felt that Rovers had cheated their way to victory and shouldn’t of been given the penalty and that was the real talking point – I made sure I had everything and made my back to the coach and I was back on the coach at 5PM and Jordan was soaked and likewise I was soaked from head to toe and took off my coat and realized that my phone, mobile phone battery and even my money which was in my wallet was wet – my mobile was wet and I used a plastic bag I had with me to dry my phone while my Gills shirt and third layer was also soaked and in the end was glad to be back on the coach and back in the warm again.
After everyone was on our coach got moving again at 5.05 and we would of got out of the ground quicker then we did but the heavy traffic at a four way crossroads caused huge delays and really it would have been much simpler if cars didn’t continue to cut right in-front of the supporters coach.
After that heavy traffic we eventually got moving and started to make our way back to Kent and everyone at this point was doing their own thing to pass the time while we were also listening to the football results from up and down the country and Sunderland beating Arsenal was the shock of the day with Liverpool again dropping points as they drew against Manchester City, Wycombe beat Millwall which got a cheer and United were about to kick off against Everton.
At this point I had the radio on and was listening to various radio stations while Jordan was resting in-front of me, others read a book, talk or try to sleep on the coach and I am not someone who can do that, credit must goto those who can sleep on a coach though.
I was expecting us to stop at the services for a 10 – 15 minute pit stop and Jordan felt we would stop as well so it was abit of a surprise to find that we were not going to stop and just get back home in one trip.
I rang up Stewart to see what he was doing and I gave him my view of the match and to see if he was coming home which he wasn’t so I said I see you on Sunday then – I mentioned that I was soaked and likewise Stewie got caught in the rain himself so no escaping the rain then.
By 8PM we were back in Kent and I rang home to say where I was and that we still got to go round the various pick up points first and I ring again once we were back in Gillingham – we started the stop off point near Brands Hatch before going through Gravesend and made our way back to The Medway Towns and stopped off first at Strood Sports Centre and Jordan got off and I asked him if he had everything before Jordan got off the coach.
Instead of going up Rochester Star Hill like usual we went past Rochester Train Station and took that route into Chatham and came out where Staples is and then made our way round Gillingham and stopped off at the bus stop near Gillingham Train Station.
My stop was next and I rang home to say that I was in Gillingham and that I was almost back at Woodlands and I made sure I had everything on me and looked up top again to double check before getting off The Reliance Coach at 8.30PM and I got a lift to the A2 Chippy opposite the big Tesco’s on the roundabout and brought my small portion of chips with a jumbo plain sausage, I was tempted to buy a large portion but I wasn’t that hungry.
I then made my way home and was home at gone 9 and as soon as I got indoors I had to change into some warm clothes because I don’t want to run the risk of getting a cold and heated my dinner in the microwave.
All in all it was by far the worst playing conditions I have seen Gillingham play in and I honestly felt we deserved a point but once again we leave a ground with nothing and talk about what might have been.
My MOTM – Josh Gowling – Josh had the hard task of marking Chris Dickson and stood upto the test really well and I thought that Gowling’s defensive display was superb in what was very difficult conditions for a centre back to play in, crosses were headered or booted out and Josh was brave enough to commit himself to make crucial blocks.
Honourable mention has got to goto Febian Brandy for trying to lead the line in those conditions and with little or no support while Royce deserves a mention because he kept the score down and nearly scored from Palmer’s corner late on.
A quick mention to the travelling supporters who were superb in numbers as I think we took over 300 on Saturday which is a out-standing achievement and while the vast majority cheered and clapped Chris Dickson, apparently 1-2 booed a player who served us so well two years ago and Dickson clearly would love to join up with Gillingham in some point in the near future so for some people to boo Dickson is just bang out of order.
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