Fan Blog
fomblog: Brentford (H)
Published by Lee Clifton on December 27, 2009
I got all my belongings together (Money, Season Ticket, Mobile Phone, Coat, My 500ML Bottle of Coca Cola and my Gills Scarf) before heading out the door at 11.30 and got a lift from My Dad who was going out anyway and I got dropped off outside Gillingham Cemetery at 11.40 before walking along Chicago Avenue and made my way towards the stadium and the first thing I did was go into the Club Shop to buy my Match Day Programme – The club shop was busy so I couldn’t talk for long and headed out the exit before making my way to the turnstiles and I was inside the ground by 11.50.
I brought two 50/50 match day lottery tickets and then made my way pitch side and spoke to Jasmine who works at Gills as a Steward and we both felt that Gillingham had a great chance to secure all three points, I mentioned that “I thought this would be a tough game with Gills winning 1 . 0 or 2 . 1” – Jasmine mentioned that she doesn’t like the tightly contested matches as they make her nervous but as long as we won that was the result we all wanted.
The last time we kicked off at 12.30 we thrashed Swindon Town 5 . 0 and how we would love a repeat of that performance again today and not only secure another three points but also give our goal difference a huge boost which will give our home supporters some festive cheer going into the new year.
A look around the ground suggested that their will be at least 6,500 inside Priestfield today but the disappointment came from the away end because I expected Brentford to bring 1,000 supporters with them and it looked liked their was only 300 – 400, considering that it is The Christmas Holidays and there is only 40 –50 miles between the two clubs then the turnout from Brentford was very disappointing.
So I made my way up the steps to where I sit and the first thing I spoke about was Febian Brandy’s status on Facebook on this fan-page, now this isn’t something to really go by but Brandy put a “Loves Gillingham FC” message on Facebook and with United signing Diouf and also having the likes of Rooney, Berbatov, Owen, Macheda and Welbeck in their ranks it may well be best for Brandy to perhaps look to move on and play regular first team football elsewhere, and who knows if Brandy enjoys his time at Gillingham and feel’s that this is where he wants to play his football then maybe just maybe Febian Brandy will join the club on a permanent basis – we might need to beat Accrington Stanley In the FA Cup to secure the £64,000 prize money which will mean that we stand a better chance of signing the lad but if Brandy likes the way things are going he might want to join us in January.
Speaking to Seb and Cameron I asked what the two lads got for Christmas and they told me a few presents they got while Seb also spoke about sitting in The Gordon Road Stand because he volunteered to help clear the pitch last weekend and sat right at the very back of Block C of The Gordon Road Stand – because the stand is lower he lost flight of the ball whenever it was hoofed into the air and because he couldn’t see the clock he didn’t know how long was left till full time.
Seb spoke about one of the games he got and also mentioned about Call Of Duty and I said that I remember when I was on a computer course a few years ago now and we linked up 8 Laptops round this table with a LAN connection (Local Area Network for those who don’t use computers very often) and the best thing about that is when you kill someone on Call Of Duty you hear people’s reactions as well as playing online which is great – I am sure Seb will be playing that game more often over the Christmas holiday (except I have no idea what the game is called and it is on X Box 360).
Another decent discussion a few of us were having was about Luke Rooney and how he has rarely featured for The Gills since the contract dispute and last weekend against Stockport was the ideal match to bring Rooney on for 25 – 30 minutes and give Luke a runout – I couldn’t see Luke Rooney coming on against Brentford who are a very physical side and will certainly get stuck in.
Last Season tempers flared in the first match and Andy Scott’s actions after that 1 . 1 draw a year ago saw him get some well deserved stick though 1 – 2 did cross the line in that return fixture, I was expecting quite a few chants and boo’s pre match today and was surprised but at the same-time delighted not to have heard them, maybe these chants were heard in other parts of the ground but where I was sitting we didn’t anything too in-appropriate or language that shouldn’t be used within the hearing distance of children.
Anyway we heard the team sheet named over The PA System and the team would line-up as follows…. Julian, Fuller, Gowling, Bentley, Palmer, Oli, Maher, Weston, Nutter, Jackson, Brandy SUB: Locke (GK), Wynter, Payne, Lewis, Yussuff, Rooney, McCammon
I thought that Barcham might have been fit enough to be named among the subs today but clearly we were looking to maybe select Barcham for the Exeter game on Monday though there is no guantee of Barcham being involved in that match – With the exception of Gowling for Fry this was the same Gillingham team that beat Stockport County last weekend so confidence was high that we can beat Brentford today and put a nice buffer between us and the bottom four.
Me and Andy were speaking pre match just how tight League One is because a win for Gillingham will see us climb as high as eleventh while a defeat and results going against us will see us drop to twentieth and such is the margin between mid table and relegation that a few wins can see you go from 20th upto mid table while a few defeats can see you very much in the thick of a relegation battle.
League One is very much a two tiered division and you would say that Leeds, Charlton, Norwich, MK Dons, Millwall, Huddersfield, Colchester and Southampton (who without their points deduction would be in the playoffs) are all teams that have the finances to sign players that we would all love to have in our starting eleven that they would have on their subs bench – and their teams you expect to be in Tier One.
While the likes of us, Brentford, Exeter, Wycombe, Yeovil, Stockport, Hartlepool, Leyton Orient, Brighton and Tranmere are all sides looking to stay in League One and avoid ending in the bottom four, sad as that maybe but that is the reality between teams with money and teams that run on a shoe string budget – that being said having the cash doesn’t mean that your going to be challenging for promotion it just helps when it comes between you and other competitors going for the same player.
I don’t know about anyone else and if others feel that League One is two tiered but for me personally I do feel that the division is split between those competition for promotion and the playoff places to those looking to avoid the drop.
Tommy Trueblue was walking round the ground and he slipped over twice, once over a stool and landed on his back, the second fall perhaps the more concerning as he fell over the advertisement board and landed on his back on the concrete floor, fortunately Tommy Trueblue was able to get back on to his feet and hopefully the mascot outfit cushioned the fall because it was a nasty fall and one that could have been far worse.
So I took to my seat five minutes before kick off hoping that we can replicate what we did in the first 35 minutes against Stockport County the previous week to make it back to back victories and of course extend the gap between us and the bottom four.
ANYWAY ONTO THE MATCH……..
The teams walked out onto the pitch and the atmosphere round the ground raised a notch as both sides were anticipating the match with three points at stake which can so badly help ether teams prospect’s and how would we love to get those points on the score-sheet this afternoon.
The match began with Brentford kicking off they immediately hoofed a long ball out-wide which didn’t come to anything other then a Gillingham throw on which was taken by Barry Fuller.
Moments later Josh Gowling put in a strong but very firm challenge on Charlie MacDonald and you could clearly hear the thwack sound from the ball and you could tell that their was going to be no half hearted challenges in this match today and the early sign’s was that this was going to be a tightly contested and very competitive match – speaking with supporters around me Brentford had the likes of Ben Strevens, Sam Saunders, Charlie MacDonald (who scored over 20+ goals for then Gravesend & Northfleet) and as much as you hate to admit it but Brentford had built a half decent side.
Decent build up play by the Gills as we worked the ball really well with nice one – two touch football and spread the ball out-wide to John Nutter who went for goal only for his effort to be blocked and then cleared by David Hunt and why not have ago from distance because seven days earlier Nutter scored a well executed goal against Stockport County and you wait 30 – 40+ appearances and two nearly come along in two games.
The resulting corner was whipped in by Chris Palmer and caused some confusion in the Brentford penalty area but Danny Foster header’s the ball clear but his header only allow’s Palmer to keep the ball in play and have another go crossing the ball into the Brentford box which Leon Legge has to clear and The Gills were the first out of the starting blocks and it would of been nice to get the early goal.
In the early stages of this match Maher was having a lot of the ball and he dropped back, made himself available for the pass and either passed out-wide to Fuller or Oli or passed back to Gowling or Benno but Maher was at this moment in time putting in a much better shift then he had done in recent weeks and this was 100 times better then the Kevin Maher we saw at Leyton Orient, perhaps dropping back allows Maher that extra 1-2 yards to have time and space to spread the ball out-wide or lay off a pass to a team mate.
But having edged out the early exchanges we almost took a tenth minute lead and again great build up play and Febian Brandy collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area and was clearly fouled, Brandy’s persistence saw him create a goal scoring opportunity out of nothing and only a superb stop by Lewis Price kept the scores level – I partly lost sight of the ball and was expecting the referee to blow up for a foul on Brandy but you got to give credit to the ref for allowing the advantage and we almost benefited from it as well.
How Lewis Price kept that out we will never know and we have come up against keepers who are determined to perform blinders against us with Alex McCarthy of Yeovil and Rob Elliott of Charlton also putting in some fine goalkeeping displays at The Priestfield.
Barry Fuller does well to track down and win possession of the ball and wins a free kick after Weston trips him up, decent play by Fuller who gets a “Barry, Barry” chant from The Rainham End and we are allowed to relieve the pressure abit but the first 15 minutes have been us but you also credit Bentley and Gowling for doing the ugly and un-appreciated side of the game.
Then the move of the match created the chance of the match as Maher’s played the ball out-wide to Dennis Oli who took one touch spun past his marker and ran towards goal, Oli played in Febian Brandy who was 1 on 1 and Brandy’s driven effort is saved by Lewis Price and anywhere else and Brandy would of scored, I thought Jackson had that chance at the time but others around me pointed out that it was Brandy, should of scored though and Brandy will be kicking himself for shooting straight at the keeper though Price made a out-standing stop to keep his side in the match.
Straight down the other end and Brentford attack, Charlie MacDonald goes down and wouldn’t it be our luck if we miss a golden opportunity to take the lead only to concede a penalty a minute later – But referee Fred Graham clearly saw something he didn’t like and rightfully booked the former Gravesend striker for diving which got a loud cheer from the Rainham End and also a “well done referee chant” which you don’t hear too often.
Dennis Oli runs down the right with the ball and gets caught by Sam Wood, REF!!!! Was my response because Wood’s challenge looked very cynical to say the least, Nutter swung in the resulting free kick but Lewis Price was able to get two hands on the ball before anyone in blue could make a telling connection ( wonder if we could pick up our team mates for free kicks ???)
Josh Gowling was the next Gills player to have ago from distance and his shot was blocked by a Brentford defender and Brentford were about to break but Maher did very well to get to the ball first and retain possession of the ball and Gowling still was up their when Weston tried one from distance which fizzed past the far post and not by much either.
Still we continued to dominate the match and you just felt that Brentford could not keep up this resolute and last ditch defending forever and Palmer’s near post corner was headered clear by another Brentford defender and 1-2 supporters around me pointed out that their was no-one at the back post to header the ball across or header across goal so if we over hit the ball then it will just go out of play.
Brentford were not causing us so much of a problem but then you got to give credit to the back five for that particularly Benno who was just simply immense and he ran the ball out of defence taking on Charlie MacDonald before playing a simple pass to John Nutter on the left flank as we turned desperate defending into attacking football and try and get that goal our play so far deserved.
Barry Fuller and Chris Palmer both crossed the ball within the next minute but both crosses were met by a Brentford player and the first one was header out for a corner but we were clearly not putting in the right type of cross or perhaps needed to be inventive or go for a far post ball and nod the ball down to either Jackson or Brandy to smash into the back of the net (well that is what we all wanted to see).
Twice in the first half we managed to not only hoof the ball clear but we managed to get the ball over The Medway Stand which is no mean feat and their was one incidant where Alan Julian wanted to claim the ball but Gowling went for row Z as the ball was not going to reach Alan in-time, job done we got the ball clear without over-playing the ball in a dangerous position.
Then we created a very clear chance to score and again more decent build up between Maher, Weston and Brandy sent Simeon through and he was clearly hacked down and Simeon was in a clear goal scoring opportunity and my COME ON REF chant was heard by anyone around me and I was not the only one out-raged by that challenge and Pim Balkestein is very very lucky to stay on the field because other match officials would of sent him off – so Fuller and Nutter stand over the ball wondering who is going to hit it and Fuller went for it and was not far off from making the score 1 . 0 and Lewis Price was pretty much stranded on his goal line and was not sure to stick or twist because Fuller could of disguised his run and let Nutter have a crack.
We had most of the possession and caused Brentford a lot of problems but still we did not have that goal that our play deserved and we should of taken the lead by now while others thought that 2 . 0 would have been a fairer reflection on what we had seen so far but 1 . 0 or 2 . 0 the general view was that Gillingham should be in-front by now.
Then we had a superb chance to make all our pressure tell as Simeon is played through one on one and draws Lewis Price but his cut across the goal was either too far in-front or had too much power for Brandy to slide in and score.
Curtis Weston trips his name-sake Myles Weston and I was not sure about that one about weather it was a free kick or not and David Hunt swings in one of those free kicks which can go in without a telling touch or someone headers the ball into the back of the net but thankfully and fortunately for us Hunt had over-hit the cross and the ball went past everyone and out for a goal kick – and that was Brentford’s best chance and we felt that the rest of the half would petter out for a 0 . 0 and we look to attack The Rainham End second half.
But Brentford hit us with a sucker punch goal and it was by far the scrappiest goal we have conceded and it has un-done all our hard work, we lose the ball out very cheaply in midfield and Weston whips in a cross which Barry Fuller slids but could not block and then it is all sixes and sevens inside the penalty area and MacDonald got a touch and apparently Strevens knocks the ball past a desperate dive of Alan Julian who I thought for one moment may have done enough to claw the ball out at full stretch – wasn’t sure what exactly had happened and will need to see it again but Brentford had taken a very unlikely and very un-deserved lead because it should have been us that had gone in-front and not Brentford.
Moments later Gowling and Bean come together and it looked half a dozen of one and half a dozen of the other and both fall to the deck, Fred Graham gives Josh Gowling another yellow card which seemed to have angered those in the Rainham End who maybe felt that it should of gone the other way.
Hunt swings in another dangerous free kick which Charlie MacDonald flicks on and Ben Strevens somehow manages to clear the crossbar from close range and having dominated most of the match Gillingham were very close to being 2 . 0 down at half time.
Myles Weston is the next Brentford player to have a shoot on goal, well to put it kindly you can call it a shot because his drilled effort from the wing is closer to the corner flag then the goal and the ball smashes into the advertisement board and a loud cheer erupted from The Rainham End and abit of sarcasm thrown in to boot as well.
At the end of stoppage time at the end of the first half John Nutter tee’s himself up and his flighted effort had enough dip and pace on the ball to beat Lewis Price, “WHY NOT, WHY NOT” was my response and Nutter almost scored the equalizer and it would have been a stylish finish and just as good as the goal Nutter scored last week against Stockport County.
HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 0 . 1 BRENTFORD
So the half time whistle went with a few boo’s but mostly applause because Gillingham had the most of this first half and we didn’t deserve to be losing this one and as the players walked off the pitch and went to their respective dressing rooms a few of us were debating about just how on earth we were not at the very least still on level terms or 1-2 goals up.
Brentford were here for the point and if they got anything more then that then it be a bonus but they clearly were not here to play attacking football as Brentford were going to sit back and defend what they have already. Several sides do line-up to try and stifle us and normally we break these teams down but Brentford are a niggling side with niggling tackles and their guy was very lucky to stay on the pitch after he brought down Simeon Jackson.
I took a few pictures for my blog and as the match day lottery tickets were read out I checked to see if I had won but still no win and the closest I have come was within 3 of the signed football and that was a while ago now.
Looking at the players and who was warming up we had Yussuff, Payne, Wynter, Rooney and Lewis out their and the first four are youngsters with Wynter, Payne and Rooney progressed from our youth set-up so it just shows the extent of our injuries because Royce, Jackman, King, Richards, Fry and Barcham would all be in the squad if fit enough.
Mark McCammon was by the dugout and I thought we may well bring him on at the start of the second half, has someone picked up a knock or are we looking to change things about and add a aerial threat to our play ???
Harry asked me who our sub goalkeeper was and I told him that was Simon Locke who was on loan from Reading and Royce is out duo to injury.
The Brentford players were out onto the pitch first and Lewis Price was getting a few chants from The Rainham End with half stick / half banter all depending on who was giving the stick and who was giving the banter but either way I could hear it from where I was sitting and that briefly caught my attention before the players were out for the Second Half.
SECOND HALF…….
Will had just got back to his seat with something to eat and drink and I gave him a spare lid I had on me so that he didn’t spill his drink – I think the taking off lids in-side football grounds is one of the most pathetic rules I have ever heard off because a coin can cause just as much damage not that I condone that sort of behaviour.
The second half started with both teams earning one free kick each but it was the third foul of the second half which swung the game in Brentford’s favour as Josh Gowling has gone in for a high aerial challenge against Charlie MacDonald and Gowling received a second yellow, then red and Gowling had to walk back to the dressing room, while many felt out-raged about the decision I felt that the referee had made the right decision and we had no complaints – Curtis Weston was also booked most likely for his protest about the second yellow.
Tom Wynter was warming up and he was going to make his Gillingham debut and we were thinking who was going to come off, Kevin Maher perhaps but he was having a decent game so far, Simeon Jackson who looked off the pace and we could play a 4.4.1 formation, in the end John Nutter was subbed off for Tom Wynter meaning that Chris Palmer was a left back and left winger at the sametime.
Then a big moment of controversy as Barry Fuller and Myles Weston are both going for the ball on the far side and the linesman flags for a Brentford free kick COME ON REF!!!! Was my initial reaction because I thought we should of got a free kick while a lot of boo’s and frustration was aimed at referee Fred Graham who I felt got this decision wrong.
Looking at how we lined up it looked liked we were going with a 3.3.3 formation as Oli was now in-between Jackson and Brandy and I looked towards the subs benching thinking that either Lewis or McCammon or maybe both were going to come on as we look to re-energise the midfield and add more physical presence in the final third.
Mark Bentley’s foul meant that Brentford had a free kick in a promising position and Marcus Bean takes the direct free kick but failed to test Alan Julian in goal but even so that was a very nervy moment and Brentford were pretty much on top of this as we were struggling to adapt to the numerical disadvantage and Sam Saunders could of made the game safe for Brentford moments later but Alan Julian makes a very good save to keep us in the match.
Another look to the bench as we are now past the hour mark and you start to think where we need to change things and not only that we got a game in 48 hours against opposition that will be in and around us so we may have to take into consideration that 2 matches in 3 days will take it’s toll and our squad has quite a few injuries at the moment.
Palmer receives the ball out-wide from Maher’s pass and we been screaming TO PALMER for a few minutes now as Palmer has been left un-marked and Palmer works himself into a shooting position only for his effort to be blocked by that Brentford wall which still stands firmly in-front of Lewis Price and it is clear that wall is going to take a few knocks till we knock it down.
Then a big moment in the match, which swings the game back into our favour slightly as Charlie MacDonald takes out Tom Wynter with a reckless challenge and we stood and wait for Fred Graham to make his decision a second yellow card comes out and now it is 10 V 10 and The Rainham End celebrate like we have scored and it was very much game on and their was still time left for Gillingham to get that equalizer and who knows maybe the winner.
I said we win this 2 . 1 with Gills scoring in the 89th and 91st minute, Ian said “We love that” and if we play rubbish but score the two goals we need to earn three valuable points then I take that any day of the week.
The Gills took a siege mentality and first Chris Palmer and John Nutter stand over a free kick which Nutter leaves for Palmer and Palmer’s effort just about curls over the crossbar, right idea and not far off from nestling into the top corner of the net but just abit too much power on the ball – but our best chance of the half and also the match came minutes later as Bentley or Fuller (not sure who) play this beautifully placed ball and Weston’s first touch is top class and his second lobs the ball over Lewis Price but Brentford have enough bodies back to header the ball clear from danger and I stood and held my head in my hands because that was a great chance to level the match.
Brentford start to make changes and Alan Bennett comes on for Leon Legge as Brentford look to reinforce that wall in-front of Lewis Price’s goal and hang onto the slender lead for as long as possible.
Fred Graham had another big decision to make as we start to play our one touch passing game and Brandy is played in and is through on goal and Febian is hacked down with intent by Sam Wood REF!!!! Was my response because my initial reaction was that he had to go, last man or denying a clear cut goal-scoring opportunity and when the referee pulled out a yellow card I like many others felt he had got that one wrong and Brentford should of gone down to 9 men.
The resulting free kick by Chris Palmer was poor and not as good as his last one but Palmer could try again and Chris teed himself up and his volley from distance had power and fizzed into The Rainham End and wasn’t too far over and why not have a shot because I do feel we are trying to score the perfect goal when you just need someone to put their foot on the ball and have a go from distance.
I looked to the subs bench and Mark McCammon was warming up and you expected him to come on at some point and Simeon Jackson was having a very poor match by his standard’s, Jackson looked liked he was having a off day or low on confidence or maybe the combination of the two but things were not coming off for him against a very rugged and rough Brentford side.
Still we continued to pile on the pressure and Dennis Oli went on a great run and a few tricks and step overs and Oli fell over but did enough to win us a free kick right in the centre of the goal and right on the edge of their penalty area and Pim Balkestein who shouldn’t even be on the pitch in the first place could join team mate Charlie MacDonald in the early bath but the chants of “OFF, OFF, OFF” were not going to change Fred Graham’s mind and only a stern talking too was what The Brentford player got for his trouble.
This is it and it was almost like a penalty and just the chance Simeon Jackson needed and you felt if Simeon hits this right then he will equalize but Jackson gets it all wrong and blast’s the ball high into The Rainham End when perhaps a driven effort across the turf was the better option and that effort really did sum up Simeon Jackson’s day and he was not going to grab another goal and another headline and time was ticking on and Brentford were starting to defend more desperately and were getting deeper and deeper while we needed to make a change and I would of taken Jackson off for McCammon by this point and just go for the aerial route.
Things got even more ugly as Myles Weston and Barry Fuller clash again and these two had been at it for a while now with Weston starting it off just as we broke away and were about to start another attack and referee Fred Graham books both players but things were getting petty and pitiful to say the least with Brentford playing a very ugly style of football and they do like a good moan as well.
Just moments later and Benno gets fouled by Weston and more chants of “OFF, OFF, OFF” came from The Gills faithful and Myles Weston is a very lucky boy that Fred Graham had already sent off two players already, a less lenient referee would of pulled out the second yellow.
Barry Fuller knocks a long ball into the Brentford penalty area which Bentley wins and the ball just doesn’t bounce our way as that Brentford wall takes another battering but still stands firm and Brentford break on us and their looking to slow the pace of the game right down by running the ball into the corner and they could even break at this point and make the match safe as Brentford were 2 v 2 at this point – but you give Tom Wynter credit for winning the ball but his pass back leaves Alan Julian with a spot of bother and his kicking was very poor today though I do feel that some of the passes Julian received were very poor and out Alan under extreme pressure to whack the ball clear.
The board goes up for FOUR MINUTES OF STOPPAGE TIME, COME ON GILLS!!!!! And we are hoping that we can find that equalizer that we so badly need, Mark McCammon comes on for Chris Palmer as we look to go for a 4.1.4 formation with Jackson, Brandy, Oli and McCammon upfront, why Mark was not brought on 10 – 15 minutes earlier I have no idea because it was obvious we needed to make a change and all-right people don’t rate Cammo but least he provides us with that alternative option that we need which could create something for one of our smaller players to get on the end off.
We kept pushing for that equalizer but the nearest we came was Barry Fuller’s effort at the death which went over and after giving it everything we had and come un-stuck for 94 minutes we un-deservedly lost a match that we should of drawn at the very least while many felt we should of scored while we were on top to force Brentford to come out and attack against us.
FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 0 . 1 BRENTFORD
Their were some boo’s at Full Time but I applauded the players for their efforts but of all the teams to lose at home too though and that is what hurts about this defeat because 1. we didn’t deserve to lose and 2 . we played against better quality sides and got something and I think we deserved something today but Brentford players and supporters get to cheer three completely un-expected and three un-deserved points that we should of won and now it puts extra emphasis on the Exeter match because we got to start picking up points away from home otherwise every home game from now till the end of the season is a must win game.
You got to give credit to the players for the effort and endeavour shown and the quality of football we played from tart to finish and if we put in performances like that then we get enough points on the board to be where we want to be – the most disappointing thing about the defeat was that we could of put a nice 6-7 buffer between us and the bottom four and climb upto mid-table but the defeat means we are now looking over our shoulder for abit and are firmly involved in this relegation battle.
So frustrating because we would love to have had another three points, hear Fantastic day belted out over The PA System and really enjoy the rest of boxing day but all the result does is put a downer on the rest of the day and means that we got two –three must win matches coming up which could define our season.
So I took a few pictures for my blog, picked up my match day programme and drink and made my way down the steps and was about to go out the turnstile’s and I saw Jasmine and gave my view of the match and just how disappointed I was that Gillingham had lost their impressive and impeccable home record to a side that didn’t deserve to win and while I was speaking to Jasmine I heard two very disgruntled Gillingham Supporters who gave their views about the match and their was no cutting corners or hiding truth’s the views expressed very well and were expressed with a lot of passion and several usage’s of four letter words which of course are non-repeatable.
So I left the ground at 2.40 and walked across Redfern Avenue and walked down Sunnymead Avenue as My Dad was parked outside Gillingham Cemetery and I thought he would of parked closer to Sunnymead then Chicago Avenue but it is just typical that Dad park’s the other side so as I got to the end of Sunnymead I walked upto Chicago Avenue and Dad was waiting their and I got in and put my seatbelt on.
Dad’s response was “typical Gills” just the sort of match they would of lost when I was a kid and I mentioned that we had played very well just that we came up against a side that were playing for one point and ended up getting all three – It didn’t take very long to get home across beechings and past ThamesView School we eventually got home just before 3PM (which is usually the time we would kick off on a Saturday) and as we opened the front door my Uncle had just turned up in-time for dinner.
Overall I am very very disappointed with the out-come of the result because I thought we could beat Brentford and the way we played deserved a point at the very least but I can safely say I was proud of the effort the lads put in and the way we played particularly in the first half was exceptional and if we put in more performances like that then we win more matches then we will lose.
My MOTM – Kevin Maher – I am going to give Kevin Maher Man of The Match because Maher made space for himself and was always available to receive a pass and Maher gave him that yard or two extra space so that he could spread the ball about, pass backwards or sideways but also some of Maher’s forward passing was very good – more of the same and we can see why Mark Stimson was so keen to sign Maher in the summer.
Honourable mentions go to Mark Bentley who put in another out-standing performance at the back and also Dennis Oli who put one of his finest displays in a Gillingham shirt as his pace caused Brentford all sorts of problems plus that one touch lay off and the way Oli spun past his marker in the first half was top class.
Lee Clifton
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