Matchday Previews
Gills look for return to Fortress Priestfield
Published by Simon Head on February 23, 2010
While Gillingham have notoriously bad away from home down the years, their home form has traditionally been very good.
This season saw a continuation of that good form, kicking off with a remarkable 5-0 win over Swindon Town on opening day.
But in recent weeks the Gills’ form has dipped at Priestfield Stadium, losing two and drawing two of their last five home contests.
Despite this, they still have the eighth-best home record in League One and, after their hugely important 1-0 victory over Bristol Rovers on Saturday, manager Mark Stimson will be looking for his side to pick up back-to-back league wins for the first time since November.
Stimson’s biggest dilemma ahead of tonight’s match with Leyton Orient deals with his strikeforce. Rene Howe and Chris Dickson started at the weekend, but Simeon Jackson’s livewire appearance from the bench – not to mention his stoppage-time winner – make him impossible to ignore.
The Canadian striker made his point after scoring on Saturday by sprinting to the dugout and sitting back down on the bench. He wants to start – and it’ll be interesting to see whether Stimson agrees.
The dream ticket up front is undoubtedly a Jackson/Dickson combination, but it remains to be seen whether the two are too similar to play together. They certainly linked up well for the goal on Saturday.
Howe may be the man to miss out, unless Stimson goes ultra-attacking and opts for an exciting 4-3-3 formation with Howe as the spearhead and Jackson and Dickson playing just off him.
In midfield, Danny Jackman put in a man-of-the-match performance, while Adam Miller and Kevin Maher also impressed. Curtis Weston appears to be struggling with form and I’d be tempted to swap him for Andy Barcham, who came on to good effect on Saturday.
That would place Miller at the top of the diamond, with Barcham right and Jackman left. Maher should continue to hold – a role in which he seems to excel when the team plays narrow in midfield.
This match will see the Gills in determined mood as they look to avenge an embarrassing defeat from earlier in the season. The performance of the pitch was matched only by the shambolic nature of the day itself, with referee Andy D’Urso refusing to allow Gillingham latitude despite the adverse weather and traffic conditions and demanding a team be named despite only nine players being available at the time.
Stimson will enjoy the luxury of actually having options this time around and will be confident of his team’s ability to pick up another positive result.
The match kicks off at 7:45pm at Priestfield Stadium. If you can’t make it to the match, follow our live updates on our LIVEBLOG, which includes “almost-live” audio reports at halftime and fulltime.
Also, you can chat with fellow Gills exiles during the match in Gills365′s Matchday Chat room, which is available exclusively for Gills365 Forum members.
Simon Head
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