Ideas? I'd say that's one weird West Ham fan who's got a thing about the whole "Carlos Tevez Affair" when his goal (as a non-eligible player) for West Ham at Old Trafford ultimately got Sheff U relegated when it should have been West Ham going down. But quite why he's that obsessed about it I've no idea. After all, West Ham got the good end of the pineapple in that little escapade. And quite what Hammers decent X1 beating our kids has to do with our game v Utd is also a mystery. Did any of our players play in both the West Ham game and the Sheff U game?
SECOND HALF - Gillingham made the best possible start we could of made to the second half as we re-took the lead within the first meaningful attack of the half, Stuart Nelson's long kick from the halfway line was headered clear but only as far as Craig ***an who needed one touch to control the ball and another to whip in a sensational cross and John Mousinho's looping header came off the underside of the crossbar with George Long well beaten, Cody McDonald reacted first and he headered the ball goal-wards and George Long somehow kept the first header out but Cody McDonald made sure that he stuck the re-bound into the back of the net, a scrappy goal but they all count and queue the celebrations in the away end. Me and Rob pretended to jump Little Charlie after what happened when everyone was celebrating Danny Kedwell's goal, now we needed to hang to what we have got or look to extend our lead further because both of our attempts on goal in this match have resulted in a goal and Sheffield United do look weak defensively. Two minutes later and Sheffield United squandered a decent opportunity to equalize as Ryan Flynn went on a bursting run down our right flank and Adam Barrett had to come across to cover the gap in our defence and Ryan Flynn's cross / shot went wide of Stuart Nelson's far post, because Sheffield United were attacking the opposite end to where we were sitting you don't get the perception of where precisely the ball is on the pitch and you think players are closer to the ball then they actually are. But Craig ***an really did look excellent for Gillingham Yesterday, on three separate occasions Craig ***an ran down the flank and whipped in a cross and he caused Sheffield United's defence all sorts of problems, if I was Chris Whelpdale or Myles Weston I would be looking to step up my performances on a match day and put in a impressive display on the training ground because I can see Craig ***an getting a regular run in the team if he keeps putting in performances like that. Sheffield United and Gillingham both had two corner kicks each in the opening ten minutes of The Second Half, interesting how Craig ***an twisted and turned two Sheffield United Players and one of their defenders let the ball go out of play for a goal kick when he actually got the final touch of the ball, ***an's delivery was superb for the resulting corner kick and Adam Barrett climbed highest to header the ball goal-wards but the referee had blown up for "a foul" when it was six of one and six of the other, honestly I like to see referee's play on in these situations because if your going to give free kicks for these incidents then your going to give another thirty of these for pushing and pulling for incidents that happen in open play as well. Not much was happening in-terms of goal-mouth activity since we had scored as most of the action was taking place between both eighteen yard boxes, but with Danny Hollands and John Mousinho sitting in-front of the back four Gillingham had enough numbers behind the ball to frustrate Sheffield United and when they did look to play a long ball to Chris Porter and Shuan Miller, their standing in their way was Leon Legge and Adam Barrett who were winning their fair share of defensive headers and this precisely what Gillingham need to do, slow the tempo of the game down, sit behind the ball and prevent space opening up between the midfield and the defence. Elliott Hewit picks up Gillingham's first booking on the hour mark for a foul on Aidan White and thankfully the free kick doesn't result in a goal-scoring opportunity for Sheffield United and four minutes later Nigel Clough brings on Jose Baxter for Simon Lappin as Sheffield United look to add more energy to their midfield, if their is one thing Sheffield United have got a advantage over us is the substitutions as we have been forced to use two subs in the opening twenty minutes and fresh legs and plenty of energy can make a difference. Sheffield United were still pushing and Jose Baxter played the ball forward to Shuan Miller and his first touch brought the ball down, he then took on Leon Legge for pace and fired a shot across the face of our goal that just flashed wide of our far post, I had my head in my hands because I honesty believed that Sheffield United had equalized - at the other end of the pitch there were some disappointing touches from Chris Whelpdale, one was a tame return pass to Elliott Hewitt which was intercepted when Whelpdale should of hit with more pace or crossed himself and Whelpdale also was very slow to anticipate a second ball and had he been more alert he would of got their, maybe because we were being pressed back by Sheffield United we were not really sure what to do next, do we sit on the 2 - 1 lead or go for a third goal to kill the game off - personally I think we were sitting on the 2 - 1 lead and another goal for Gillingham would of been a added bonus. Seventy Minutes into the match and Midfielder Stephen McGinn replaces Defender Matthew Hill as Sheffield United look to match us five v five in the middle of the park and right now Gillingham were scrapping for little bits and pieces as Cody McDonald anticipated a loose bouncing ball and Cody flicked the ball round one player, chased a loose ball and won Gillingham a throw on deep in Sheffield United's half of the pitch, also with the aerial and physical battle that was happening on the pitch it was very difficult for Bradley Dack to get into the game, with Bradley Dack and Cody McDonald as our most attacking players on the pitch both are very light and Bradley Dack needs to be playing just behind a targetman in the number ten role, but we were not getting much of the ball and when we did get it, we were taking no chances and kicking the ball down the line or into touch, and that is understandable because we don't want to be making mistakes that result in Sheffield United scoring a equalizer. Sheffield United had been getting a lot of free kicks as the foul tally counts up against the likes of John Mousinho, Joe Martin and Leon Legge and I suppose we are breaking up Sheffield United's pattern of play, but when Danny Hollands wins Gillingham a free kick on the halfway line their were some ironic cheers from the away end because we were not getting much from the referee and it was getting to the stage where you were wondering when Sheffield United were going to be awarded a penalty kick. Sheffield United had a glorious opportunity to equalize as Ryan Flynn controls a cross-field pass and Ryan Flynn clips the ball into Shuan Miller's path who control's the ball and lays it off to Neil Collins who clips in a fantastic cross and Chris Porter headers wide from six yards out and everyone was expecting Sheffield United to get back on level terms and we were all relieved that spurned a clear cut goal-scoring opportunity. Both sides made substitions with more then ten minutes remaining as Striker Lyle Taylor replaced Midfielder Ryan Flynn as Sheffield United have changed to a 3.4.3 formation and Myles Weston came on for Craig ***an, and Craig ***an got a standing ovation from every Gillingham Supporter because he was out-standing on his full Gillingham Debut and I thought that Craig ***an linked up really well with Elliott Hewitt down the right flank - Chris Whelpdale switched to the right flank and Myles Weston played down the left in-front of Joe Martin. And Myles Weston was terrible when he came on, he couldn't / wouldn't challenge for a header and he let the ball go out of play for a throw on at least three times and he conceded a free kick and got booked late on for conceding another free kick, the one really posative from Myles Weston was when he got possession of the ball and took the ball past Jose Baxter who hacked Myles Weston down and I was out of my seat instantly and how Jose Baxter only picked up a yellow card for a intentional taking out challenge I will never know, that for me was a red card. I said that it was a clear cut goal-scoring opportunity which Rob helpfully rephrased to a good chance on goal because Myles Weston was challenged on the halfway line and we were looking to hit Sheffield United on the counter attack, the main benefit of the doubt I can give to Myles Weston is this, Myles Weston was brought on to help Gillingham defend their 2 - 1 lead when really Myles Weston wants to attack, Weston is not great defensively and we saw that in his brief sub appearance yesterday, but if you give him the ball with space in-front of him to attack then Weston is going to be more beneficial to our side when we're attacking rather then when we are defending or under the cosh. Adam Barrett and Leon Legge were coleuses in the heart of our defence, Sheffield United couldn't pass through our midfield and defence so they were resorting to long balls or crosses out-wide into Shuan Miller and Chris Porter and every cross or long ball by Sheffield United was met with a firm defensive header from Adam Barrett and Leon Legge, these two will win anything in the air, but as we have seen many times this season when someone comes at them with pace they find that challenge daunting and this is perhaps where we do need another defensive minded midfielder in the side so that our defence does have additional protection from the midfield and this is also why Peter Taylor's 4.2.3.1 formation is more likely to work then a static and ridged 4.4.2 formation.
The one really good defence splitting pass came from Jose Baxter who played a reverse through ball in-between Joe Martin and Adam Barrett, Chris Porter took too much time on the ball and by the time he pulled the ball back Adam Barrett was in a decent enough position to deflect the ball up into the air and Stuart Nelson was able to gather the ball and hit the deck instantly as we look to waste that bit more time, Paulo Gazzainga used to do that on several occasions for Gillingham but his distribution is so good that he can find a team-mate just by kicking the ball out. While Gillingham were not doing much with the ball, it is what we were doing without the ball that was very impressive, we kept pressing Sheffield United backwards and Cody McDonald and Chris Whelpdale both pressed hard on George Long and we forced The Sheffield United Goalkeeper to kick the ball out for a throw on, also when Leon Legge and Adam Barrett were winning those first headers, John Mousinho and Danny Hollands would be in a position in-front of the back four to help the ball on or kick the ball into touch as we look to keep our shape, keep our discipline and make sure that Sheffield United don't get a shot off on goal. Sheffield United had a really good free kick in a promising position as Aidan White swung in a free kick which Chris Porter gets the faintest of touches on and the ball drops in our six yard box and Joe Martin and Leon Legge have hurled themselves in-front of the ball, Bradley Dack and 1 - 2 Sheffield United Players were down on the deck as Stuart Nelson scrambled himself onto the ball, really scrappy and I thought there was going to be a drop ball but thankfully Gillingham had been awarded a free kick and we could relieve the pressure that was being pilled onto our goal. And right at the end after four minutes of stoppage time there was one major chance left for Sheffield United, a throw on deep in our half was thrown to Luke Taylor who faked a cross before taking the ball past Joe Martin but Luke Taylor's cross took a deflection off Joe Martin and Adam Barrett blocked the ball in-front of Stuart Nelson up into the air, Stuart Nelson punched the first ball and gathered the second before hitting the deck and Shaun Miller was booked by the referee as a result, Sheffield United Supporters were chanting "cheat, cheat, cheat" at Stuart Nelson, some of their supporters on The Sheffield United Message-Board mentioned that if George Long did the same-thing in the same situation for Sheffield United he would be a legend or a hero so you also would have to say that Stuart Nelson would be a hero or legend for the same-thing. Goalkeepers get more protection nowadays and we saw a incident in The Second Half where George Long was hardly touched and Sheffield United got a free kick and referee's tend to give free kicks for the slightest of touches on a goalkeeper, I think that is why we were all surprised that Danny Kedwell's goal stood at the time because we were expecting the referee to blow up for a foul on the goalkeeper. But once Joe Martin had kicked the ball down the line that was it and the full time whistle had been blown and Gillingham had sealed a memorable win at Bramall Lane and this was my first ever trip to Bramall Lane and Gillingham pick up three massive points and boy didn't we need that win because Sheffield United are another side who are around us in the table and so far we have beaten the likes of Carlisle United, Notts County, Crewe Alexandra and now Sheffield United. If we continue to keep beating the teams around us and pick up the odd win and a few draws against the top teams then Gillingham will stay in League One and avoid relegation, but their is a long way to go and plenty of matches remaining before we start talking about where we want to be and who we need to be beating, but if we play like we did against Sheffield United for the rest of the season then we will win more games then we will lose. The players came over to celebrate with the supporters, Adam Barrett and Stuart Nelson were defiantly the most expressive players out their on the pitch at the end of the game, the rest applauded the traveling faithful who were cheering and chanting, while The Sheffield United Supporters were booing their side's performance and chanting "cheat, cheat, cheat" to Stuart Nelson. I saw a few regular's at Sheffield United who you normally see at away games and I know that 1 - 2 of them will be going to Brackley Town on Monday Night as well, the coaches were parked outside the away end and after leaving the ground it was straight onto the coaches and once everyone was on the coach ( with me being the last person back on the coach) we left Sheffield to get back home again. Sadly one incident looked to take the shine off what was a fantastic day, a fantastic performance and a fantastic result as one Sheffield United Fan ( and I use the term Fan loosely here) decided to chuck a bottle at The Supporters Coach and the stewards who were standing nearby appeared to do nothing about it, the sound of the bottle hitting the window made everyone jump and it is a good thing that only a bottle was thrown, I hate to think what could of happened had a brick been thrown instead. Isn't it typical Gills though, we need a late equalizer to draw against Brackley Town last week, but we go to Bramall Lane and pick up all three points.
Just watched the highlights again and if the keeper kept out Cody's first header it goes down as an own goal from the defender as he clearly heads in the rebound. I'm guessing Cody's effort was actually over the line though
