Apparently brb asked alwaysright to produce an "in depth" match report... but seeing as Always will be sleeping on the coach back to Gillingham I would attempt the task. The pre match discussions in the pub centred mainly around the drop in form experienced in the last few games and the performances of one Mr Kedwell. Discussion all the more apt seeing as we later found the Danny didn't even make the subs bench today. On the way to the ground we recalled the last two seasons horror shows under Hessy and I felt a little trepidation as gthe teams took the field. My worries weren't entirely misplaced in a tense first half. Gills seemed to create the more opportunity without looking that dangerous. We contolled the game and looked comfortable at the back, excluding a few mistakes caused be the greasy pitch surface. Beattie was well contained by Barrett and Davies, with Accrington best opportunities came players running from deep. Formation wise I think we were a little too narrow to with Fish and Jackman not provding a lot width for a very narrow midfield, and with Accrington playing 5 across the middle it became very congested and scrappy at time. The goal came as a bit of a surprise, it was a fairly routine cross, which should have been dealt with , but some how found its way the Weston who contolled turned and rifled a shot into the net. We went into the break 1 up and on reflection we just edged it. Second half we started brightly with one or two half chances created but nothing to really to trouble the keeper. As the half went on Accrington edged into the game some more and like us created a few half chances but nothing clear cut. Then we come to the penalty, it was at the other end of the pich so I losed the build up but I think Jackman allowed the ball to bounce, the forward turned him and ran through on goal where Nelson clattered him to the floor, no arguments it was a penalty. Sending off probably... I thought the ball was heading away from goal, but seeing as it was in front of the home fans the red card was enevitable. Beattie gave Forecast no chance with a low penalty into the right bottom corner... good penatly. As expected Accrington came at us on the restart, but we shut up shop pretty effectively limitng the home side to long range shots. On the negative side we wanted to sit back deeper and deeper and we became very negative. The introduction of Charlie Allen added a little more pace to the side but the attacking intention was lacking. About 10 minutes after the sending off the game returned to the same pattern as before, lots of huff and puff but no magic from either side. It was hard to know how to feel at the final whistle (apart from cold and wet), it was an effective but essentially uninspiring performance.
Thank you BSG, it is really appreciated getting a supporters view who was actually at the game. I think the positives have to be drawn from this game and they are that we managed to bring home a valuable point even though down to ten men. Also I have to feel sorry for Forecast getting thrown in to the mix and a penalty take, immediately having to face James Beattie. I know it is a natural course of events to play for a point once down to ten men but credit to Forecast for maintaining sensibility in such a situation. If only we had applied the same negativity for want of a much better word in the dying minutes of the Exeter game, we might have been three points clear tonight instead of two. Forecast might now be given his opportunity as Nelson will be banned for at least the next game, I hope Martin Allen allows him that opportunity against Preston in the FA Cup after his patient bench warming. Absolutely well done to the 260+ Gills fans that made the journey today.
A useful contribution BSG. Well done! It is interesting what you say about the narrow midfield and defence....I said the same thing about Tuesday night and something has happened to make them play in this way which I fail to understand. It seems reasonable to assume this is a tactic but it looks unsuccessful and earlier triumphs have been based on Fish and Weston flying rapidly along the touchlines.
Thank you to BSG I've only just got in from my (sleepy) journey. I would echo the thoughts that BSG has provided. In the last few games we have lost some sparkle. We have become too slow and predictable and have been too easily contained by the opposition. Part of the problem in the slow build up play has been the speed ( lack of ) in which we break up the approaches by the opponent, and the distribution of the ball to our forwards. There isn't a lot fundamentally wrong with our performances - and we have had enough chances to have won our latest two games. I believe that we are missing the quality that Wright provided. ( but what do I know about paperwork .) We also need to be more dynamic - pass & move more crisply and overwhelm the opponents as we were not so many matches ago. A point apiece was probably fair - but it should have been all 3. Although the penalty was unfortunate and changed the tone of the match - we should have gone searching for the 2nd goal that would have killed the game long before that incident. - we were too content on cancelling out Accrington - when, on the balance of our 1st half performance , they were there for the taking.
Guys.....thank you for your reports and opinions. From sitting where I am at 3am your time....it makes a good read and a decent start to the day for me. I, like everybody else, tend to suffer a fan's frustration when form changes. Without the contributions posted on here, I'd be none the wiser as to how and why so, again, thank you.
Congratulations BSG. Although I was standing next to you I certainly didn't see that extent of detail regarding the penalty! Not only did the rain start to fall about 15 minutes into the second half, but most of the second half action was at the other end of the pitch, and the 'floodlighting' was so poor that the ball frequently just became impossible to see clearly. This was not helped by the fact that for some reason, no doubt financially influenced, the white/black ball is still being used in L2, instead of the yellow/purple one that is now in use in the Premiership, where of course floodlighting is universally of a standard that doesn't really require the use of 'high visibility' ball. This was the first time I'd seen Gills this season, and whilst of course it was frustrating not to see the sort of performance that was being reported earlier in the season I was impressed with a far increased level of organisation compared to what I saw last year, particularly in the defence. However I'm still not convinced about Jackman as a left back. That comment isn't made solely on the back of what was a less than perfect showing yesterday. I do like Jackman as a player, his energy, and never-say-die spirit as well as his footballing skills, but I just think he's more effective as a midfielder. Looking at a game from the terrace at one end is not the best place to be able to judge what precisely is going on in the midfield, but what seemed to be lacking was anyone able to play the Jack Payne role of distributing the ball from the midfield, or just in front of the centre backs. On a postive note, the general level of passing was also much improved on last season, with far more passes being made with purpose and intent (if not always with accuracy) rather than the lump upfield that received so much (entirely justified) criticism last season. At half time we probably just about deserved to be one-up, and at the end it was the defensive organisation and a post that help us keep one point. Certainly a better outcome than the last two seasons. See you next Saturday!
I was in the side stand close to the centre line and we could not see the other corner easily as the floodlighting was a joke. That was before the rains came down! How players were able to cope I do not know. But we lacked a midfiled general who could take charge and seem to be badly missing Payne as well as Martin in midfield/defence. We controlled the gane in the first half but only had a goal to show for it at half-time when we should have been able to press home our advantage more. Second half they came into the game - possibly the result of playing down-wind towards their own supporters. The goal they scored, from where I was, saw Calum Davies harried off a speculative through ball (that bounced high which was hard to control) and Nelson made the fatal tackle leading to the penalty. Strange that no one told Forecast that Beattie invariably places penalties low and to his right. Once the goal went in Jackman was completely isolated and continual attempts came from their right side. We were lucky not to concede.It was only their poor finishing that let us off the hook (and the post that came to Forecast's relief). How their No. 5 defender (Nsiala, though I'm sure he had another name on his back) was not yellow carded for persistent fouling I'll never know. But as BSG said, at least we went away without losing, and having turned in a horror show. Much better than the last two seasons! See you in Preson on Saturday!
merseygill - welcome to the forum. You must have been sitting very close to me - and your report more or less reflects my earlier post. My mate & I discussed ( correctly concluded ) the position of Beattie's penalty before he took it -might be something that we need to research - given 2 penalties conceded in successive matches. Regarding the yellow ball situation - I posed the issue with a GFC official and I am led to understand that it has to do with the manfacturer who supply balls for the Premier League being different to the Football League.
