I would suggest that the best form of defence is attack, Argyle came to defend and made it with some luck to the 74th minute. Unable to relieve the pressure on the defence by any form of attacking option the inevitable was just waiting to happen, when it did ten man Argyle had no way of stopping 1-0 turn into 3-0. Plymouth's line up suggested a defensive afternoon...........Larrieu,Berry,Zubar,Nelson,Gibson,Soukouna,Daley,Walton,Hourihane,Atkinson and Feeney..........Subs were.... Cole,Lecointe,Hitchcock,Copp,Young. With Nelson starting for a change at the expense of the young striker Hitchcock it was an obvious challenge to the Gills to try and break us down. The Gills forced the pace at the beginning and Argyle found it hard to get out of their half,when they did the lively looking Luke Daley fired a shot past the post.This did bring on a period of Argyle pressure but there was no penetration and the Gills did not have too much of a problem riding out this period. It came to an end with Zubar and the Gills captain Frampton getting into a right old tangle in their penalty area, the ref gave them both a talking to,I think Zubar got off lightly this time,but Daley did look good on the run. Argyle did work themselves a good attacking position from a free kick just out of the centre circle in the Gills half. Walton took the kick and unexplainably hammered the ball to the wing straight into touch,not within twenty yards of any player of either side.The roar of derision from the home fans was only equalled (not so loudly) by the groan of Argyle supporters. With Gillingham finishing the half on the ascendency but not really looking like breaking the deadlock Argyle yet again got to half-time keeping the score to 0-0. The second half saw the Gills dominating possesion,although they worked good openings they did not have any finishing luck or power. Argyle's defence was working extremely hard and clearing their line well, but there was no pattern of attack developing from their clearances so the ball came straight back and this continued to build the pressure. Argyles outstanding player was Ladji Soukouna linking between the defence and mid-field, and on at least two occasions breaking from defence with a powerful forward surge striding through the Gills mid-field and causing problems.The trouble was he had no support coming with him,once he shot at goal the other time he was swallowed up by the Gills defence and the ball got entangled in his long legs,he was the nearest we had to an attacking player. Feeney was again the lonely figure up front and his lack of height and power did not unsettle the Gills defence. In the 60th minute Gillingham brought on Rooney for Montrose and Oli for Spiller, this gave the Gills more fire power and ratched up the pressure on Argyle's overworked defence. The breakthrough came in the 74th minute,until then Larrieu had been solid and competent behind his defence. It was hard to see what actually happened from my seat because of the sun reflecting off of the advertising hoardings behind the goal. It seemed that Gillingham had scored with a header, but the linesman was waving his flag so it looked for a moment possibly offside.There was quite a gathering around the linesman by the corner post whilst the ref talked to him,this went on for ages and the outcome was a penalty,although they had scored from the header and a second yellow card for Gibson for handball. Larrieu went the right way with the Kedwell penalty but couldn't reach it 1-0 the Gills. With Argyle now down to ten men the task was beyond them,Rooney a nippy little winger had too much room and got away from Berry and rifled the ball into the roof of the net via the underneath of the crossbar 2-0 the Gills. In injury time the hapless Walton fouled Lee in the area and Kedwell made it 3-0 to the Gills. Argyle did not really trouble Fitney the Gills goalkeeper and at Division Two level that is very worrying. For the Gills Lawrence snuffed out any threat that Argyle might of had and also headed against the Argyle bar at 0-0. Berry stopped a blockbuster on the line from Lee,personally I don't think he knew much about it. My man of the match has to be Soukouna,linked well between defence and mid-field and was the only form of attack with his surging runs from defence. Feeney a total waste of time as a lone striker,to lightweight up front by himself. Walton back to the rubbish days that we know so well,I would just like to know what unearth he was trying to do with that disastrous free kick that sailed into touch,it was as if he was stopping play for a bad injury,and to cap it all to give away a late penalty. Player Ratings. Larrieu...... 8.......reliable,positive,not at fault for any of the goals. Berry.........6.......did Ok, just no relief from pressure. Zubar........5.......booked, too much aggro from him. Nelson.......6.......good in the air,but under pressure he soldiered on. Gibson.......6.......red card, in the wrong place at the wrong time twice, maybe unfortunate. Soukouna..8.......good linkman,only dangerman in attack. Daley........7.......looked good on the ball but nowhere to go. Walton......4.......is it in his head ? older player, but very poor. Hourihane..5......didn't perform in a defensive line-up. Atkinson....5......didn't really notice him !!! Feeney......5......tried hard, but not up to it. Lecointe....6......sub for Daley,no chance so late in the game. Reid needs to get them jelling before Christmas, otherwise the future is bleak even in this basement league........a third consecutive relegation.....surely not..........if we come through administration great,but Peter Reid might not see the new year if he can't turn it around. Conclusions......... Gillingham to be honest looked quite ordinary....Argyle's defensive set-up made them look better then they are. Plymouth no future trying to do nothing but defend,will eventually make a silly mistake. RESULT....... GILLINGHAM 3......KEDWELL 74pen and 90pen ROONEY 86 Bookings......SPILLER 45....ROONEY 78 PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 0.......Bookings......ZUBAR 31....GIBSON....34 Red Card......GIBSON....73 ATT......5.053..........Greens.......300 plus
Thanks for the report Plymbon. Pretty much echoed the way it sounded on the radio, except they seemed to think the Walton free-kick fiasco was the fault of the intended recipient of a training ground routine that went horribly wrong! We do need a striker desperately but who is going to sign for us in our situation? And not an 18 yr old youngster with lots of promise, we need a tank of a striker with experience, even if its from non-league. Someone who is used to putting the ball in the back of the net regularly. And someone to create chances! I know it's stating the obvious but goals win games and our current squad aren't going to score many. It's all well and good not conceding for 60 minutes and then folding, we need to score a few and confidence will grow.
I take your point jock.......but even so, could he of not relized that the power he put into the shot was beyond anyone making up the required ground to receive it. You could see the disappointment it caused,and yet again Argyle were again put under pressure from the throw in.
I just think it sounded like a rehearsed free kick that went tits up. When you're at rock bottom nothing goes your way.
You could be right,......poorly rehearsed......and poorly taken.......by an over-paid light-weight,......maybe it's starting to come over that I can't stand a prima-dona like Walton.......if he was any good someone would have bought him for peanuts during the summer,but surprisingly no one did,there must be a reason ?
Pretty accurate report there plymborn of what I have read as well. It is still August and a lot could change. Pointless Crewe next week, so 3 points at home, and a trip to Exeter might just be the turning point. If and only If they get 3 points at Burton and beat Crewe will I go and watch the Port Vale match.
Thanks for the match report Plymborn, sounded as dire on the radio, made worst by Sparksey's stand-ins - no fire and no emotion, a bit like Argyle really.
A good detailed report Plymborn, I hope things improve this week at HP when Crewe visit or else the crowd will dwindle some more.
From the BBC video, the red card looks to have been a travesty. It's pretty impossible to deliberately handle a ball coming at you from 2 yards and unless defenders start to be cloned with no arms at all, these silly decisions are going to go on cropping up. Still a goal though, as it was in the net before the whistle went... Would have been much better for both sides left that way.
It does seem to be an injustice in football........receiving a red card is bad enough......surely the penalty is justice enough........why be given a double penalty for the handball........OK the problem was that Gibson already had been given an earlier yellow card........two yellows equal a red As you say the handball didn't stop a goal being scored....... why does the Ref feel he has to penalise Argyle yet again,making it doubley hard to retrieve the situation.
To be fair it's the authorities - they've interpreted the rules as saying that if your arms are raised or stuck out then if the ball strikes it, it's deliberate. Ref's have little choice unless they are brave enough to stand up for common sense - which is why these things always go against you away from home where the local press & home fans are more likely to draw attention to "brave" decisions which go against the home side. I can sort of understand that in the wall at free kicks - other wise everyone would stand with their arms straight up - but in free play it's nonsense as players try to keep their balance at full tilt.
Depressing isn't it but I still hope Reid doesn't abandon the football they are trying to play. Groundhog day. I have to jump to the defence of Feeney though. What is the man supposed to do? He gets little or no service and pumping anything up to him is not his game. He needs a partner and dare I say it, in the mould of a Fallon. You cannot kick it long to him so there is only one type of ball he can thrive on at the moment. The defences he faces are generally experienced and suss this out straight away, smother it and snuff it out. We have yet to see the best of Feeney if he has one and that is not his fault so far.
Peter Reid shouldn't play Feeney as a lone striker..........he isnt built for it in strength or stature.........it's nearly like playing with only ten men.....it's not his fault that Reid as got no one else at present to do the job..........he had no support even if he won the ball,which wasn't very often. Their defence had time to break foreward too often to join the attack.
