I thought it would be a good idea to post My Match Report in a separate thread. My Thoughts on Peterborough United's 2 - 0 win against Gillingham on Tuesday Night................. Gillingham Lined Up as follows.... Stuart Nelson, Michael Harriman, Ryan Inniss, Adam Barrett, Joe Martin, Elliott Hewitt, Steven Gregory, Amine Linganzi, Bradley Dack, Myles Weston and Cody McDonald SUBS: Sam Baxter, Jake Hessenthaler, Charlie Lee, Connor Smith, Craig ***an, Adebayo Akinfenwa and Adam Birchall, we lined up with the 4.5.1 formation I felt we were going to line up with away to a Peterborough United Side who were doing exceptionally well in League One - both Jack Payne and Charlie Lee were given decent receptions from there respective former clubs before kick off and someone asked me on Twitter after the game on Tuesday Night was Charlie Lee's reception at London Road the best we have experienced from a home side ??? - I know Nicky Southall got a great reception when he played and scored for Nottingham Forest at Priestfield Stadium but there must be many many other players who have been decent receptions both home and away. I don't know why the stewards insisted that we sat in our seats and we could move around once the match kicked off, why not make things easier for fans and easier for the stewards by making the game un-reserved seating (I can see this happening at Brisbane Road on Saturday where fans have to sit in the seat where they have been allocated and reserved seating always worries me after that incident at Molinuex earlier in the season), I sat one row in-front of Baldangel and we must of been in the oldest of the three remaining stands because The Moys End had wooden seating. Gillingham created the first clear cut goal-scoring opportunity after seven minutes when Cody McDonald intercepted a loose pass in midfield and lofted the ball over the top for Myles Weston to run onto and Myles Weston was one v one with Bobby Olejnik and Myles Weston completely mis-kicked the ball at the worst possible time "Oh No" was my response because Gillingham were not going to get many opportunities better then that all evening. Six minutes later in the thirteenth minute and Peterborough United created there best goal-scoring opportunity of the match as Danny Swanson whips in a fantastic cross from the corner kick and Jack Baldwin's header is kept out by Stuart Nelson and Conor Washington almost get a crucial touch to the ball but Joe Martin does enough to put him off and Gillingham clear there lines. But a minute later and we are forced to make a early substitution and reshuffle things at the back as Ryan Inniss was un-able to continue and I was not entirely sure if Ryan Inniss had pulled his hamstring again or if he had twisted his studs in the turf (like Matt Fish did on the opening day of the season), but with no centre backs on the bench Charlie Lee came on to replace Ryan Inniss to partner Adam Barrett in the heart of our defence. Three minutes later and Peterborough United could of opened the scoring in the seventeenth minute as Peterborough turned defence into attack as Cody McDonald loses out to Jack Baldwin and Joe Martin is unlucky to lose the ball on the halfway as the ball ricochets kindly for Danny Swanson who plays the ball forward for Tommy Rowe to run onto, Rowe and Swanson link up nicely and Danny Swanson fires the ball across our six yard box with no-one getting a touch but Nicky Ajose controls the ball, cuts inside the shoot but Amine Linganzi makes a fantastic block and we eventually get the ball clear (But Gillingham do seem to have this nasty habit of putting there hand in there air whenever teams pass the ball between the full back and centre back, we need to recognize that Gillingham are playing against better teams with better players, and the likes of Peterboorugh and Rotherham have the quality in there side to thread the ball through for the wide players to run onto). Peterborough again caused us plenty of problems and that is to be expected with Tommy Rowe, Jack Payne and Danny Swanson in midfield and Conor Washington, Nicky Ajose and Britt Assombalonga in attack, This time it was Nicky Ajose who threaded the ball down our right side to Britt Assombalonga and you have to praise Michael Harriman for keeping Peterborough's top goal-scoring in that position by not diving in, Assombalonga played the ball back to Nicky Ajose and Ajose also found Harriman difficult to get past so he passes the ball back to Jack Payne who has time and space to run with the ball to get himself into a shooting position and Jack Payne's shot was going into the bottom right corner of the net but Stuart Nelson does well to turn the ball around the post. Gillingham are doing what worked so well against MK Dons in our win at Stadium MK by denying the home side the opportunity to thread the ball between the lines, but we are so deep that we are prone from efforts from distance, but we do have to take into considering that the opposition we are playing against are a very decent side and we are going to have to sacrifice space on the pitch to stop Peterborough from passing between the lines and also be patient and wait for any chances to come our way, because chances will fall for us. Peterborough had another chance to score in the twenty seventh minute as Tommy Rowe swung in the resulting free kick down the right hand side of our penalty area and Rowe's free kick was awkward to defend against but Adam Barrett gets a important touch to get the ball half clear but Conor Washington reacts to the loose ball first and he dummies a cross to go past Joe Martin before whipping the ball to the far post and Britt Assombalonga's header was straight at Stuart Nelson, either side and Peterborough United would of taken the lead. Gillingham eventually did created a decent goal-scoring opportunity as Steven Gregory plays the ball over the top for Cody McDonald to run onto and Cody's first touch took him past Jack Baldwin and despite shooting from a very acute angel Cody McDonald forces Bobby Olejnik to make a save and Peterborough United clear there lines before Myles Weston could get to the re-bound. But Peterborough united took the lead just before the end of the first half, Mark Little's throw on to Conor Washington is intercepted by Amine Linganzi but Mark Little intercepts the ball back and plays the ball too Jack Payne who squares the ball to Tommy Rowe and Rowe clips the ball to the far post where Nicky Ajose climbs highest and headers the ball across the six yard box, Conor Washington causes a nuisance in the box and there was Britt Assombalonga to open the scoring for Peterborough United, nothing Stuart Nelson could of done about that goal and it was so disappointing that we conceded that goal with half time approaching.... HALF TIME: PETERBOROUGH UNITED 1 - 0 GILLINGHAM I don't think the score-line reflected fairly on Gillingham because we have created quite a few decent opportunities, we have seen a few long throw's from Elliott Hewitt just not bounce in our favour as Adam Barrett has won the initial flick on a few times and Peterborough have just got to the second ball before a Gills Player got there, Myles Weston dragged another shot wide. I thought Amine Linganzi broke up play in the middle of the park and he made that crucial block from Nicky Ajose and Linganzi helped Gillingham to tick things over nicely in midfield by keep things simple and play five yard passes, Joe Martin and Bradley Dack both whipped in some dangerous crosses which Peterborough United had to put behind for corner kicks and we defiantly showed much more going forward then we did at Stadium MK, yet somehow we were losing against Peterborough but we went at half time against MK Dons with the score still goal-less. Adam Barrett was also booked for a needless late challenge, but with the score-line still only 1 - 0 Gillingham could still get something out of the game and a draw would still be considered a decent result. SECOND HALF.............. Peter Taylor brought on Adebayo Akinfenwa for Amine Linganzi at the start of the second half and the change almost paid off instantly as Adam Barrett headered the ball clear to Akinfenwa on the halfway line who controlled the ball, turned before playing the ball through to Cody McDonald to run onto and Cody tried to chip the ball over the goalkeeper but Bobby Olejnik read what Cody McDonald was trying to do and tipped the ball over the crossbar, if only that effort had gone in. But while Gillingham needed the extra man to attack, it also opened things open for Peterborough to exploit our weaknesses in midfield, Peterborough hit Gillingham on the counter attack with Danny Swanson running with the ball and playing the ball forward to Britt Assombalonga and The Peterborough United striker cut the ball inside knowing that Danny Swanson had made a forward run and The Peterborough United Midfielder shaped up to shoot and Swanson's shot to the near post was turned around the post by Stuart Nelson - good save by Stuart Nelson because had that gone in that Peterborough United would be on there way to picking up three more points. Peterborough's quality was really showing on the night, Danny Swanson whips in a corner kick which Tommy Rowe headers towards Nicky Ajose who tries the acrobatic and misses the ball, Britt Assombalonga plays the ball out-wide to Danny Swanson who whips in the cross first time, Nicky Ajose mis-judges the header but Britt Assombalonga is still in a position to header the ball goal-wards and Steven Gregory headers the ball behind for a corner kick. Another chance for the home side to extend there lead moments later and again Peterborough United could and should of added to the one goal scored by Britt Assombalonga in the first half, Tommy Rowe and Kgosi Ntlhe link up nicely with Tommy Rowe playing the ball through to Kgosi Ntlhe who is a left back for Peterborough United and here he is inside Gillingham's penalty area, Charlie Lee does well to intercept the ball but Conor Washington is in a position where he can get to the ball first and Washingston runs to the byline, pulls the ball back across our penalty area and Kgosi Ntlhe tries to back-heal the ball into the back of the net but there is Adam Barrett sliding in to make a goal-saving block and Gillingham clear there lines. But after Charlie Lee cleared the ball towards Adebayo Akinfenwa Peterborough United won possession of the ball instantly and even when Jack Baldwin clears the ball it turns out to be a decent pass as Michael Harriman misses the ball and Conor Washington cuts inside and he is being watched by Elliott Hewitt and Charlie Lee, Washington plays the ball Jack Payne who plays the ball first time to Tommy Rowe who skips past Elliott Hewitt's challenge and his shot hits the underside of the crossbar and goes in and there is nothing Stuart Nelson can do about that and at 2 - 0 you have to say that Peterborough United are going to pick up all three points now and they have created enough chances already in The Second Half already to be 2 - 3 goals in-front. You have to say that Peterboorugh United are a very good footballing side, they have got quality players like Danny Swanson, Jack Payne and Tommy Rowe in midfield, Conor Washington, Nicky Ajose really are a pest in the wide positions and Britt Assombalonga has scored over 30 goals already this season, they overload teams in the full back positions, they are good in possession of the ball but more importantly they have the pace to stretch teams and everyone of Peterborough's players just look that yard faster then ours, this is where you have to to criticize Martin Allen really because he has under-estimated the quality most of the teams have in League One, most sides can retain possession, they have wingers who can go past players, they have players in midfield who can play defence splitting passes and you look at our squad and so many players just cannot make the step up to League One Football. It got bad to worse seven minutes later and to make matters worse it was not even a penalty kick in the first place (as I have seen highlights of the penalty incident), Kgosi Ntlhe is basically playing like a left winger for Peterborough United now as Ntlhe runs with the ball straight at Michael Harriman before cutting the ball inside to Britt Assombalonga who goes on the outside rather then checking inside to shoot and Steven Gregory's challenge is timed to perfection but Britt Assombalonga hits the deck and Referee Chris Sarginson points to the spot, Britt Assombalonga steps up to take the resulting penalty but Britt Assombalonga's penalty is tame and Stuart Nelson guesses the right way and makes a fantastic penalty save to keep Gillingham in the game, the penalty save is just rewards because looking at the replay of the incident it was never a penalty to begin with. After that penalty save and Peter Taylor brings on Connor Smith for Bradley Dack as Peter Taylor tries to re-balance things in the middle of the park, I am not a fan of Bradley Dack and Myles Weston playing together in a four man midfield as both players are attack minded players, one guy sitting in-front of me was slating Peter Taylor and suggested that Steven Gregory should of been substituted but Gregory is one of the few players we got who can play in-front of the back four. We felt that Gillingham should of been awarded with a penalty kick ourselves not long after because Steven Gregory intercepted the ball on the edge of our penalty area and played a fantastic ball over the top for Cody McDonald to run onto and there was no-way Jack Baldwin was going to get to the ball but Ben Nugent appeared to take Cody McDonald out before playing the ball and Chris Sarginson has bottled it knowing that if he has to award Gillingham a penalty kick then Ben Nugent has to be sent off (although aren't The FA Looking to change that rule next season where players won't be sent off if a penalty has been given against you, even if that player is the last man ???) - What annoyed us the most was that had that same incident happened in the other penalty area then you know Peterborough United would of been awarded a penalty kick. Both teams had there chances to score within second of each other's, Charlie Lee's long throw in was headered clear and Joe Martin plays the ball out-wide first time to Charlie Lee who fakes to cross, checks back and whips in a even more dangerous cross but Jack Baldwin is there to header the ball clear, Joe Martin headers to the ball to Connor Smith who tries to play the ball out-wide to Charlie Lee, but Smith's pass lacks pace on the ball and Mark Little intercepts the ball and he is off and look at him go because Connor Smith just gets left behind because Mark Little has so much pace, he plays the ball inside to Nicky Ajose who threads the ball down the line for Britt Assombalonga to run onto and Assombalonga's shot is well saved by Stuart Nelson who was off his line very quickly to prevent Peterborough from scoring the third goal which will defiantly kill this game off for good. Gillingham did have a chance to get themselves back into the game with a free kick from a decent goal-scoring position, the free kick gets given yet somehow the penalty decision was not awarded, sadly for us Joe Martin hits the free kick well over the crossbar and it was completely the wrong way of striking the ball, I thought we could of attempted to tee someone up or knock the ball into the box, the angel just did not look right for a up and under effort on goal. Peterboorugh had another chance to kill the game off as Danny Swanson played the ball down the right flank and Nicky Ajose hooked the ball across the face of goal and Britt Assombalonga's looping header cannoned off the top of the crossbar, we had a player on the line just in-case Britt Assombalonga had hit the target, Peterborough United brought on Craig Alcock for Kgosi Ntlhe and The Peterborough United was given a decent reception when he was substituted. FULL TIME: PETERBOROUGH UNITED 2 - 0 GILLINGHAM
Peterborough United are a very decent side and they fully deserved to win, Tommy Rowe, Conor Washington, Britt Assombalonga and Nicky Ajose will cause a number of teams problems this season, behind those four were Jack Payne and Danny Swanson who do tick things over nicely for Peterborough United, but what I took out of this game was the pace the home side had, they had runners off the ball and when they had possession Peterborough went past our players like they were not even there, they over-load the full back positions and whip the ball in quickly and with so much attacking talent it is not a surprise to see where Peterborough are in the table, but as good as they are going forward they are weak defensively and it is a shame we did not test Peterborough at the back as much as we should of done. Peterborough were quick in every meaning of the word, there players were not also fast in how they were running on the pitch but there were quick to react to where the ball is going to land, quick to anticipate where to run and it helps when you have players who have moments of quality, like Tommy Rowe for the second goal because that was a stunning strike. Peter Taylor tried to get The Gills back into the game by bringing on Adebayo Akinfenwa for Amine Linganzi and it almost paid off instantly, but at the same-time losing that fifth midfielder opened things up nicely for Peterborough and we had to make another change with Connor Smith coming on for Bradley Dack as we tried to balance the midfield up again. Had we scored first we would of stuck with the system that was working for the most part in the first half, playing a rough edged 4.4.2 formation against Peterboorugh;'s free flowing 4.3.3 was always going to be a mis-match, but had we lost 1 - 0 instead of 2 - 0 and Akinfenwa didn't come on then I can see Peter Taylor getting un-fair criticism for that as well - Peter Taylor made the gamble to bring on a extra striker as we were chasing the game, it paid off at Bradford City and did not pay off against Peterborough - that's football. Charlie Lee did well at centre back considering that is not his natural position, but I think we are getting to the stage now where we want to see Gillingham retain there League One Status and end the season as soon as possible, we have got so many players who are just not capable of playing in League One for a number of reason's, either there not mobile or quick enough to cope with life in the third tier. To be fair to these players, they have not been un-professional, they have always given 110%, worked hard and been competitive but the step up in class has shown to be a step to far for many of the players we have got in the squad, it is sad because many of these players gave us our best ever season as Gillingham Supporters last season (alright last season was my best ever experienced as a Gillingham Supporter as I am not sure if everyone on here agree's with that), but if we are to progress or to even maintain our League One Status next season the squad has to improve and we need better defenders and better midfielders at the club next season. It took me ages to get back home on Tuesday Night though, The Police had to turn the traffic back on itself when really the police should of been doing that much closer to the turnoff (not sure what road we were on), getting out of the car park where the cars and coaches were parked took ages and we must of hit every single traffic delay on the way back and I eventually got back home at 1AM. That result means that Peterborough United should end in the playoffs and if Peterborough end 6th and Rotherham United end third then I hope Peterborough beat Rotherham United with a controversial penalty incident, I do not like Steve Evans and I am sure there are many many fans who will say much stronger things about The Rotherham United Manager as well. Peter Taylor is stuck between a rock and a hard place, he knows we get cut open if we play 4.4.2 against a decent side like Peterborough because we don't have the quality in midfield to play this system effectively but at the same-time we were chasing the game so we had to go for it and had we stuck with the 4.5.1 system that worked so well in the first half and lost 1 - 0 then Peter Taylor will have got stick for not bringing on Adebayo Akinfenwa. Thankfully Adebayo Akinfenwa, Danny Kedwell and Cody McDonald have got goals in them and that should be enough to keep us in League One, but I cannot wait until the summer so Peter Taylor can re-build this squad so that not only are we more competitive next season but we can retain possession of the ball and have wingers who can take players on (like we had when Barcham and Jarvis were here). If we stay up (and I think we will) then Peter Taylor deserves to be offered The Gillingham Managerial Position on a permanent basis and I hope he is given a decent budget that allows Taylor to bring in better players - with better players being key here because there is no point releasing players who are out of contract and replacing them with players who are not any better then the players we are releasing. I hope we beat Leyton Orient on Saturday and get past the fifty point barrier, a win on Saturday would ease any nerves that have been building up because we have lost the last two matches to Rotherham and Peterborough. (Had to split the post in two as I went past the maximum character limit)
f_o_m You mention our frailities - fair comment. You may have read my 'camel' thread on the game - in which I have stated that the Gills battled reasonably well, but (without shame) lost to a better team. However we were still too negative until we went 0-2 down. At this point we started to press a lot more than previously during the match. Perhaps Peterborough relaxed a little - with a two goal cushion it would be perfectly natural to do so - but by then the game was lost (for the Gills). Why did we start to really try when it was too late ? IF we survive in L1, I expect PT to be given a contract. I would hope that he will be given the chance to clear out some players and given the funds to assemble a side that wont just rely on being negative - you need to score to win a game - you can't (normally) score if you defend a corner with all 11 in the 6 yard box ------ when Peterborough had to defend a corner THEY pushed two players onto the half way line - which forced us to keep some players back to 'mark' them. It's no good remaining ( or trying to remain ) unbeaten for the WHOLE season - if you only manage to draw each game - because you WILL get relegated with 46 points.
