Bit later than I planned but I had a lot to say today. There is so much that I have to post it in two posts. Gillingham Vs Accrington Stanley 23rd March 2013 Score Gillingham 1-0 Accrington Stanley (Matt Fish) Gillingham played Accrington Stanley on the 23rd march on a cold and snowy March day which was very strange considering the temperature was over 20C this time last year. The match was only one of a few that was on due to the weather there was many games called off which meant that Port Vale, Burton Albion, Rotherham and Exeter were not playing among many others. Even though the weather was bad the team started the total opposite and were in control from the start of the game passing the ball really well on the ground and breaking through the Accrington defence many times but were unlucky with 2 chances cleared off the line within the opening 20 minutes one shot from Danny Kedwell and another from Deon Burton. The attacking from the team was very good and they looked very composed with the ball and were playing some neat and tidy football and you could only tell that it would be a matter of time until we got a goal and I was right as on the 24th minute a great ball was played across field from Joe Martin switching flanks to Chris Whelpdale who run the ball at the defence and hit it but it rebounded off the defence however Matt Fish was on hand behind him who got the ball and just hit it with his left foot which is supposed to be his weak foot which is strange considering he has 3 goals this season and 2 have come from the left foot however I knew as soon as he hit it that it was going in and I was correct it flew over the defenders and straight off the bar and in with the keeper not able to reach it and it was 1-0 and from then on I just knew we would win it, this was one of them games where I felt very comfortable that we were going to win the game. After the goal Gillingham continued to hold the ball very well with Accrington making a rare break however the defence was on hand to take the ball back and play it forward. Fish also had a chance for a second goal as he run through from the back past everyone like Messi as no one seemed to come to him but it was a shame that he did not hit it like Messi as he seemed to pass the ball in the box when no one was there which was a shame but he played very well. Accrington did not do much in the first half however it was different in the second half which was probably to the delight of a few people behind me who did not seem to have too much football knowledge or knowledge of the current Gillingham team however even though they did not seem to know many names which was lucky the ones they did know they analysed all the weaknesses of them and did not say a positive thing about. This included Andy Frampton who one of them was happy to see sent off on Tuesday as he said ‘I would rather see us play with 10 men without Frampton than with 11 with Frampton’. He also said that Steven Gregory is useless but is a touch better than Frampton and that Kedwell needs a Motability scooter as he does not seem to be able to move that well and that his work rate is poor however he contradicted that by saying later on that his work rate is always brilliant which showed that he was very good at analysing games and being consistent which is one thing that he said that these 3 players lacked. Anyway I think that is enough of talking about them 3 people sitting behind me as I had to put up with them for the whole 90 minutes continuously talking about mainly Kedwell who they obviously don’t like. The second half was not as good as the first half for the Gills as we seemed to have come out too warm and enjoyed being inside in the warm as we seemed to give Accrington too much freedom of the ball which was a shame as that is something that we did not do in the first half as players like Robinson and Legge stood out as people who were not letting them have much of the ball but we did let them have the ball much more but Legge and Barrett were not letting them too close and when they did come anywhere near then Nelson would deal with it. Leon Legge was having another very high class performance dealing the ball in the air very well and not letting anyone past him but as well as that Nelson played his part in a lot of the second half attacking where Deon Burton, Danny Kedwell, Chris Whelpdale and Charlie Allen were trying to break past the defence from the goal kick but sadly no one was finishing the chances when they got the ball and were in space as I feel that they could of and we would have been even clearer. The way that we were playing at this point would have benefitted Weston or German who did come on a little later but by then we were not doing much of this and by then we had to concentrate on maintaining the 1-0 lead which we done very well with Legge dominating in the air. There was not much attack from the Gills at the end but they dealt with everything that Accrington had to throw at them and once Jeffers went off injured and Beattie come on for them (Another ex-England player who is now washed up at Accrington) they still didn’t look like a team that would finish and nothing like a team that had scored 7 goals in 2 games previous to this match and this is how it stayed as we approached 90 minutes and the board was held up and it would be 5 more minutes which Gillingham played well and held on as I expected and I did not worry about us conceding as we were so strong. Legge was named man of the match after his dominant performance and he deserved it but this is what I thought of each individual performance respectively.
Stuart Nelson 7- He did not have too much to do through the game as Accrington did not cause too much of a threat but when they did attack and he had to be on hand then we was there and he got the ball and made one or two good saves but the main thing he had to do was take many goal kicks and he done this well playing balls all the way upfront which sadly the attacking players didn’t finish which if they did then we would have been out of reach by the half an hour mark. Matt Fish 8- Great performance, not just at the back but going forward like he usually is. I think that the way that he was running forward he showed that he is a very top player and he is nothing like he was last season as he seems very confident and composed. The goal he put away was pure class and that is now 2 with the left foot and 1 with the right foot and his left foot is supposed to be his weak foot so I would like to see more of what he can do with the right if that is his stronger foot. He made a few other great runs and had a chance for a second only if he had shot as he did not have to pass if that is what he was doing or if the shot went wrong but I think that was a pass and he shouldn’t have done that as no one else was there but I forgive him for that. I think it was close between him and Legge for man of the match. Leon Legge 8- Another top performance by the fastly growing fans favorite, if he had been here from the start of the season he would be player of the year as by the standard he has been since he has arrived he is even in with a bit of a chance. He was very dominant in the air and he did not let people past him. It was not much of a game for him attacking wise with him putting a header or two over the bar but that did not matter as he did his job in defence and that is why he was named man of the match and I think I have to agree with them on this one as he was top class. Adam Barrett 7- You cannot leave out Barrett on the praise because he put in a good shift as well commanding the defence and making sure that they were all organised. He was great going back and keeping people out of our box and he played well just like he usually does. Joe Martin 7-Another great performance by Joe in this game and he does look like a totally different player to what he was like last season. I don’t think I have talked about him enough as I have mentioned a lot about Fish and how he has improved but on the left we have Joe Martin who also looks so much better. I think that he has improved his attacking and also the defensive side of him which has helped us a lot and he showed this in the game against Accrington playing the ball forward very well and also getting past the defenders very well showing that he can attack well and he also put a shot wide which was very good and it was a shame that it didn’t go in as then it may have been tough to choose the goal of the game. Steven Gregory 6- I don’t think this was Gregory’s best game but I am not slating him as I do think that he is getting better and better and give him time and he will be a great member of the team. I think sometimes it is hard to judge what he has done with the position he is in as that is a position for unsung heroes as you don’t do much attacking wise as it is all about keeping the teams shape and defending and I think Robinson was doing much of that in front of him and Legge was doing that behind him. I think a few balls that Gregory played weren’t great and he did have a shot which he did not hit well when it come to him outside the box after a corner from a position which you would rather see Deon Burton, Joe Martin or Matt Fish hit the ball however it was a team performance and he was good but not amazing. Chris Whelpdale 7- I think that Chris had a very good game as he had a lot to do as the ball kept coming to him across field where we were playing a lot of balls from one flank to the other, he attacked well and come close once as well and trying to break through from route one balls from Nelson but he did not get in enough of a good position to finish sadly. Well done to him though as it was a good performance by him. Anton Robinson 7- I think that if he has maintained his level of performance from the first half then this would be an 8 as he was brilliant but he did fade a little bit in the second half like some of the rest of the team but that is fine as he did play well and made some great tackles, one of which was brilliant as he won the ball really well on a sliding challenge which is brilliant to see from a midfielder instead of Legge having to do it for us or Barrett. He was very important in the passing game and when he won the ball he looked so cool which is the total opposite to what Huddersfield fans think of him but I think he seems to be a very intelligent player and I really hope he is at Gillingham next season as I think he is a top player and he has shown that a few times already. Charlie Allen 6- I think that Charlie Allen had a very good first half but the second half was not as good and that is why he went off but it is understandable as he has only just come back into the team and he has been out for a while. I think he played well attackingly in the first half and it was good to have some pace but it was a shame that Dack was not in the team after getting injured as I feel that we missed him but Allen done well and done what he needed to do. Danny Kedwell 7- This is a hard one to decide on as on one hand I can say that he was brilliant in the first half and he played some great balls, won many balls and created a few chances but then in the second half he was not the same which was a shame but I think that is where other players faded a bit behind him which did not help. I really wanted him to score and I felt he would in the first half and I think he should of in the second half when he broke through but I don’t fully know what he done as he was in a good position but let the Accrington defender take the ball off him however well done Kedwell, he played well and proved why he should be in the team. Deon Burton 7- I think this is one of his best performances at home yet however he just done seem like he will score and when many say that Kedwell is not a goal threat then what do they think Burton is as he is not a threat at home. He held the ball up well and played some good balls but Burton and Kedwell does not work and you could see that we lacked pace and I would rather see German with Kedwell or Weston up there which is what I hope it is in the Fleetwood and Rotherham game. However I have to praise Burton as he did win the ball many times going back to get the ball and played some great balls showing his class that he still holds however there is a problem and that is that Kedwell plays the same way so if they are both going back that don’t leave anyone up top which means that we are not getting the goals so that is why it don’t work with Kedwell and Burton together. Subs Charlie Lee 5- Did not do much when he come on, won the ball from an Accrington corner and run with it but wasted it as he should have run with it instead of just hitting it forward when no other Gillingham player was there to receive it. Myles Weston 5- Was not really in the game that much as he has missed about 6 games so it will take him a bit to get back to fitness as he did not really break through that much. Antonio German 5- I don’t think he did that much when he come on as we were not breaking through that much after that point. Man of the match- I think that it was between Leon Legge and Matt Fish but Leon Legge would be my man of the match just because of how good he was in the air and that no one else was getting past him, it was close between him but I agree with the choice of Leon Legge who was named man of the match at the game.
Hoadie - may I ask for future reference. Looking at your match report at a brief glance it looks well formatted for an article. I know the grammar respectfully might need a bit of work (if you do it on word, get a free grammar checker to copy it into) but if you can work on a separate report when doing this stuff in future, then I can consider promoting it for yourself and the site/board. Obviously I don't want stuff done for the sake of it but when you do make the extra effort it seems lost in threads like this. In regards to thread title this is the format which is normally easy to promote... Gillingham 1-0 Accrington Stanley Keep the title nice and simple, so I can edit it for the News bots to pick up.
Thanks, I will consider that, I was thinking about that as it is better to have one for an article. I do always make sure that I check everything and I can admit that I do make some mistakes with grammar and use of commas but that is something that I am improving on. I don't mind spending a lot of time doing this when I don't have too much to do and I can just do it in the word document as that makes it easier to check and organize as I am writing it.
Thanks Hoadie. With my current new job stresses I'm not in the right mentality to write them at the moment. So all help is appreciated. I think I have just seen a thread you have done and will take a look. http://www.spellchecker.net/grammar/ I have promoted and stuck your other article.
