3-1 finish. Keeping up the pace but if Crewe win either of their final two games it's impossible. Good win for us though.
Crewe have Torquay away next week, so they could drop points hopefully. They finish at home to Aldershot. Oxford have Southend at home and Port Vale away.
Always right..........I am going to allow myself a 'smug' evening as I got the score right on prediction too. (As did some others). I think that on the days that the 'real' Gills team has turned up, we have shown that we are more than a match for any side in this division. If we don't make the playoffs, I wouldn't regard that as a really bad thing, but providing a decent platform for next season.......providing we can hold onto our better players and make the autos. Last season we were always going to lose Cody...Bayo going was a surprise but I genuinely think that we have a more rounded team now. It just needs polishing up with a defence to match the rest of the team's potential.
You have to look it and wonder why we are not up there, the team was great today and have been in a handful of games, we have played like Title Contenders at times and to play like that you have to have quality and we have as we can see but at times we just lack it. I think it is such a shame that the team has to let us down sometimes. I have to add a note for once, Fish was great all game today and I have to say the last 2 games he has turned a corner, I would be so happy if this is how he is going to play from now on as he is young and we are in need of another good defender and if he is to continue to improve it would be great. A massive well done for him and the rest of the defence. Whelpdale in the last 15 games has been ****ing brilliant, he is now the player we wanted, he has a good amount of goals now and the worry has gone away, I think he is now the player of the year as he is getting better and better, his first goal was class and the Penalty was great, and also have to add it was a good day for Kedwell, his header was great and he worked hard as normal. Charlie Lee come back from injury and was great, throw ins were great and his runs were brilliant, he seemed to be good timed with his tackles aswell and that is where I go onto Montrose, he was brilliant, his tacking and hard worked paid off for a lot of praise, he had a great chance where he nearly put it in the top corner and today was probably the best I have seen him play. Will put in a more detailed summary later with ratings.
So the way it works I will give a rating for each of the players out of the 10 then give a reason why I choose that score, any comments regarding the ratings are welcome, these are my opinions and you may agree or disagree. Paulo Gazzaniga 7- His goal kicks were great and when he was needed he was there, the goal was unstoppable and there was nothing he could do about it. Matt Fish 8- This is probably his best game in a gills shirt and this is 2 games in a row that he has been great, last week with the stop on the line and this week with his great defensive performance, he was good going forward and set a few players on their way to getting the ball up there. Connor Essam 7- He was good today, he managed to stop a few players getting past him a few times and got the ball back to the keeper when needed. Andy Frampton 7- He was quiet good today, when he was called upon he managed to do well even though we is slow, but this was a good game for him today. Joe Martin 6- He was good today, but did not have as much work as others, he done well when needed, but not much more I can say about him. Chris Whelpdale 9- He was absolutely brilliant, the lad does not stop running, I am so happy that he is a Gillingham player, it may have taken him a bit of time to get going and his first few months were not at his best, but now he is playing brilliant and at the standard we expected, he is now showing that he is possibly the best midfielder in the league. Charlie Lee 8- He was great today on his comeback running back and forth and making sure that we kept them under pressure, his work was very important today and he kept us held together, throw ins were great as normal and he set up a great goal by Keds. Lewis Montrose 8- This was one of his best games for us, I was very happy with him like I was with Fish, his impact was present today and it was one of them games where he worked great. Danny Jackman 7- He was good today set a few good runs for Whelpdale and was good when called upon. Jo Kuffour 7- He was good today, he run and run and run, he pressured the Swindon defence, every time they passed the ball back either he or Keds or Whelpdale was on them and that was great as that is what he is all about, he may not have goals lately but today he was worth his wage. Danny Kedwell 8- He worked so hard today and I was really happy with him, his goal was great and he needed that, he run for the ball a lot and put a lot of pressure on the Swindon team, when he received the ball you could see how good of player he is today as he made sure he was passing it well, he took his time to place the passes to the best player, he was great and he inspired us to a win. Subs Spiller 6- Did not do much in the time on the pitch as we had to deal with a lot from Swindon mainly from the time he come on but he done ok. Weston 7- From his time on the pitch he done well, he has been out for a bit and has not been that good this season but he made good runs at their defence. Vine 7- He was good on his time on the pitch, went close and nearly got a goal, that shows that he is a good player and I am happy with him. So overall a great game and an all-round great performance, my man of the match is close but it would have to go to Whelpdale, however it was voted that Fish was man of the match, but that was before Whelpdale got a second goal.
Must be an absolute nutter if you think Montrose and Kuffour had good or even average games. Both of them were woeful at best, we might aswell have played with nine men.
This was Hessy's best XI and they played like it. Best summed up by the way Montrose and Whelpdale scrapped for the loose ball when outnumbered enabling Whelpdale to chip his goal. Montrose is clumsy but makes a positive difference. Fish gave the best performance by a Gills fullback in years. Even di Canio applauded his first half race through the Swindon defence. Sure Kuffour is less committed than the rest but he offers a bit of pace alongside the hardworking but pedestrian Kedwell and as a pairing they are far more dangerous than Kedwell/Vine. That team could win league 2 next year. If the left side of the defence could be strengthened to match the right side they could walk the league. It is all too late for this year and that moment of madness when Spiller got himself sent off when Gills were all over Crewe is going to be the pivotal point of the year.
I made an extra effort for this write up, so the usual please retweet from brb's twitter page...http://www.gillingham.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=280214
They were good today, they deserve the credit, I am normally not a fan of Montrose or Fish and also I don't really see the quality in Kuffour, but they were all good today.
Thank you Bristol, sometimes we have to put our differences and feelings to one side and celebrate the occasion and I am pleased you acknowledge that, especially as it is written from the heart of emotion, not from a glory hunter but a fan that just loves Gillingham FC.
Windyrog - permission to be smug ( only wish that you could have had a few more opportunities this season ) Hoadie - I take it you were at the game ? - now I'm not a huge fan of Martin - but he had so much work today - especially in the first half - when he was nearly over run by having to mark two forwards - and ( on several occasions ) have an eye on the central forward - who Frampton allowed to be behind him too often for my liking - although Frampton did have, an otherwise good game. Martin deserves more than a 6/10. Matt Fish had his best game for the Gills ( humble thanks from me .) I thought that Essam was outstanding in the middle - showing enormous maturity for one so young. My only criticism was - ( apart from a few exceptions ) - why haven't the same players performed at this level for the whole season ? Well done Gills.
Well said, Promotion is out of our reach but that don't mean the season is over, we can just see how high we can get now, it is just good to see us play well.
Maybe....maybe not, but this season's end has me looking forward to next season in a more positive frame of mind.
One thing yesterday made me realise was that, financial considerations aside, it's perfectly feasible to get to Gills home games from here without having to get up at some godforsaken hour. However financial considerations are crucial at the moment, so unfortunately I won't be able to do it regularly. As mentioned on the prediction thread I enjoyed the meal and match package, and found my self on the same table as Belfastblue and his father - just coincidence or is the Gillingham Big Brother watching this site? Anyhow, great to meet you and hope you has a safe journey back. And the match? Of course delighted with the win, and in particular with the commitment shown by all the team. In the football vernacular they seemed to 'want it more'. Fish had an excellent game, in particuler in the second half when he was showing great awareness of Swindon left winger when long passes were being pinged out there from the right midfield. I was also impressed by the way that Lee covered back for Fish when Fish did go forward. Essam had another very assured game, and really does look an excellent prospect, but Swindon really didn't seem to offer much - I'm sure they've played much better games this season, and will have to play better than that in L1 next season. However, what frustrated me immensely was the number of times that the ball was not brought under control before making a pass. Criticism of the the back 4 is to a certain extent diluted in this as their responsibility is more to get the ball out of an immediate danger area, but too many times a player under no immediate pressure just headed or hit the ball upfield to no-one in particular, where it was usually collected by a Swindon player, and then the job starts again. I'd be fascinated to know the amount of time the ball spent in the air, if such a statistic exists. I can't believe that players at this level don't have the ability to bring the ball under control and look up for a pass. That also allows the other members of the team more time to assess their own position on the pitch in relation to play in general, and therefore, hopefully for the team to keep its shape better and find the areas to run into. As I have commented before, the game is called FOOTball. So, all in all, a good win, a great day (even the rain held off) and some good chat with fellow supporters in the bar, but unfortunately this team isn't the finished product yet.
ok well pleased with the result but lets get real, we scored against the run of play and then they did not seem to bothered as they were already more or less up. There were some good preformances. I am still fed up though as if we had played this way we would easily been in the play offs. One result does not make a season.
gioblues- Swindon played with much pace and movement - but our defence was better than their forwards - otherwise they would have scored - then we started to venture forward - and scored - because our forward play was better than their defending -and don't forget we also hit the post and bar and Weston was only stopped by Swindon incurring a penalty. My earlier post will show that I share your frustration about our inability to play like this all season. The result should not have been a one-off. We do have the players to win this league - they need to be managed to be this motivated for 46 league games.
Teams (Gillingham) may score against the run of play but that does not make the opposition (Swindon) the better team. I think there has been games this season where we have been the team dominating play for the first 20-30 minutes only to go on to concede and lose the game (we took the game to Crewe at home for the first 20 minutes). Sometimes you have to soak up the pressure and make no mistakes remaining solid. Unfortunately people generally see the attacking team as the better team, where in reality it can be quite the opposite. It is about taking the three points, regardless of whether you defend all game and snatch the only goal at the end. Crewe again as an example when we lost 3-4, yes Spiller's red card did not help but Chris Whelpdale looked absolutely knackered by the end, we battered them for the first twenty. Better fitness and better management of the game, particularly early on = survival for beyond the 90 minutes.
