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fan-of-mulligan · 8 years ago

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FOM BLOG: GILLINGHAM 1 - 1 CHESTERFIELD

I left My House at 17.50PM in the afternoon and I made sure I had the following things on me,,,,,,,, (Money, Keys, My Gillingham Season Ticket, My Samsung Galaxy S2, Spare Battery, My Fleece-Jacket, Spare Lids, My Gillingham Scarf, My Gillingham Bag, A Packet Of Polo’s, Pad and Pens, A Pair Of Gloves and a 500ML Bottle Of Pepsi) - and I made sure I had everything on me before making the fifteen / twenty minute walk from my house to Rainham Train Station, and once I arrived at Rainham Train Station, I brought My Return Ticket To Gillingham for £3.80, Just before leaving My House, I had posted the following status updates on Facebook and Twitter - On My way to Priestfield Stadium as Gillingham take on Chesterfield, Hopefully, Gills can get three vital points tonight - COME ON THE GILLS - I had also posted My FOM BLOG on the importance of substitutions, http://fan-of-mulligan.tumblr.com/post/157239165462/fom-blog-striking-substitutes-could-solve- and I also checked a few notifications I got on Social Media while I was on the train.

As I arrived in Gillingham at 18.20PM, I spoke to one Gillingham Supporter I know, and he said that we are probably looking at fifty two / fifty three points to stay up, and because four teams get relegated into League Two, there is always a team who gets relegated with fifty points, and at home to Chesterfield is a must win game for Gillingham, this is a match that Gillingham need to win if we’re to pull further away from The League One Relegation Zone, and also, we need to pick up three points regardless of our performance, so we can go into The Coventry City Game with a bit more confidence and belief.

I mentioned that I was going to Coventry City, and that Diane was driving, I cannot drive, but the one thing I do is split the fuel costs fifty / fifty and we do save a bit of money that way, and we have traveled to every game this season, except West Brom B Team Away In The Football League Trophy, but we have noticed that the interest in away matches declining and it isn’t so much the performances on the pitch or Gillingham winning, drawing or losing away from home, it is the distance your traveling, you could be up at 6.30AM and not back home again until mid-night from A Away Match and that is basically the entire Saturday gone, and away matches are expensive, and also, they take up an entire day, and that is off putting for some people, and understandably so as well.

As The Gillingham Supporter I was speaking to was waiting for friends and family, I headed off to the ground, but not before saying c ya there, and I made my way to Priestfield Stadium, and I didn’t need to stop off to buy a drink as I already had one on me, and as I had already brought My Coventry City Ticket and Diane brought My Swindon Town Ticket for me, I didn’t really need to go into The Ticket Office for any away tickets, but one thing I do know for certain, as soon as The Charlton Athletic Tickets are on sale, then Me, Diane, Stephen and a few others will need to try and get our seats next to each other, because I can see Charlton Athletic Away being Allocated Seating, which I find really irritating for away matches, but Me, Diane and Stephen have spoken at length about what we will need to do for Charlton Athletic Away, as we will be looking to travel to that match via train.

I saw Diane, Peter and Sharon out-side the ground, and Peter had changed his pre-match routine from Chips With Curry Sauce to plain chips, hoping that a change in superstition would result in Gillingham picking up all three points, Peter and Sharon remembered our away trip to Carlisle United a few season’s a go now, and for that away trip, The Supporters Coach was completely packed, these days, we’re getting away attendances of 224 to Bradford City, compared to almost 350 in previous season’s, so the interest in away matches is defiantly declining, and Peter and Sharon both made the valid point that it was the traveling and getting up at 6AM and getting back at mid-night which is so off-putting, and Me and Diane added that, Last Season, we were probably saving £10 each per away game when we traveled together via car, but now, we’re probably saving £5 each because of the rise in fuel costs, and Diane does all the driving.

But as Peter mentioned, we can stop where-ever and when-ever we want and it is the cost of food and drink where we do save money, because food and drink inside football stadiums is very very expensive, and there usually of lower quality for what you can get around the ground, Peter and Sharon might be going to Charlton Athletic, as that is a local away game and they have relatives who support Charlton Athletic as well, and I mentioned that we will probably be looking to go to that match via train and get a group-save ticket, as that would save us a lot of money on the traveling, and also, the parking in around Charlton Athletic’s Ground is probably going to be very very expensive on a match-day, so it will be easier to go via train.

Eventually, We Saw Gillingham’s Team News On Twitter and Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,,,,, Stuart Nelson (GK), Ryan Jackson, Max Ehmer, Adedeji Oshilaja, Bradley Garmston, Josh Wright, Bradley Dack, Scott Wagstaff, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Rory Donnelly, Cody McDonald SUBS: Tomas Holy (GK), Emmanuel Osadebe, Jake Hessenthaler, Mark Byrne, Lee Martin, Elliott List and Josh Parker - Wow, Just Wow, because Scott Wagstaff, Bradley Dack, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Rory Donnelly and Cody McDonald were all thrown into The Starting Line Up as Adrian Pennock makes his intentions very clear with this starting eleven, he wants to win this game against Chesterfield and he wants three points, I had just blogged about the importance of striking substitutions, well, even with those five in The Starting Line Up, we still had Lee Martin, Elliott List and Josh Parker on the bench if we need to make any attacking changes.

There was no spot in The Match-Day Squad for Chris Herd, who clearly must have picked up an injury as he isn’t even named among the substitutes, Ryan Jackson was very disappointing against Port Vale on Saturday, but keeps his spot in The Starting Line Up as there is a real lack of Right Back��s Available in The Squad, and Ryan Jackson’s Long Throw can cause opposition defenders problems, and it was great to see Bradley Garmston get his first start for Gillingham in The League this season, as we have really missed Bradley Garmston’s pace at Left Back on a regular basis this season.

Diane headed round to The Gordon Road Stand with Alan and Irene while I waited for Gary, and I mentioned to Peter and Sharon that Bradford City Supporters only have to pay £149 A Season for there Season Tickets and Bradford City get 18,000 Season Ticket Holders, if only we as Gillingham Supporters only had to pay £149 for our Season Tickets, I would be saving £241 A Season if that was the case, which is a lot of money, Peter and Sharon decided to head off in while I waited to speak to Gary, but as Gary needed to quickly get to The Press Area, he couldn’t stop to chat, so we would speak to each other after the game, and I spoke with Matt briefly about how we needed all three points against Chesterfield on what is a mild Tuesday Evening - because it was freezing on Saturday when Gillingham drew 1-1 with Port Vale - and we were both surprised with the team selection, although, I did think that Josh Parker would have started having impressed as an substitute against Port Vale and scoring the last gasp equaliser, and I think everyone had that same opinion, that Josh Parker deserved to start.

Matt decided to head round to join Diane in The Gordon Road Stand, while I went inside The Club Shop to Buy My Match-Day Programme for £3, and Dave mentioned to me that it was very quiet, and I agreed, this looked liked it was going to be a below 5,000 attendance, because I cannot see Chesterfield bringing many supporters to Priestfield Stadium on A Tuesday Night, as it is a long way to travel for a mid-week league fixture, especially when your struggling in The League One Relegation Zone, and Gillingham are also in A Relegation Battle, there is no doubts about that either.

I said C Ya to Dave before I headed towards The Family Enclosure Entrance, and After My Gillingham Bag was searched, I went through the turnstiles, brought one fifty / fifty match day lottery ticket and I caught up with Martin, who, like me, was very surprised with just how attack minded Gillingham’s Line Up was with Scott Wagstaff, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Bradley Dack, Rory Donnelly and Cody McDonald all named in The Starting Line Up, Jake Hessenthaler being dropped was the only real surprise as far as Martin was concerned, and Martin also thought that Josh Parker should have started as well.

Me and Martin got speaking to two other Gillingham Supporters, who used to sit in The Gordon Road Stand, but because of how cold it was over there when the weather was getting warmer towards the end of the season, they decided to move over to The Medway Stand for a better view, granted, you have to cover your eyes when you have low sunlight, but they prefer where they are sitting now, we also got speaking about Danny Kedwell and how he can still possibly do a job for Gillingham right now, maybe not from the very start of the game, but a ten minute / fifteen minute cameo from the bench where Danny Kedwell can hold the ball up and bring others into play would give Cody McDonald that strike partner he clearly needs to get the best out of him, because whenever Cody McDonald has had someone like John Marquis or Adebayo Akinfenwa alongside him, Cody McDonald would get more goal-scoring opportunities and we need someone who can hold the ball up, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, despite his size, isn’t that type of player, and although Josh Parker isn’t the tallest of strikers, he actually held the ball up really well against Port Vale on Saturday, and I was impressed with Josh Parker’s performance, while Joe Quigley will also provide Gillingham with more of an aerial threat in the final third.

We also spoke about how we need to avoid relegation into League Two, while Doncaster Rovers look like they are going to make an instant return back into League One, that is a rarity and looking at Tranmere Rovers, they suffered back to back relegations into The Conference National, and one relegation could kick-start a down-hill spiral, also, looking at our squad and the number of technical players we have got at the club, like, Scott Wagstaff, Bradley Dack, Lee Martin, Josh Wright, Cody McDonald and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, we have a squad that is better suited to League One Football, because in League Two, you have to be prepared for a scrap and play what some supporters describe as blood and thunder football, IE, Get the ball forward quickly, hopefully, Gillingham can retain our League One Status and then re-build the playing squad over the summer to bring in the additions we clearly need to make the squad stronger.

Another talking point was why could Bondz N’Gala sign for Dover Athletic when The Conference National is considered A Professional League By FIFA ??? Bondz N’Gala had already played for Barnet and Eastleigh this season and Eastleigh play in The Conference National, and because of this new rule, Gillingham couldn’t sign Bondz N’Gala, but for some reason, Dover Athletic can, I couldn’t get my head around that, and even if Dover Athletic are A Part Time Club, The Conference National is considered A Professional League Now, so I don’t understand why Dover Athletic could sign Bondz N’Gala, but Gillingham couldn’t sign him - very strange.

With Kick Off Approaching, we all went back to our seats, hoping, Gillingham will be kicking towards The Rainham End in The Second Half, because it does give us such a phycological advantage when we kick towards our own supporters in The Second Half, Gillingham kicking towards The Rainham End in The First Half against Port Vale felt wrong, I think The Home Team should have the end they want, and the away team has kick off, so that when you play the reverse fixture, Gillingham have kick off away at Chesterfield, but Chesterfield decide what end they want to start the match kicking towards, the same also applies for fixtures, Gillingham traveled to Chesterfield on A Tuesday Night, so Chesterfield are traveling to Gillingham on A Tuesday Night.

I took to My Seat, while Colin and Martin sat close to The Dugout, this is A Match that Gillingham HAVE TO WIN!!!!!!! - And I really do hope that come full time that Gillingham get The Three Points we are looking for, both teams came out of the tunnel ready for kick off on a mild Tuesday Evening in February, looking around Priestfield Stadium, this is going to be a low attendance, but it’s all about the result for Gillingham, and Gillingham need the win and three points to pull away from The League One Relegation Zone - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

The First Minute Of The Match see’s Bradley Dack penalised for his challenge on Osman Kakay, but what preceded that foul were a succession of abrasive challenges from both teams which suggests that this is going to be a very scrappy match between two teams battling to retain there League One Status, Chesterfield were very quick to get a attacking going from the resulting free kick, as Ian Evatt looks to play a long ball over the top of Gillingham’s Defence with a quickly distributed long ball down-field, but Adedeji Oshilaja wins the aerial challenge and Bradley Garmston boots the ball clear down-field and away from danger - it is good to see Adedeji Oshilaja playing in the centre of Gillingham’s Defence, even though Adedeji Oshilaja has done a decent job for Gillingham at Left Back.

Three Minutes into the match, and Gillingham win The First Corner Kick Of The Game as Gillingham have A Throw On Down The Right Side Of The Pitch - Chesterfield’s Left - and Ryan Jackson throws the ball long down the line and Rory Donnelly manages to hold possession of the ball up and forces Dan Gardner to concede A Corner Kick, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas goes across to take the resulting corner kick, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas whipped in the cross for Josh Parker to score the all important equaliser against Port Vale in stoppage time, can Jay Emmanuel-Thomas whip in an dangerous cross for Gillingham to take the lead on this occasion ???

And that is almost precisely what happens as well, as Jay Emmanuel-Thomas whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Max Ehmer gets the faintest of touches to flick the ball across the face of goal, and Liam Grimshaw clears the ball off the line for Chesterfield by heading the ball over the crossbar and Gillingham can pile on the pressure with another corner kick - Rory Donnelly was unmarked at the back-stick and could have potentially opened the scoring had Liam Grimshaw not been in the right place, at the right time for Chesterfield.

And Gillingham almost opened the scoring again, this time it is Bradley Dack’s Corner Kick which is causing Chesterfield all sorts of problems, as Bradley Dack whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post, and Rory Donnelly headers the ball back across the face of goal and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas gets the faintest of touches to direct the ball goal-wards, and again, Chesterfield clear the ball off the line, and this time it is Tom Anderson who is in the right place at the right time to clear the ball off the line, but Max Ehmer manages to hook the ball out-wide to Bradley Dack, who wins another corner kick for Gillingham by kicking the ball against Liam Grimshaw, can Gillingham make it third time lucky and score from our third corner kick of the match ???

Bradley Dack goes across to take the resulting corner kick for Gillingham, and Bradley Dack has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Max Ehmer cannot make a telling connection on to the ball, however, Rory Donnelly does extremely well to prevent the ball going out of play for A Chesterfield Throw On, and Rory Donnelly kicks the ball against Liam Grimsshaw, and Gillingham have A Throw On In Chesterfield’s Final Third and Ryan Jackson goes across to take The Resulting Throw On For Gillingham, and Gillingham create another goal-scoring opportunity, as Ryan Jackson hurls in an dangerous long throw into the heart of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area and Rory Donnelly wins the aerial battle up against Ian Evatt, but Rory Donnelly’s Header is more up and under and Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson can gather the ball with ease - but this has been an very impressive start for Gillingham, as Chesterfield have been kept on the back-foot for the opening six minutes of the match.

Seven Minutes into the match, and Chesterfield are on the attack for the first time as Kristian Dennis plays the ball through for Reece Mitchell to run on to, and Reece Mitchell see’s his cross to the far post cleared by Scott Wagstaff, and it was a good clearance by Scott Wagstaff as well, but Ian Evatt headers the ball out-wide to Osman Kakay on the halfway line, who has the pace to run forward in possession of the ball as Osman Kakay is one on one with Ryan Jackson, and Osman Kakay threads the ball through to Jon Nolan, who only manages to get to the by-line, and Jon Nolan has to whip in an dangerous cross first time, which deflects off Max Ehmer, who had slid in to make a block, and the ball deflects off Max Ehmer up into the air and Stuart Nelson is required to make the save - a reminder that despite all the dominance from Gillingham, the score-line is still 0-0 and Chesterfield could have opened the scoring there and then.

Eight and Nine Minutes into the match respectively, Gillingham and Chesterfield create one goal-scoring opportunity a piece as both teams look to score that all important opening goal of the game, in The Eighth Minute, it is Gillingham who are on the front-foot, Stuart Nelson has rolled the ball short to Adedeji Oshilaja, who plays the ball forward to Josh Wright, who plays the ball back to Adedeji Oshilaja, who plays the ball out-wide to Bradley Garmston, and Bradley Garmston plays the ball inside to Josh Wright, and Josh Wright plays the ball forward to Rory Donnelly, and Rory Donnelly clips the ball out-wide to Bradley Garmston, who uses his pace to get to the byline and whip in an dangerous cross towards the far post, which is partially headed clear and away from danger by Dion Donohue, but the second ball drops to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s first time volleyed effort on the edge of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area flashes just wide of Lloyd Allinson’s Left Hand Post, and we all thought for a moment that Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had given Gillingham the lead with that effort on goal.

But Chesterfield could have opened the scoring a minute later, Jon Nolan passes the ball square to Liam Grimshaw, who is basically allowed to run forward in possession of the ball and strike a powerful effort on goal low and hard which flashes across the face of goal and only a yard or two wide of Stuart Nelson’s Right Hand Post, Now Stuart Nelson had that effort on goal covered, but even so, you cannot give the opposition a free hit, and Gillingham have made an very impressive start to the opening ten minutes of the match, that it would have been especially disappointing to see Chesterfield take the lead with that effort on goal from Liam Grimshaw.

Ten Minutes into The Match and Gillingham have Two Throw On’s in Quick Succession, the first throw was headed clear by Chesterfield, But The Second Long Throw caused Chesterfield all sorts of problems defensively as Ryan Jackson’s Long Throw into the heart of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area is flicked on by Adedeji Oshilaja and Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson almost gifts Gillingham a goal as he doesn’t gather the ball properly, and Chesterfield do enough to stop Rory Donnelly from getting a shot off on goal, or pulling the ball back across the face of goal, and Chesterfield have been awarded A Goal-Kick, Long Throw’s and Set Plays From Gillingham are causing Chesterfield all sorts of problems defensively.

And this action packed opening Ten Minutes Of The Match continued in The Eleventh Minute, as Chesterfield had the chance to open the scoring, Kristian Dennis plays the ball through to Liam Grimshaw on the over-lap, and with Bradley Garmston out of position, there is space for Liam Grimshaw to run into, And The Chesterfield Defender / Midfielder plays in an dangerous low cross with plenty of pace which almost picks out David Faupala, but Max Ehmer slides in to make a crucial interception and concede a corner kick, Chesterfield have the chance to score from the resulting corner kick, but David Faupala would have had an even greater chance to score for Chesterfield had Max Ehmer not made that crucial interception.

And from the resulting corner kick, Chesterfield did in-fact had the chance to open the scoring, Dion Donohue whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed clear by Adedeji Oshilaja, but Dion Donohue has another chance to whip in another dangerous cross for Chesterfield, and Dion Donohue has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Tom Anderson headers the ball over the crossbar in a really promising position - and that was the chance for Chesterfield to open the scoring, and I thought for a moment that is precisely what was going to happen as well.

Fourteen Minutes into the match, and Bradley Garmston does a brilliant job by shielding the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, but there was a huge controversial decision in The Fifteenth Minute, as Dion Donohue’s header back to Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson was under-hit and Lloyd Allinson gathers the ball right on the edge of The Penalty Area, and Lloyd Allinson drops the ball, probably conscious of the fact that he is right on the edge of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and somehow, Referee Graham Horwood comes to the conclusion that Cody McDonald had fouled Lloyd Allinson, everyone inside Priestfield Stadium was surprised with that decision, and usually, when that happens, then you know full well that The Referee has made an appalling decision there, decisions like this only add as further confirmation of my opinion that there needs to be Video Technology in Football.

Sixteen Minutes Into The Match, and Rory Donnelly does brilliantly to keep the ball in play down The Medway Stand / Brian Moore Stand Side Of The Pitch, and Rory Donnelly has managed to dig out a cross towards the far post and Ian Evatt manages to header the ball clear and away from danger, Rory Donnelly has been very impressive in The Opening Sixteen Minutes Of The Match To Date So Far, I thought he put in a respectable performance in a unfamiliar Left Winger Role against Bradford City, and a run of starting appearances is starting to see Rory Donnelly get back to his best.

Nineteen Minutes Into The Match, and Bradley Garmston goes on a surging run forward in possession of the ball, and Bradley Garmston has the pace to go from Gillingham’s Final Third right to the byline and Bradley Garmston’s dangerous in-swinging cross is charged down by Dan Gardner, and Gillingham have been awarded A Corner Kick, and Bradley Dack goes across to take the resulting corner kick, and Gillingham continue to be a threat from corner kicks, as Bradley Dack’s in-swinging cross towards the far post picks out Josh Wright at the back-stick, but Josh Wright cannot get the strongest of connections of the ball, and the chance had gone for The Gills and Chesterfield have been awarded A Goal-Kick.

However, From The Resulting Goal-Kick, And Gillingham have the chance to open the scoring as Lloyd Allinson kicks the ball long down-field and Bradley Garmston wins the aerial battle up against Osman Kakay on The Halfway Line, and Dan Gardner tries to play the ball forward but Josh Wright manages to get in the way and the ball deflects into Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s Path, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas brings the ball down, takes a touch to retain possession of the ball before hitting a cross-field pass towards The Right Side of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and Rory Donnelly’s First Touch was superb, and Rory Donnelly pulls the ball back across the face of goal in the heart of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and Cody McDonald’s First Time Effort is saved by Lloyd Allinson, it is a routine save for The Chesterfield Goalkeeper, as Cody McDonald didn’t get the strongest connections on the ball, and I do think that Tom Anderson had put Cody McDonald off, but even so, I think that Cody McDonald should be testing Lloyd Allinson between the sticks with a much better effort on goal, and Cody McDonald will know this as well.

Twenty One Minutes Into The Match and Scott Wagstaff is bizarrely penalised for hand-ball, even though Scott Wagstaff has had the ball smashed against him from less then one yard away, even if the ball has hit Scott Wagstaff on the arm or hand, it would surely have to be ball to hand from that range, and you could hear the frustrations from Gillingham Supporters around the ground, as that was never hand-ball.

Twenty Six Minutes Into The Match and Chesterfield had the chance to open the scoring, Gillingham have A Throw On right on the halfway line and Ryan Jackson throws the ball square to Adedeji Oshilaja, and Adedeji Oshilaja takes a touch to control the ball before play a short pass through to Bradley Dack, who cuts back on himself to evade David Faupala’s attempted challenge and Bradley Dack takes another touch to control the ball, before threading the ball through to Josh Wright, who takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball back to Adedeji Oshilaja, and Adedeji Oshilaja squares the ball to Max Ehmer, who plays the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, and Ryan Jackson takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball inside to Josh Wright, and Josh Wright’s attempted ball over the top ricochets off Kristian Dennis, and that ricochet falls kindly to David Faupala, who plays a one touch layoff into Liam Grimshaw’s path, and Liam Grimshaw takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball out-wide to Tom Anderson, and Tom Anderson plays the ball forward to Osman Kakay, who plays the ball inside to Liam Grimshaw, and Chesterfield’s Number Twenty Eight see’s his pass cut out by Adedeji Oshilaja.

However, the chance is still there for Chesterfield as Liam Grimshaw is on to the loose ball and runs forward in possession of the ball, and Liam Grimshaw continue’s his driving run forward all the way through to the by-line, and Liam Grimshaw, pulls the ball back across the face of goal towards David Faupala at the near post, and David Faupala takes a touch to control the ball before attempting an ambitious back-healed effort and Stuart Nelson was in the right place at the right time, and Stuart Nelson had to watch that back-healed effort from David Faupala very carefully to make the save.

Gillingham create two decent goal-scoring opportunities in quick succession, the first of these two goal-scoring opportunities is A Dangerous Long Throw From Ryan Jackson Into The Heart Of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area and The Spireites are struggling to deal with these long throw’s, but Gillingham have yet to land a knock-out blow and break the deadlock, however, everyone inside Priestfield Stadium thought that Gillingham were going to break the deadlock in The Twenty Ninth Minute, Bradley Garmston throws the ball down the line and Liam Grimshaw and Osman Kakay do enough between the two of them to win possession of the ball back, and Osman Kakay switches the ball to the opposite side of the pitch where Reece Mitchell is, and Reece Mitchell runs towards The Left Wing and plays the ball back to Dion Donohue, and Dion Donohue plays the ball through to Dan Gardner, and Dan Gardner goes to ground under Adedeji Oshilaja and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s challenges, but no foul is given, and play on continue’s as Ryan Jackson plays the ball inside to Josh Wright in an more central position, and Josh Wright plays the ball through to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas down the right side of the pitch, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas plays a first time pass down the line towards Rory Donnelly, and Rory Donnelly takes a touch to control the ball before looking to take on Ian Evatt, and Rory Donnelly plays the ball inside centrally to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who plays the ball through to Josh Wright inside Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and Liam Grimshaw times his challenge on Josh Wright to perfection and Cody McDonald leaves the ball for Rory Donnelly to drill across the face of goal, and Rory Donnelly’s driven effort towards goal crashes against the inside of the post and somehow doesn’t hit the back of the net and Dion Donohue smashes the ball clear and away from danger - that was the chance, that was the chance for Gillingham to take the lead, and we really could have done with that effort hitting the back of the net as well.

Thirty One Minutes Into The Match, and Ryan Jackson’s Long Throw Into The Heart of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area manages to pick out Adedeji Oshilaja, but Adedeji Oshilaja’s shot on the turn is blocked and runs through to Lloyd Allinson, who was able to make the save, but in The Thirty Second Minute, Chesterfield are causing Gillingham all sorts of problems at the back as Gillingham are just incapable of clearing our lines, and eventually, Kristian Dennis has attempted a driven effort towards goal from twenty five yards out, but Kristian Dennis doesn’t get the best of connections on the ball, and this meant that the save was much more comfortable for Stuart Nelson to deal with then it could have been, had Kristian Dennis generated more power in the strike, but Stuart Nelson finally has the ball as Gillingham were forced backwards by Chesterfield, and The Visitor’s haven’t done much in The First Half, but they could have potentially taken the lead there.

Thirty Three Minutes Into The Match, and Ian Evatt is penalised for his challenge on Rory Donnelly as Ian Evatt jumped all over Rory Donnelly’s back, and Gillingham have been awarded A Free Kick Down The Right Side Of The Pitch, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Bradley Dack are both standing over the ball, and Bradley Dack leaves the ball for Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to whip in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post, and Ian Evatt is in the right place at the back-stick to header the ball clear and away from danger.

Thirty Five and Thirty Seven Minutes into The Match Respectively, Gillingham create two half chances to hopefully score the opening goal of the game before The Half Time Whistle, Thirty Five Minutes Into The Match, and Ryan Jackson has managed to dig out an cross from the byline in Chesterfield’s Final Third towards the far post, and Rory Donnelly cannot quite manage to direct his header on target and the ball is headed down past Lloyd Allinson’s Right Hand Post, and In The Thirty Seventh Minute, Bradley Garmston goes on an brilliant run down The Left Side Of the Pitch, but Bradley Garmston’s Cross doesn’t match the quality of the run and Bradley Garmston’s Cross hits the back of The Brian Moore Stand - but one thing I will say is this, if only Gillingham had Ryan Jackson and Bradley Garmston both available at Right Back and Left Back throughout The 2016 / 2017 season, as both players have seen there time restricted on the pitch this season through injury, and we have had to play players out of position in there absence, and also, Paul Konchesky just cannot play game in, game out, and with no Left Back Cover, we were basically relying on him to do precisely that.

Thirty Eight Minutes Into The Match, and one controversial decision followed by another, as Ian Evatt’s challenge on Scott Wagstaff was a potential leg-breaker, but play on continued as Chesterfield kept the ball in play intentionally and Bradley Dack and Josh Wright were both scrapping and battling to get the ball back, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas wins possession of the ball back, looks to play Rory Donnelly through on goal, and Rory Donnelly was clean through and Gillingham were about to hit Chesterfield on The Counter Attack and now Referee Graham Horwood stops play - YOUR A JOKE REF!!!!!!! - Was My Response - Thankfully, Scott Wagstaff was back on his feat and OK to continue, but should Scott Wagstaff have to come off, then Lee Martin, Josh Parker and Elliott List are all potential options for Gillingham to bring on, it may well have to be a case of getting through to half time and check on the seriousness of Scott Wagstaff’s Injury to see if he is OK to continue playing, or, Gillingham are forced to make a half time substitution ???

But you have got to say that was dreadful refereeing from Graham Horwood, either you stop play immediately so that Scott Wagstaff receives treatment - which is what Referee Graham Horwood should have done in the first place, or, you allow play to continue until the ball is out of play, you cannot make the decision to continue playing and then stop play, and that is what Referee Graham Horwood did, I personally think he should have stopped play straight away.

Forty Two Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham had the chance to open the scoring just before half time, Gillingham have A Throw On Down The Left Side Of The Pitch in Chesterfield’s Half, and Bradley Garmston throws the ball down the line towards Cody McDonald, but Dan Gardner was well positioned to hook the ball clear and away from danger and Kristian Dennis wins the aerial challenge up against Adedeji Oshilaja on the halfway line to header the ball into Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, and Max Ehmer keeps the ball in play, takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field, and Tom Anderson headers the ball back into Gillingham’s Half and Adedeji Oshilaja takes no chances by allowing the ball to bounce by heading the ball up into the air, and Scott Wagstaff gets to the loose ball ahead of Dan Gardner to header the ball into Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s Path, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas takes a touch to control the ball before playing a lofted pass through to Cody McDonald down the right side of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and Cody McDonald cuts inside into an more central position on the pitch before passing the ball back to Ryan Jackson, and Ryan Jackson takes one touch to control the ball before going for goal with an driven effort which only just flashes wide of Lloyd Allinson’s Left Hand Post, when we all thought for a moment that Ryan Jackson had opened the scoring for Gillingham.

Forty Three Minutes Into The Match, and I thought that Rory Donnelly was incorrectly penalised for his challenge on Ian Evatt as Rory Donnelly was doing some brilliant defensive work to prevent Chesterfield from getting the ball forward into Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, and A Minute Later, Gillingham had the chance to go in at the break with a slender one goal advantage, as Gillingham look strong down the right side of the pitch again, as Bradley Dack plays the ball forward to Cody McDonald, who drops the ball back to Ryan Jackson, who is providing Gillingham with a lot of width down The Right Side Of The Pitch, and Ryan Jackson has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson is caught in two minds to stay on his line or come off his line to deal with the ball, and in the end, Ian Evatt has been forced to header the ball clear and away from danger, I was surprised that A Goal-Kick was given, as I was sure that Ian Evatt’s header went out of play without A Gillingham Player making any contact with the ball.

Forty Five Minutes Into The Match and there two talking points of discussion right at the end of The First Half, Lloyd Allinson kicks the ball down-field from the resulting goal-kick, and the ball lands at Bradley Dack’s Feat on The Halfway Line, and Bradley Dack plays the ball forward to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas drops the ball back into Bradley Dack’s path, and Bradley Dack evades the challenge from Jon Nolan and Bradley Dack runs towards the right wing and carries on his run down the right side of the pitch, and Bradley Dack over-runs the ball and does lunge into Reece Mitchell and Referee Graham Horwood does run over very quickly, which did give you the impression that Graham Horwood was going to send Bradley Dack Off, but A Yellow Card was the correct punishment, it was a foul, and it was a booking, but no-way was it a sending off, especially when you compare that challenge to the challenge that Ian Evatt did on Scott Wagstaff.

However, I think Jon Nolan should have been booked for Chesterfield for blatantly wasting time by sitting on the turf right next to The Technical Area, all Jon Nolan had to do was move an extra yard or two and he would be off the pitch, injured or not, this was a deliberate attempt to waste time, and Jon Nolan should have been booked for Chesterfield, But Gary Caldwell decided to bring on Angel Martínez for Jon Nolan in stoppage time, there was already two additional minutes of additional time added on, there will be at least one more additional minute now.

The Final Noteworthy Moment Of The First Half could have seen Gillingham open the scoring as Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s Long Throw Into The Heart Of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area was allowed to bounce and somehow, no-one in A Gillingham Shirt managed to get a telling connection on the ball, and Referee Graham Horwood blew his whistle for Half Time.

HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 0 - 0 CHESTERFIELD

Gillingham have put in an much better performance in The First Half as Max Ehmer and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas have both seen efforts cleared off the line within the first five minutes of the match, Ryan Jackson has hit a driven an effort wide of goal, Cody McDonald has seen his effort on goal saved by Lloyd Allinson, but Rory Donnelly has had by far the best goal-scoring opportunity for Gillingham, as Rory Donnelly’s effort has crashed against the inside of the post, However, Chesterfield have created goal-scoring opportunities as well, as David Faupala’s back-healed effort was saved by Stuart Nelson, and Stuart Nelson was also required to save Kristian Dennis’s effort on goal, which lacked the power to severely test Stuart Nelson, but nonetheless, Nelson still was required to make the save.

Speaking with Colin and David at Half Time, we all spoke about the much improved performance from Gillingham compared to the disappointing performance against Port Vale On Saturday, Scott Wagstaff, Bradley Dack, Rory Donnelly, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Cody McDonald all starting has given Gillingham plenty of attacking options, and Ryan Jackson and Bradley Garmston have both been very adventurous for Gillingham as well, not surprising, as this was a match we have got to win.

But has either goalkeeper been severely tested ??? Lloyd Allinson has had more to do between the sticks but he isn’t exactly been peppered with shot after shot, and hopefully, with Gillingham kicking towards The Rainham End in The Second Half, then Gillingham can find that all important opening goal, we spoke about the importance of the opening goal of the game, and that remained to be the case, because whoever scores first will stand a great chance of picking up all three points.

Josh Parker, Elliott List and Lee Martin are all on the bench if Adrian Pennock needs to make changes, Josh Parker deserved to start after his immediate contribution from the bench against Port Vale On Saturday, so I think we can expect to see Josh Parker to come on around the hour mark, Colin again spoke about the need to get A Towering Centre Forward Alongside Cody McDonald, and hopefully, when Joe Quigley is available for selection, then he can potentially play alongside Cody McDonald, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas isn’t A Target-Man, he wants to play in A Free Role, and Colin mentioned that Justin Edinburgh told Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to get in the box on numerous occasions, and he just wouldn’t do it, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, has the pace, the skill, the strength, the athleticism and the quality to play at A Much Higher Level then League One, he has all the attributes to be A Championship Standard Striker, but perhaps consistency and the way he plays holds him back a bit.

There were a few controversial decisions in The First Half, the foul on Scot Wagstaff should have seen Referee Graham Horwood stop play straight away, and not stop play when Gillingham were through on goal on the counter attack, the hand-ball decision against Scott Wagstaff was just bizarre, and what was even more bizarre, was the fact that Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson has either handled the ball out-side the penalty area, or, he knew he had to drop the ball to avoid being penalised, and somehow Referee Graham Horwood comes to the conclusion that Cody McDonald had fouled Lloyd Allinson, And Jon Nolan should have been booked prior to his substitution for deliberately attempting to time waste.

As for any tactical changes, I think if Scott Wagstaff is unable to continue then we could well see Elliott List or Lee Martin come on in his place, but other then that, I wasn’t expecting any substitutions from Adrian Pennock at Half Time, and having just made one substitution, I am sure that Gary Caldwell will want to save his remaining two substitutions for whenever he needs to, or has to use them, as you always want one substitute spare in-case of injuries, I have spoken about the importance of substitutions for this match in My FOM BLOG, hopefully, Adrian Pennock’s Substitutions pay off and Gillingham can pick up all three points - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

As expected, neither Adrian Pennock nor Gary Caldwell made any substitutions at the break, as Gillingham stuck with the same eleven that started the match against Chesterfield, while Gary Caldwell has been forced to substitute Jon Nolan for Angel Martínez, substitutions will remain crucial throughout the rest of this match, but also, Gillingham’s Performance in The First Half Deserved A Goal, and hopefully Gillingham can make the breakthrough at The Start Of The Second Half, and Gillingham can pick up all three points.

The Second Half started very unusually, as it took Gillingham three attempts to kick off as Chesterfield Players on two occasions encroached into Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch before the ball had been kicked, but once we were underway, Chesterfield were looking to make a fast start to The Second Half, and Bradley Dack had to do some defensive work to ensure that Reece Mitchell didn’t get on the end of Dan Gardner’s Long Pass Over The Top, and Bradley Dack shields the ball out of play for A Goal-Kick, very good defending from Bradley Dack, as Reece Mitchell and Osman Kakay have the pace to hurt Gillingham in wide area’s.

Forty Nine Minutes Into The Match, and Tom Anderson is penalised for his challenge on Cody McDonald on The Halfway Line and Gillingham should be looking to put the pressure on to Chesterfield’s Goal, but instead of creating a goal-scoring opportunity, it is Chesterfield who were looking to hit Gillingham on The Counter Attack, as Ian Evatt headers Bradley Dack’s dangerous in-swinging cross clear and away from danger, and Osman Kakay keeps the ball in play and passes the ball into an more central position towards Kristian Dennis, and Kristian Dennis takes a touch to control the ball, before looking to play a cross-field pass towards Reece Mitchell, but Kristian Dennis’s Pass out-wide is over-hit and only just runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Fifty Minutes Into The Match, and Chesterfield are awarded A Free Kick as Reece Mitchell goes on a driving run forward in possession of the ball and forces Max Ehmer to concede the foul and Chesterfield have been awarded a free kick in a really promising position on the pitch, and Chesterfield can create a decent goal-scoring opportunity from here as set plays are going to be so important in this match, thankfully, from A Gillingham Prospective, Dan Gardner’s In-Swinging Cross towards the back-stick is over-hit and goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, but that was a early warning sign for Gillingham, we may well have dominated the large majority of The First Half, but the score-line is still goal-less, and Chesterfield can still go on and win this match if Gillingham do not maintain those energy levels from The First Half.

Fifty Three Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham had a half chance to try and open the scoring, Max Ehmer plays a long ball over the top for Cody McDonald to run on to, but the ball bounces high up off the turf and this enabled Dion Donohue to header the ball back to Lloyd Allinson, decent long ball over the top from Max Ehmer in an attempt to try and pick out Cody McDonald, but Chesterfield managed to defend there lines very well there.

But In The Fifty Sixth Minute, Cody McDonald had an even better opportunity to open the scoring for Gillingham, Stuart Nelson throws the ball out-wide to Scott Wagstaff, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Scott Wagstaff passes the ball inside to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas who is on the halfway line, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas plays the ball back to Josh Wright, who takes a touch to control the ball and Josh Wright squares the ball out-wide to Bradley Garmston on The Left Wing, and Bradley Garmston runs forward in possession of the ball before continuing his run towards the by-line, and Bradley Garmston see’s his dangerous low cross somehow evade Rory Donnelly, Scott Wagstaff and Josh Wright, and Bradley Garmston’s low cross somehow picks out Cody McDonald at the far post, and Cody McDonald see’s his driven effort towards goal saved by Lloyd Allinson at his near post, and The Chesterfield Goalkeeper gathers the ball at the second attempt the prevent the corner.

Fifty Seven Minutes Into The Match, and Max Ehmer’s Ball Over The Top Towards Rory Donnelly is over-hit and goes out of play for A Chesterfield Goal-Kick, but after that ball over the top towards Rory Donnelly, Gillingham are putting Chesterfield under an sustained period of pressure, As A Succession Of Crosses From Ryan Jackson, Scott Wagstaff and Bradley Garmston, who have all whipped in sensational crosses which have required Ian Evatt, Dion Donohue and Liam Grimshaw to header the ball clear and away from danger as Gillingham are pushing really hard for the opening goal against Chesterfield at Priestfield Stadium, and the noise was uplifting from The Rainham End, as we were anticipating an opening goal from The Gills, an opening goal which could well be the deciding goal in this match.

Sixty Minutes Into The Match and Gillingham Have A Throw On Down The Left Side Of The Pitch in Chesterfield’s Final Third, and Bradley Garmston throws the ball down the line towards Bradley Dack, and Bradley Dack plays a hooked pass inside towards Rory Donnelly and Rory Donnelly forces Ian Evatt to kick the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, and the noise increases in volume inside the ground, and Gillingham almost open the scoring from the resulting corner kick, as Bradley Dack plays a short corner to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who takes a touch to control the ball before taking a few more touches and passing the ball back to Bradley Garmston, who plays the ball out-wide to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball through to Adedeji Oshilaja on the edge of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and Adedeji Oshilaja plays the ball through to Jay Emmanuel-Thomas on the over-lap down the left side of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has pulled the ball back across the face of goal, and somehow both Josh Wright and Cody McDonald have both missed the ball and Scott Wagstaff’s driven effort has crashed into the side netting at the far post - that was the chance, that was the chance for Gillingham to open the scoring and it was such a well worked move as well.

Sixty One Minutes Into The Match, and Reece Mitchell goes on a decent run forwards for Chesterfield, and Reece Mitchell forces Josh Wright to concede A Corner Kick, and Set Plays are going to play a crucial role in deciding the out-come of this match, thankfully, From A Gillingham Point Of View, Stuart Nelson gathers Dan Gardner’s Dangerous In-Swinging Cross and Stuart Nelson wanted to get a counter attack going for Gillingham, but only Cody McDonald was forward for Gillingham as everyone was back defending the corner kick, why don’t we leave three or four players up on the halfway line ???

Sixty Three Minutes Into The Match, and Tom Anderson is penalised for his challenge on Rory Donnelly and Gillingham are awarded A Free Kick, and In The Sixty Fourth Minute, Chesterfield Make There Second Substitution Of The Game as Rai Simons Comes On For Kristian Dennis, and Rai Simons almost makes an immediate contribution From The Substitutes Bench as Chesterfield could and perhaps should have opened the scoring in The Sixty Sixth Minute, Stuart Nelson kicks the ball long down-field and Cody McDonald attempts to flick the ball on, but there was Dion Donohue to intercept Cody McDonald’s attempted flick on, and the ball falls kindly to Reece Mitchell, who flicks the ball on and Rai Simons also flicks the ball on, and now Gillingham are in huge trouble as David Faupala is baring down on goal and Adedeji Oshilaja cannot risk a foul otherwise he will be sent off, and David Faupala runs slightly to the left to open himself up to get a shot away towards goal, but Stuart Nelson has made himself big to deny Chesterfield from opening the scoring, and that is a massive save from Stuart Nelson, Adedeji Oshilaja keeps the ball in play and Adedeji Oshilaja kicks the ball long down-field, and Dion Donohue is forced to kick the ball into touch and Gillingham have been awarded A Throw On.

From The Resulting Throw On, and Ryan Jackson has thrown the ball long down the line and Rory Donnelly and Dion Donohue are both competing for the ball Down The Rainham End / Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, and again, Dion Donohue is forced to concede A Throw On, and it is from the resulting throw on that Gillingham open the scoring, Ryan Jackson launches a long throw into the heart of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and Max Ehmer’s looping header loops over the despairing dive from Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson and drops into the back of the net to give Gillingham a valuable lead at Priestfield Stadium, what an important goal that Max Ehmer has scored for Gillingham, but also, what an important save from Stuart Nelson just a minute earlier to prevent David Faupala from opening the scoring for Chesterfield, there is Twenty Three Minutes Plus Stoppage Time Remaining for Gillingham to add to this slender advantage, but Gillingham have got the lead and that is the most important thing.

And it was almost 2-0 a minute later for Gillingham, Gillingham have A Throw On Down The Gordon Road Stand Side / Rainham End Side Of The Pitch, and Ryan Jackson throws the ball down the line towards Scott Wagstaff, and Scott Wagstaff takes a touch to control the ball, and Scott Wagstaff plays the ball back to Ryan Jackson, who whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Rory Donnelly headers the ball back across the face of goal and the ball bounces over Tom Anderson’s Head, and Cody McDonald takes a touch to control the ball, and Cody McDonald’s Attempted Back-Healed Effort is blocked by Ian Evatt, and Angel Martinez clears the ball away from danger and Rory Donnelly gets to the loose ball ahead of Rai Simons and plays the ball back to Bradley Garmston, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Bradley Garmston whips in a high and hanging cross which is easy for Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson to gather, but Gillingham are knocking on the door, in an attempt to try and score that all important second goal.

Gillingham win two corner kicks in quick succession, again, Gillingham Have A Throw On Down The Gordon Road Stand / Rainham End Side of The Pitch, and Ryan Jackson Throws The Ball Down The Line Towards Scott Wagstaff and Reece Mitchell is forced to concede a corner, and the noise inside Priestfield Stadium raises in volume, as we were anticipating a second goal from the resulting corner kick, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas goes across to take the resulting corner kick, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s Dangerous In-Swinging Cross Towards The Near Post almost picks out Cody McDonald, but Ian Evatt was in the right place at the right time for Chesterfield to header the ball behind at the expense of another corner kick, Bradley Dack goes across to take the resulting corner kick, and Bradley Dack’s dangerous in-swinging cross is whipped into the heart of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area and Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson drops the ball, but his defence bail him out of that error by clearing the ball away from danger.

Seventy Two Minutes Into The Match and Chesterfield have A Throw On In There Own Half Down The Medway Stand / Rainham End Side of The Pitch, and Osman Kakay throws the ball down the line and Bradley Garmston wins the fifty / fifty challenge up against David Faupala, and Osman Kakay kicks the ball against Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, and the ball loops up into the air and into Rory Donnelly’s Path, and both Tom Anderson and Osman Kakay were scrapping with Rory Donnelly for the ball and Referee Graham Horwood does penalise both players for there respective challenges on Rory Donnelly, and you have got to say well done to Rory Donnelly who is putting in a real shift for Gillingham in The Chesterfield’s Final Third.

Before the free kick can be taken, Chesterfield make there third and final substitution as Sylvain Ebanks-Blake comes on Dan Gardner as Gary Caldwell makes an attacking substitution to try and get Chesterfield back into this match, With just under twenty minutes to go, I am surprised that Adrian Pennock hasn’t look to make a change himself, after his goal on Saturday, Josh Parker is obviously favourite to come on first, but I suppose the question is, who comes off, Cody McDonald, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Rory Donnelly or Bradley Dack ??? - and can Scott Wagstaff play the entire ninety minutes having picked up that knock in the first half.

But Gillingham almost doubled the lead from the resulting free kick, as Bradley Dack whips in an fantastic in-swinging cross towards the far post and Max Ehmer looks to header the ball back across the face of goal, and Dion Donohue stops Adedeji Oshilaja from attempting to flick the ball goal-wards, however, Dion Donohue inadvertently tee’s up Max Ehmer, and Max Ehmer’s looping header comes crashing off the top of the crossbar and Cody McDonald manages to keep the ball in play, and Cody McDonald takes a few touches in possession of the ball before playing the ball back to Bradley Dack, but Bradley Dack’s first time cross is over-hit and goes out of play for A Chesterfield Goal-Kick.

Seventy Four Minutes Into The Match and I thought that Gillingham were very lucky to be awarded a free kick as I didn’t think Ryan Jackson was fouled by David Faupala, but Gillingham had the chance to create an goal-scoring opportunity from the resulting free kick, and that is precisely what Gillingham did as well, as Bradley Dack has hit an cross-field pass from the centre circle to the left side of Chesterfield’s Penalty Area, and Rory Donnelly wins the aerial challenge up against Osman Kakay and Rory Donnelly manages to keep the ball in play on the stretch by hooking the ball into Max Ehmer’s Path, and with his back towards goal, Max Ehmer tee’s up Adedeji Oshilaja to strike a driven effort towards goal which went through a number of players in a crowded penalty area, and Lloyd Allinson manages to make the save and gather the ball at the second attempt - Both Centre Back’s could have been on the score-sheet for Gillingham in the same match.

A Minute Later, and Chesterfield have been awarded a free kick as Max Ehmer is penalised for his challenge on David Faupala and Chesterfield have A Free Kick Within Shooting Territory Here, Both Angel Martinez and Liam Grimshaw stand over the resulting free kick, and Liam Grimshaw tee’s up Angel Martinez and Angel Martinez’s Driven Effort Ricochets off the defensive wall and is partially cleared away from danger, but Liam Grimshaw is on to the loose ball quickly, and Liam Grimshaw plays the ball down the line to Reece Mitchell, who plays the ball back to Liam Grimshaw, and Liam Grimshaw has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post in Gillingham’s Final Third, and Rory Donnelly has managed to win the aerial battle at the far post to header the ball clear and away from danger - brilliant defensive header from Rory Donnelly.

Seventy Seven Minutes, And Scott Wagstaff Winning A Free Kick after being fouled by Sylvan Ebanks-Blake earns Gillingham a temporary breather, however, Chesterfield should have equalised in The Seventy Ninth Minute, and everyone inside Priestfield Stadium realises this as well, Cody McDonald times his challenge on Dion Donohue to perfection and Scott Wagstaff clears the ball down the line, but Gillingham have everyone back, so the clearance doesn’t clear the ball away from danger for very long, as Ian Evatt has possession of the ball, and The Experienced Centre Back can take his time before hitting a cross-field pass towards Osman Kakay, and Osman Kakay takes a touch to control the ball before back-healing the ball towards Rai Simons, and Rai Simons has the pace to take on Bradley Dack and whip in an dangerous low cross, and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake tee’s up Osman Kakay to go for goal first time, and Stuart Nelson makes a fantastic save, and the follow up effort from Osman Kakay is deflected over the crossbar by either Ryan Jackson or Josh Wright, or, a combination of the two, either way, Chesterfield should have scored and the visitor’s have only been awarded a corner kick, Thankfully, The Resulting Corner Kick doesn’t result in a goal-scoring opportunity, but Chesterfield are knocking on the door now.

Eighty One Minutes Into The Match and Rory Donnelly is penalised for his challenge on Osman Kakay, while a minute later, David Faupala is penalised for hand-ball, Adrian Pennock also made Gillingham’s First Substitution Of The Match as Josh Parker came on for Cody McDonald, and Cody McDonald was given an exceptional reception from The Gillingham Supporters, and Josh Parker has come on to try and retain possession of the ball for Gillingham in the wide area’s, and win throw on’s and corner’s and try and wind the clock down, Lee Martin is also ready and waiting to come on.

I thought it was interesting for Stuart Nelson to be named as The Sponsor’s Man Of The Match For Gillingham, Now Stuart Nelson has played his part in ensuring that Gillingham are close to winning this match against Chesterfield, but there have been several impressive performances from other players in The Starting Line Up, Rory Donnelly, Bradley Dack, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Cody McDonald, but Max Ehmer for me has not only got himself on the score-sheet, but he was unlucky not to add a second goal for himself when he saw his header hit the crossbar and stay out, and defensively, Max Ehmer has put in a decent performance for The Gills.

After that substitution, and Chesterfield are overcommitting players forward to try and get that equaliser and Gillingham are dropping deeper and deeper to try and protect that slender advantage, This Time, it is Sylvan Ebanks-Blake who see’s his effort from distance blocked by Max Ehmer as Gillingham have almost every out-field player back trying to held on to a rare clean sheet and help Gillingham to pick up all three points, however, Gillingham are just pilling on the pressure on to our own goal, as Rory Donnelly is penalised for his challenge on Osman Kakay, a challenge which saw Rory Donnelly go into The Referee’s Notebook, and Chesterfield have the chance to equalise from the resulting set play, and Dion Donohue has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Scott Wagstaff headers the ball clear and away from Gillingham’s Goal- OUT, OUT, OUT - Was My Response - and Chesterfield had the chance to put a second ball back into Gillingham’s Penalty Area From The Halfway Line, but Liam Grimshaw’s High and Hanging Cross was over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

The Attendance was announced as 4,595 at Priestfield Stadium with 96 away supporters, Tuesday Night League Matches with Champions League Football on Television usually see attendances in The Football League take a hit, but I have got to say that 4,595 is a really poor attendance, credit to everyone of The Ninety Six Chesterfield Supporters for making the long trip to Priestfield Stadium on A Tuesday Night, but I have got to say that the attendances for both matches against Chesterfield and Port Vale at Priestfield Stadium have been very disappointing.

Adrian Pennock makes Gillingham’s Second Substitution Of The Match as Mark Byrne Comes On For Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, A Substitution Clearly planned for Gillingham to protect the lead we have currently got, I think Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has put in a much better performance in that free role behind Cody McDonald and Rory Donnelly, and Mark Byrne will come on, sit alongside Josh Wright, and just give Gillingham more defensive stability to try and hold out for the narrow 1-0 win.

Eighty Nine Minutes Into The Match, and Ryan Jackson is penalised for his challenge on Reece Mitchell when I thought that there was a very good hand-ball shout in Gillingham’s Favour prior to that decision being given, and the resulting free kick was quickly distributed forward by Chesterfield Goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson, as Lloyd Allinson kicks the ball long down-field and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake flicks the ball on, and Stuart Nelson shields the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Adrian Pennock turned around to The Gillingham Supporters and raised his arms upwards to gesture to us as fans to give the players more encouragement and the atmosphere around Priestfield Stadium increased in volume, there were three additional minutes of added time shown as we approached the end of the match, but more time was obviously going to be added on when Bradley Dack was substituted and Lee Martin came on in his place, I think this was a sensible substitution as Bradley Dack had already been booked, and we probably want to make absolutely sure that Bradley Dack is available for selection for the game on Saturday against Coventry City.

Gillingham are close to seeing out the remaining minute or so of this match as Bradley Garmston throws the ball down the line, down The Medway Stand / Rainham End Side Of The Pitch and Josh Parker losses out to both Ian Evatt and Tom Anderson, and Ian Evatt boots the ball long down-field and Josh Wright wins the aerial battle up against Sylvan Ebanks-Blake on the halfway line, but the second ball drops to Liam Grimshaw, who looks to play the ball down the left side of the pitch, and it was a case of anywhere will do for Adedeji Oshilaja, as Adedeji Oshilaja boots the ball out of play.

From the Resulting Throw On, Osman Kakay throws the ball short to Rai Simons and Rai Simons plays the ball back to Ian Evatt, who squares the ball to Dion Donohue, who plays the ball down the line towards David Faupala, who wins a throw on off Ryan Jackson, and unfortunately, From A Gillingham Point Of View, this is where Chesterfield equalise, as Dion Donohue throws the ball short to David Faupala, who turns past Scott Wagstaff and Ryan Jackson far too easily, and David Faupala runs inside into Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and David Faupala tee’s up Ian Evatt to hit a first time effort which was blocked by either Josh Wright or Adedeji Oshilaja, but the second ball falls kindly to Tom Anderson, who places his effort into the bottom right corner of the net and there was nothing that Stuart Nelson could do about that.

You had two completely different scenario’s now inside the ground, The Atmosphere Among Gillingham Supporters was deflated and I was devastated when that goal went in, while celebratory scenes from Chesterfield Supporters who were jumping up and down and singing when Tom Anderson scored, and Chesterfield Supporters have been a credit to there team on A Mild Tuesday Night at Priestfield Stadium, but Gillingham should have held out for the win, Tom Anderson and Stuart Nelson were both booked by Referee Graham Horwood in the aftermath of that goal.

There was just about time remaining for Josh Parker to re-start the match from kick off, and as soon as Josh Wright Kicked The Ball Long Down-Field, that was it, and this match ended all square at 1-1, and this was another match that Gillingham Needed To Win, and failing to do so has put huge amounts of pressure on Gillingham to get a win away from home against Coventry City, Now, had Gillingham held out for the win, I would have taken a point against Coventry City, but now, Gillingham have got to go to Coventry City and win, there is no doubt about that now.

FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 1 - 1 CHESTERFIELD

I politely applauded the players for there efforts, but we were seconds away, seconds away from a valuable and priceless home win, and the confidence, the belief and the feel good factor that The Gillingham Players and Supporters could have taken into The Coventry City Game would have been invaluable, I also sent The Following Tweet On Twitter,,,, That was a game Gillingham had to win, disappointing to concede late on, but the defence kept dropping deeper and deeper inviting pressure, had Gillingham kept three or four players further forward then Chesterfield would have had to keep four or five players back to prevent being counter attacked on.

I made sure I had everything on me, and I spoke with Mick, Lisa and Gary after the game, we were all so disappointed with the two dropped points and that Gillingham couldn’t held on for the win, and it was such a kick in the teeth that Gillingham couldn’t held out for the win, because the performance and the way Gillingham played and the chances created should have seen Gillingham in a much more commanding position, but that is what happens when you don’t take your chances and the opposition take there chances, we needed all three points, and failure to do so leaves Gillingham in a predicament at the moment, we need wins, and not just a win, but a run of wins, and the sooner that happens, the better our league position, and then there would be more of a feel-good factor around Gillingham Football Club then there is at the moment.

I looked at The Comments in Facebook Chat, and Stephen and Nicholas were both gutted with that late late equaliser from Chesterfield, I agreed with Nicholas’s Comment that our performance was generally much much better, and a thousand times better then our performance against Port Vale, but we sat back and invited pressure, and we just needed better game management at the end of the match.

Lisa, Gary and Mick Said C Ya To me, while I headed towards The Players Entrance to meet up with Gary, and Gary just had a look of frustration on his face, because we were so close to that first win under Adrian Pennock’s Management, but also, we were so so close to that rare clean sheet in the league this season as well, and we spoke about the chances created by Gillingham, there were two efforts cleared off the line in the first five minutes, Rory Donnelly saw his effort on goal hit the inside of the post and stayed out, Max Ehmer’s Header Hit The Crossbar, how no-one got on the end of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’s Low Cross we had no idea, Gillingham could have scored at least three goals and our play would have merited that type of score-line, but when you don’t get that crucial second goal, you leave the opposition in with a chance of getting something from the game, and that is precisely what Chesterfield did, they got something from the game when they scored late on.

Gary spoke about the challenge on Scott Wagstaff from Ian Evatt, which Gary described as a potential leg breaker, and Referee Graham Horwood should have stopped play straight away, as Chesterfield weren’t going to kick the ball out of play - they didn’t have to - but Referee Graham Horwood allows play on to continue, but as soon as Gillingham Win The Ball Back and The Counter Attack was on, Referee Graham Horwood stops play, you cannot do that, either you stop play as soon as possible, which is what Referee Graham Horwood should have done, or, you allow play to continue until the ball is out of play.

Our Complaints With The Referee didn’t stop there, Gary added that he did see The Red Card when Referee Graham Horwood showed Bradley Dack A Yellow Card, and Gary added that he would have been furious had Bradley Dack been sent off, considering that Ian Evatt’s challenge on Scott Wagstaff went unpunished, what surprised Gary and Myself, was the fact that Referee Graham Horwood kept His Yellow And Red Cards Together, Most Referee’s Usually Put There Red Card In There Back Pocket so that they know it is there, also Jon Nolan for Chesterfield should have been booked before he was substituted, as Jon Nolan went down requiring treatment right by the byline next to the technical area, he only had to move a yard or two to get off the pitch, and this was a blatant attempt to time waste at the end of The First Half.

Diane joined up with Me and Gary while we were speaking about The Additional Time on top of The Three Allocated Minutes Of Injury Time, something neither of us had any complains or protests about as Lee Martin had come on for Bradley Dack in added time, but regardless of the number of allocated minutes, or the additional time on top of added time, we just needed to defend properly from the throw on, and the goal-scoring opportunity is never created in the first place, you have got to say disappointing defending from Ryan Jackson and Scott Wagstaff, but Gillingham needed better game-management right at the very end of the match.

Diane was not only disappointed with the result, but disappointed with some of the questionable refereeing decisions throughout the match, The Scott Wagstaff Decision was one we were all talking about, but also, some of the hand-ball decisions given against Gillingham in The First Half as well, but what was especially irritating, was the fact that Gillingham have played so well and picked up only a point from the game, this wouldn’t be so bad if Gillingham were higher up The League One Table, but had Gillingham picked up back to back wins against Chesterfield and Port Vale, then Gillingham would still be Seventeenth In League One, However, Gillingham would be eight points clear of The League One Relegation Zone with a game in hand, now, Gillingham have got to go to Coventry City and win, there is no doubt about that now.

If we’re looking at the positives, it is five matches unbeaten for Adrian Pennock, all be it five draws, but the bare minimum we were looking at against Port Vale and Chesterfield was four points, so to only pick up two points from these matches is very disappointing, we also spoke with Stuart Nelson’s Mum, who had mentioned that Gillingham just cannot keep clean sheets and we were so close to keeping a clean sheet as well, and Stuart Nelson made two very important saves in The Second Half, one just before Max Ehmer’s Goal and another to deny Osman Kakay from scoring, so annoying, Coventry City isn’t too far for us to travel to, and we will see Stuart Nelson’s Mum at Coventry City, hopefully, picking up three points in the process.

As Gary Decided to make a move, I said - C Ya for the next 1-1 draw - as 1-1 home draws are becoming a reoccurring theme at the moment, Gary Mentioned that for NoirCat, you get a point if you have predicted a win, and Gills were losing but get a point, in the same-way that if you predicted a defeat, and Gillingham were winning, but a late goal means a draw, then you get a point in that scenario, I know I am pushing for Promotion and doing well in The NoirCat Cup, just need Gillingham to go on a run between now and the end of the season.

Diane added that Kings Ferry Are leaving at 10AM From Priestfield Stadium and The Supporters Coach is also leaving at the same-time as well, Diane added that she will pick me up at 9AM for the short trip to Coventry City, honestly, it isn’t a long trip and we go past The Ricoh Arena often enough that it is a regular occurrence for away matches, I mentioned that I will be going to McDonalds as this gave me the chance to essentially buy a very late dinner.

Diane Said C Ya On Saturday, as I made my way towards Gillingham High Street, and Diane made her way back home again, most of the crowd had dispersed already, although I did see Nicola as I made my way to McDonalds, who, like many other Gillingham Supporters were not happy with the result as Gillingham were literally seconds away from picking up three valuable points, I mentioned that I was heading to Coventry City Away On Saturday, and I said C Ya To Nicola before heading to McDonalds to buy Nine Chicken Nuggets, Large Fries and A Large Coke for £5.80, and once I was served My Food, I picked up A Straw and Serviettes, before sitting down to eat My Dinner - well it was much closer to A Mid-Night Feast - but I was also checking a few Tweets On Twitter, I replied back to Nicholas and TrueBlueJock that, we just kept inviting pressure on our own goal by dropping deeper and deeper, attack best form of defence, I also re-tweeted the comments from Adrian Pennock’s Comments From His Post Match Team Talk, with Adrian Pennock launching a scathing attack on Academy Football as Academy Football is too tippy tappy, and Adrian Pennock also mentioned that Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Bradley Dack played because we cannot keep a clean sheet, so all our attacking players were thrown together in The Starting Line Up.

Next Up, Was Stuart Nelson’s Post Match Press Comments and Stuart Nelson wasn’t happy with Referee Graham Horwood for adding additional time on top of the three additional minutes of stoppage time, but Lee Martin had came on for Bradley Dack, so the additional time made a lot of sense to me, and Stuart Nelson wasn’t happy with Referee Graham Horwood’s PlayTo The Whistle Comment, although I do agree with Stuart Nelson that Referee Graham Horwood should have said that there was two or three minutes left, but the defending down the right side of the pitch for Chesterfield’s Equaliser was very disappointing, had Gillingham stopped the supply, the goal doesn’t happen.

But I do agree that the performance against Chesterfield was very good, and better finishing, and better defending would have seen a convincing score-line for Gillingham, but the match ended 1-1 because Gillingham didn’t see out the final twenty seconds of the match, and we kept dropping deeper and deeper, I Re-Tweeted A Few Tweets before replying to Rob that Quigley is close to a return to Gills, so we can start with Parker and look to bring on Quigley, disappointing to draw tonight, I also sent another tweet saying, Gutted, Gillingham needed to win tonight, we now need to go to Coventry City and pick up all three points, that will be difficult, I then sent a second response saying that, one win will lift morale amongst the players and supporters, and I was hoping that Gillingham would get that win tonight.

I also sent a reply to Neil and Nicholas, mentioning that, the defence has been the achilles heel of The 2016 / 2017 season for Gillingham, changes will be required in the summer, I then sent the following tweet to a number of supporters as I asked about the substitutions, and I sent the following message over two tweets, In My FOM BLOG, I spoke about the importance of substitutes, so how would you describe our substitutions tonight ???

As I finished My Meal, I made sure to put my rubbish in the bin and I arrived at Gillingham Train Station just a few minutes prior to The 22.59PM Train Arrived, and I got on the train and checked the notifications I got on Facebook and Twitter, and I was back in Rainham at 11.04PM, I had sent the following tweet to Rob before making the walk back home, as you would expect, I had plenty of notes in My NotePad Tonight, and they were mostly positive notes for a very encouraging performance.

As The Train pulled up and then stopped at Rainham Train Station, I got off the train and I then made The Ten / Fifteen Minute Walk Back Home and I was back indoors at 23.30PM, and in all, Gillingham were seconds away from sealing three valuable points and picking up the win which would have pulled Gillingham further away from The League One Relegation Zone, Hopefully, Gillingham can pick up three valuable points against Coventry City and continue that momentum against AFC Wimbledon On Tuesday Night, but it would have been nice to go into these matches off the back of a valuable win against Chesterfield, hopefully, Gillingham can get back to winning ways against Coventry City at The Ricoh Arena - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#Gillingham #Chesterfield #Football #priestfieldstadium

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