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fan-of-mulligan · 4 years ago

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FOM BLOG: BRISTOL ROVERS 0-2 GILLINGHAM

My Thoughts On Bristol Rovers V Gillingham…….

The Memorial Stadium has been a good football stadium for Gillingham to travel to in recent season’s, Gillingham drew 1-1 against Bristol Rovers In The 2019 / 2020 Season With Tom O’Connor scoring a late equaliser, Gillingham won 2-1 against Bristol Rovers in The 2018 / 2019 Season, With Elliott List and Callum Reilly getting themselves on the score-sheet, Callum Reilly then got sent off and Liam Sercombe scored a sensational free kick for Bristol Rovers to half the deficit and Gillingham had to survive eight minutes of additional time to held on for three valuable points, and the final away game of The 2017 / 2018 Season saw Elliott List score a stoppage time equaliser which saw Gillingham retain there League One Status, And although Gillingham have drawn two of our three visit’s to Bristol Rovers, Gillingham really can do with picking up all three points against Bristol Rovers to start opening up a gap between ourselves and The League One Relegation Zone.

I thought Bristol Rovers were going to be dark horses to challenge for A League One Playoff Place This Season, Ben Garner had signed the likes of Jack Baldwin, Zain Westbrooke, Josh Grant, Ben Liddle, Ali Koiki, Erhun Oztumer, and of course, Max Ehmer and Brandon Hanlan, two players we were hoping to see extend there stay at Gillingham Football Club, Bristol Rovers paid substantial compensation to sign Brandon Hanlan, where as Max Ehmer wanted the security of a two year contract because Gillingham were unable to offer contracts to players because of the uncertainty regarding when The 2020 / 2021 Season was going to start, However, despite recruiting plenty of high profile players, a disappointing start to the season has seen Ben Garner replaced by Paul Tisdale, And Paul Tisdale will have the challenge of trying to keep Bristol Rovers in League One first and full-most and looking to implement his own idea’s which will of course take time.

And both teams come into this fixture off the back of contrasting FA Cup Results, Bristol Rovers won 6-0 against Darlington and Gillingham lost 3-2 against Exeter City, And Bristol Rovers will play against Sheffield United At The Memorial Stadium In The FA Cup Third Round, A Match which will surely be televised and had supporters been able to go to this match in normal circumstances, then this match would have completely sold out, even in normal league matches, Bristol Rovers would be getting 6,000 - 7,000 attendances inside The Memorial Stadium.

But the one thing we want to see from Gillingham in this match is a response, the performance can be as disappointing as it was against Crewe Alexandra, But if Gillingham have to smash and grab this match to win 1-0, then I will take that scenario any day of the week, Because a win for Bristol Rovers will see them close the gap on Gillingham to just one point and we’re are looking over our shoulder at the relegation zone, If Gillingham win, then Gillingham increase the gap to seven points and we will have seen a response from Gillingham after that disappointing FA Cup Second Round Defeat Against Exeter City.

Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Was Announced On Social Media, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,, Jack Bonham, Ryan Jackson, Jack Tucker, Connor Ogilvie, Tom O’Connor, Robbie McKenzie, Scott Robertson, Kyle Dempsey, Dominic Samuel, John Akinde, Vadaine Oliver Substitutes: Joe Walsh (GK), Declan Drysdale, Josh Eccles, Henry Woods, Matty Willock, Alex MacDonald and Trae Coyle - Tom O’Connor returns to the starting line up having missed the last few matches having picked up an injury whilst on International Duty With The Republic Of Ireland U21’s, But the big news has to be John Akinde, Dominic Samuel and Vadaine Oliver all starting alongside each other in attack, now lining up with three strikers up-front away from home is very adventurous, I did wonder if Gillingham were lining up with three strikers because Bristol Rovers have normally lined up with three centre back’s and Gillingham are looking to match up three verses three in what will be a very interesting battle between John Akinde, Vadaine Oliver and Dominic Samuel verses Max Ehmer, Jack Baldwin and Ed Upson ???

I had I Follow all set up ready and waiting for kick off, and at least this match kicks off at 7PM, And I think the inconsistencies regarding kick off times for mid-week matches has been infuriating, 5.30PM, 6PM, 6.30PM And 7PM, And if your A Season Ticket Holder who has paid for there Season Ticket and you cannot watch the mid-week matches that kick off at 5.30PM or 6PM, then your not going to be pleased with the home games that you are unable to watch because of kick off times constantly being changed for mid-week matches, I can understand the reasoning as to why Gillingham are kicking off at 1PM on A Saturday Afternoon instead of kicking off at 3PM, but mid-week matches have been kicked off at different times and there seems to be less of a understanding on why this is the case.

Both teams were out on to the pitch ready and waiting for kick off inside The Memorial Stadium, Hopefully, Gillingham can put the disappointing 3-2 defeat against Exeter City behind us by responding with a win against Bristol Rovers, and a win which would move Gillingham up The League One Table and further away from the relegation zone - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

And the first noteworthy moment of the match see’s Josh Grant header the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On right on the halfway line in-between both managerial dugouts, and it is from this throw on where Gillingham manage to win themselves the first corner kick of the match, Ryan Jackson throws the ball long down the line and Luke Leahy wins the initial aerial challenge and Robbie McKenzie wins the second aerial challenge to header the ball forwards, and although Luke McCormick wins the third aerial challenge, The Bristol Rovers Midfielder can only header the ball straight into Scott Robertson’s Path, And Scott Robertson gets the ball under control before looking to pick out Vadaine Oliver with a threaded through-ball, But Jack Baldwin had tracked back and kicked the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Scott Robertson whips in a low cross towards the near post which wasn’t the best cross it has to be said, But Josh Grant has headed the ball out of play for another Gillingham Corner Kick, And Scott Robertson can try again at the second attempt, and from the second corner kick, Scott Robertson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Connor Ogilvie’s looping header goes well over the crossbar and out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick.

As for how Gillingham are lining up in this match, Jack Bonham, Ryan Jackson, Jack Tucker, Connor Ogilvie and Tom O’Connor are Gillingham’s Back Five, Robbie McKenzie is playing in the central defensive midfielder role, Scott Robertson and Kyle Dempsey are lining up alongside each other in central midfield with Dominic Samuel playing in The Central Attacking Midfielder Role, And John Akinde and Vadaine Oliver are playing alongside each other in attack, Gillingham have switched to A 4-4-2 Diamond Midfield Formation, and this switch coincides with Jordan Graham being unavailable because of injury, The diamond midfield formation was the backbone of Gillingham’s success in The 2019 / 2020 Season, can the diamond help Gillingham to pick up all three points against Bristol Rovers at The Memorial Stadium ??? - Only time will tell.

Three Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham have a throw on down the right side of the pitch in Bristol Rovers Half Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson throws the ball short to Robbie McKenzie, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball, And Robbie McKenzie’s threaded pass through to John Akinde is over-hit and runs all the way through to Anssi Jaakkola In The Bristol Rovers Goal, Vadaine Oliver is then penalised for his challenge on Luke McCormick on the halfway line and Bristol Rovers have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Bristol Rovers pass the ball across there back four from right to left, And Luke Leahy has possession of the ball down the left side of the pitch, And Luke Leahy’s long ball down-field towards Brandon Hanlan is to long and runs all the way through to Jack Bonham, and from here, Gillingham were looking to cause Bristol Rovers a few problems defensively as Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and John Akinde looks to try and flick the ball on towards Dominic Samuel, But Luke Leahy shields the ball out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick.

Five Minutes Into The Match, And Dominic Samuel’s cross from the right side of the pitch in Bristol Rovers Final Third is blocked by Luke Leahy and the ball deflects out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw On, Gillingham create a half chance to try and open the scoring, Ryan Jackson throws the ball short to John Akinde, who manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball back out-wide to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Vadaine Oliver’s glancing header was going wide of the far left post and Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper Anssi Jaakkola gathers the ball with ease, But despite that half chance not creating a meaningful goal-scoring opportunity, Gillingham were looking to open the scoring in the next passage of play, Anssi Jaakkola rolls the ball out-wide to Josh Hare, who was pressured by Scott Robertson to kick the ball long down-field and the ball runs through to Jack Bonham, who kicks the ball long down-field and John Akinde wins the aerial battle to flick the ball on towards Vadaine Oliver, who’s first time shot towards goal clears Bristol Rovers crossbar by some considerable distance - Although, It has to be mentioned that I thought the last touch had come off Josh Hare and Gillingham should have been awarded a corner kick.

Eleven Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham create a very good opportunity to try and open the scoring, Ed Upson’s pass forwards towards Sam Nicholson on the centre circle is intercepted by Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie runs forwards in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Dominic Samuel, And Dominic Samuel takes one touch to control the ball and another touch to thread a pass through to Robbie McKenzie, who had continued his run forwards inside Bristol Rovers’s Penalty Area down the right side of the pitch, And Robbie McKenzie whips in a dangerous cross first time across the face of goal and John Akinde cannot make any contact on the ball and the chance had gone for The Gills, However, Bristol Rovers turned defence into attack because Josh Grant passes the ball centrally to Ed Upson, And Ed Upson passes the ball out-wide to Erhun Oztumer down the left side of the pitch in Bristol Rovers Half, And Erhun Oztumer runs into a more central position on the pitch in possession of the ball before picking out Luke McCormick with a cross-field pass, And Luke McCormick gets the ball under control before passing the ball through to Luke Leahy on the over-lap, And Luke Leahy passes the ball back to Luke McCormick, who passes the ball back to Ed Upson, And Ed Upson passes the ball back to Jack Baldwin, And Jack Baldwin takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball forwards to Erhun Oztumer, And Erhun Oztumer takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Luke McCormick, And Luke McCormick kicks the ball towards Brandon Hanlan on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Brandon Hanlan lays the ball off to Sam Nicholson, who runs forwards in possession of the ball inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Sam Nicholson fires his effort towards goal across the face of goal and Sam Nicholson’s shot flashes across the face of goal and wide of the far right corner of the net with Jack Bonham diving at full stretch - Gillingham and Bristol Rovers have both created clear cut goal-scoring opportunities at either end of the pitch, But Sam Nicholson’s chance was the better of the two chances.

Thirteen Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham created a decent opportunity to open the scoring, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and John Akinde brings the ball under control with his chest before passing the ball square to Kyle Dempsey down the right side of the pitch, And Kyle Dempsey passes the ball back to Ryan Jackson, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field and Scott Robertson wins the first aerial challenge and Jack Baldwin wins the second aerial challenge to header the ball clear and away from danger and Erhun Oztumer passes the ball back to Luke Leahy, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down the line towards Brandon Hanlan, who manages to retain possession of the ball despite pressure from Jack Tucker, But Ryan Jackson challenges Brandon Hanlan and pokes the ball back to Jack Tucker, who takes a touch to control the ball and kick the ball long down-field, and Vadaine Oliver wins the aerial challenge to flick the ball on towards Dominic Samuel, And Max Ehmer’s defensive header hits Dominic Samuel, and the ball deflects into John Akinde’s Path, And John Akinde see’s his initial shot towards goal blocked by Max Ehmer and the ball ricochets back to John Akinde, And John Akinde see’s his second shot towards goal blocked by Josh Hare and still John Akinde has possession of the ball for The Gills, And John Akinde passes the ball back to Kyle Dempsey on the edge of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area, And Kyle Dempsey works his way into a shooting position before curling a low shot centrally towards goal which was comfortable for Anssi Jaakkola to save in goal for Bristol Rovers.

Fifteen Minutes Into The Match, And Bristol Rovers were looking to make the breakthrough, Josh Hare has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch just in Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, And Josh Hare passes the ball inside centrally to Ed Upson, Who gets the ball under control and passes the ball out-wide to Josh Hare, And Josh Hare passes the ball forwards towards Josh Grant, who passes the ball back to Ed Upson, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball, And Ed Upson passes the ball forwards towards Erhun Oztumer, who plays a first time pass through to Sam Nicholson, And Sam Nicholson is through on goal inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Sam Nicholson’s shot towards goal takes a deflection off Connor Ogilvie and the ball goes wide of the near post and out of play for A Bristol Rovers Corner Kick - And Sam Nicholson came very close to opening the scoring for Bristol Rovers There - And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Luke Leahy whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and the ball ricochets off Vadaine Oliver and Robbie McKenzie just boots the ball clear and away from danger, and Ed Upson headers the ball square to Josh Hare, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking a diagonal cross-field cross towards Max Ehmer, who headers the ball down towards Sam Nicholson inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Sam Nicholson gets the ball under control before laying the ball off to Luke McCormick, And Luke McCormick’s low shot towards goal is routinely saved by Jack Bonham In The Gillingham Goal.

And In The Seventeenth Minute Of The Match, Gillingham had a half chance to try and open the scoring, Gillingham have a throw on down the right side of the pitch just inside Bristol Rovers Half Of The Pitch, And Ryan Jackson throws the ball long down the line and Vadaine Oliver wins the initial aerial challenge and Ed Upson headers the ball partially clear and away from danger, However, Kyle Dempsey wins the fifty / fifty challenge and the ball ricochets into Dominic Samuel’s Path, And Dominic Samuel manages to pick out Tom O’Connor down the left side of the pitch in Bristol Rovers Final Third, And Tom O’Connor takes a touch to control the ball and another touch to whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and John Akinde’s low pull-back across the face of goal hits Jack Baldwin and Anssi Jaakkola dives on to the loose ball for Bristol Rovers, John Akinde, Dominic Samuel and Scott Robertson were all appealing for a penalty kick for Gillingham, and those penalty appeals were waved away, and also, I don’t think it was a penalty kick for Gillingham, The Penalty Kick John Akinde got against Charlton Athletic may have looked soft, But John Akinde was clearly tripped inside the penalty area in that match, this penalty appeal however isn’t a controversial decision and I don’t see anything in that to suggest it was a penalty for Gillingham.

But from here, Bristol Rovers were looking to open the scoring as Anssi Jaakkola kicks the ball long down-field and Jack Tucker wins the initial aerial challenge and Erhun Oztumer manages to pick out Sam Nicholson with a first time pass down the line and Sam Nicholson is through on goal down the left side of the penalty area - Gillingham’s Right - And Tom O’Connor is sticking with Sam Nicholson, However, Sam Nicholson cuts inside, inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area before skilfully evading the challenge from Tom O’Connor, And Sam Nicholson has fired his shot towards goal over the crossbar at the near post - AND THAT WAS THE CHANCE FOR BRISTOL ROVERS TO OPEN THE SCORING!!!!!!

And In The Twenty Second Minute Of The Match, Bristol Rovers had the chance to open the scoring again, Josh Hare has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch, And Josh Hare passes the ball square to Josh Grant, who passes the ball square to Erhun Oztumer, And Erhun Oztumer takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball forwards towards Sam Nicholson, who plays a return pass back into Erhun Oztumer’s Path, And Erhun Oztumer passes the ball out-wide to Luke Leahy down the left side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Luke Leahy fires in a low dangerous cross and Brandon Hanlan cannot get the ball under control and the loose ball almost falls kindly into Sam Nicholson’s Path but Tom O’Connor manages to header the ball partially clear and away from danger, however, Luke McCormick has scuffed his first time effort towards goal wide of the far left post - But Bristol Rovers are just starting to ask more questions of Gillingham defensively at this moment in time.

Twenty Four Minutes Into The Match, And Tom O’Connor’s in-swinging cross is charged down by Josh Hare at the expense of conceding a throw on for Gillingham in Bristol Rovers Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Gillingham created a decent goal-scoring opportunity, Connor Ogilvie hurls in a long dangerous throw and Josh Hare can only header the ball clear towards the edge of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and Dominic Samuel’s first time volleyed effort towards goal was heading towards the bottom right corner of the net and Anssi Jaakkola had to dive low quickly to save and then gather the ball at the second attempt to preserve the 0-0 score-line - And Dominic Samuel was so unlucky not to open the scoring for Gillingham There.

Bute despite almost taking the lead with that chance from Dominic Samuel, Bristol Rovers almost opened the scoring with the next passage of play, Anssi Jaakkola kicks the ball long down-field and Jack Tucker wins the aerial challenge up against Brandon Hanlan, however, Luke McCormick is on to the second ball, And Luke McCormick passes the ball forwards to Sam Nicholson, Who looks to turn into a more central position just outside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, But Sam Nicholson turns back on himself, and this creates some space for Sam Nicholson to unleash a fiercely driven effort just wide of the far left post, And Sam Nicholson has been the player to watch out for the home side, Because Sam Nicholson has already had a few efforts on goal which have fortunately failed to hit the back of the net.

But the next passage of play does see Gillingham stick the ball into the back of the net and open the scoring in this competitive League One Fixture, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Jack Baldwin wins the initial aerial challenge up against Vadaine Oliver and Ryan Jackson wins the aerial challenge up against Brandon Hanlan and Kyle Dempsey flicks the ball on towards Scott Robertson, who manages to hook the ball over his shoulder and pick out Dominic Samuel with a unorthodox pass, And Dominic Samuel flicks the ball on towards Vadaine Oliver and Vadaine Oliver’s attempted pass through to John Akinde is blocked by Max Ehmer and Luke Leahy passes the ball forwards towards Luke McCormick, And Luke McCormick passes the ball back towards Jack Baldwin, And Jack Baldwin passes the ball out-wide to Luke Leahy, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down the line and Brandon Hanlan manages to retain possession of the ball momentarily when protecting the ball between himself and Jack Tucker, But Ryan Jackson manages to regain possession of the ball for The Gills before passing the ball back towards Jack Tucker, And Jack Tucker has kicked the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver manages to get on to the end of Jack Tucker’s long pass and Vadaine Oliver has the strength to get to the ball ahead of Max Ehmer and Vadaine Oliver shows great composure to chip the ball past Anssi Jaakkola with a neat first time finish and Gillingham have taken the lead at The Memorial Stadium - BRISTOL ROVERS 0-1 GILLINGHAM.

When Gillingham drew 1-1 against Charlton Athletic at Priestfield Stadium, I was talking about Vadaine Oliver’s one on one effort being saved by Ben Amos and big moments in matches can change football matches one way or the other, and in that match, If Vadaine Oliver scored for 2-0, then Gillingham would have been in a fantastic position to pick up all three points, But this goal from Vadaine Oliver against Bristol Rovers is a big goal in a big moment, Because Gillingham have taken the lead against A Bristol Rovers Side who can move to just one point behind The Gills if they can win against Gillingham, But a win for Gillingham will move Gillingham seven points clear of Bristol Rovers, this goal wasn’t a thirty yard screamer, it wasn’t a over-head kick, But this is a very important goal that Vadaine Oliver has scored to give Gillingham the lead against Bristol Rovers.

Twenty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Luke McCormick is penalised for fouling Ryan Jackson, and from the resulting free kick, Gillingham had the chance to go 2-0 up, Kyle Dempsey whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and John Akinde’s first time effort towards goal clears Bristol Rovers Crossbar and the ball goes out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick - Very difficult technique for John Akinde to get that effort on goal on target, But 2-0 would have put Gillingham in a strong position to pick up all three points.

Twenty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Jack Baldwin is penalised for his challenge on Dominic Samuel right on the edge of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area down the right side of the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Kyle Denpsey whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Max Ehmer headers the ball partially clear and away from goal and Sam Nicholson smashes the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, Which See’s Tom O’Connor throw the ball long down the line and Vadaine Oliver wins the initial aerial challenge and Max Ehmer boots the ball clear and Tom O’Connor headers the ball forwards towards Vadaine Oliver, who flicks the ball on towards John Akinde, And John Akinde manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball short to Vadaine Oliver, who passes the ball out-wide to Dominic Samuel down the left side of the pitch, And Dominic Samuel manages to pick out Kyle Dempsey with a pass towards the edge of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area, And Kyle Dempsey passes the ball back short to Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie manages to pick out Ryan Jackson with a pass out-wide down the right side of the pitch, And Ryan Jackson waits for passing options before managing to pick out Robbie McKenzie with a pass on the edge of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area, And Robbie McKenzie’s first time curling effort towards goal goes just wide of the far left post, AND THAT WAS THE CHANCE FOR GILLINGHAM TO GO 2-0 UP!!!!! - Difficult to say if Anssi Jaakkola had that effort on goal covered because The Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper had dived at full stretch, But that was a sensational strike from Robbie McKenzie though.

Thirty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Bristol Rovers manage to win themselves a corner kick, Luke Leahy has possession of the ball down the left side of the pitch, And Luke Leahy whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards Brandon Hanlan and Jack Tucker has to header the ball out of play for A Bristol Rovers Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Luke Leahy whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Vadaine Oliver headers the ball partially clear and away from danger and Erhun Oztumer is first to the loose ball on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Erhun Oztumer passes the ball short to Luke McCormick and Scott Robertson has put in a very strong robust challenge on The Bristol Rovers Midfielder and the ball ricochets towards Erhun Oztumer, who runs out-wide down the left side of the pitch in possession of the ball before passing the ball short to Jack Baldwin, who gets the ball under control before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Connor Ogilvie manages to header the ball clear and away from goal momentarily, however, Ed Upson is on to the loose ball and Ed Upson passes the ball out-wide to Josh Grant, who passes the ball back to Ed Upson, And Ed Upson tries to pick out Brandon Hanlan with a lofted crosses inside Gillingham’s Penalty Areas But Jack Tucker was in the right place at the right time to kick the ball clear and away from danger, And once there was a stoppage in play because John Akinde was penalised for his foul on Luke McCormick In Bristol Rovers Final Third, There was a stoppage in play because Luke McCormick requires some treatment from the physio’s, and after getting some treatment, Luke McCormick is back on his feat again and Bristol Rovers may well hope that Luke McCormick can get through to half time before getting properly assessed at the break.

In The Thirty Ninth Minute Of The Match, Ryan Jackson runs down the right side of the pitch in Bristol Rovers Final Third, And Ryan Jackson’s cross is charged down by Jack Baldwin at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Gillingham had the chance to double there lead to 2-0, Kyle Dempsey whips in a high and hanging corner kick towards the back-stick and Vadaine Oliver has headed the ball wide of the far left post and I thought the ball had gone out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal Kick, However, Referee Scott Oldham has awarded a corner kick to Gillingham (maybe the final touch came off Jack Baldwin perhaps ???) and it is from this corner kick where Gillingham almost scored for 2-0, Kyle Dempsey passes the ball short to Scott Robertson, who gets the ball under control before playing a return pass back towards Kyle Dempsey, And Kyle Dempsey curls a cross / shot towards goal from the edge of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and Kyle Dempsey’s cross / shot towards goal curls just wide of the far right post, and if that cross / shot from Kyle Dempsey was on target then Gillingham would have scored for 2-0 - A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR GILLINGHAM TO SCORE - Also, any touch off Upson, Grant or Baldwin would have seen one of those three players for Bristol Rovers inadvertently divert the ball into the back of there own net because the penalty area was so crowded that any touch on the ball would have been enough for Gillingham to double there lead.

Forty One Minutes Into The Match, And Luke McCormick tries to pick out Brandon Hanlan with a long kick down-field, And Luke McCormick’s long kick towards Brandon Hanlan is too long and the ball runs through to Jack Bonham just inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And In The Forty Third Minute Of The Match, Bristol Rovers were pushing for the equaliser, Because Sam Nicholson has possession of the ball roughly twenty five yards from goal, And Sam Nicholson manages to pick out Josh Hare with a threaded pass down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Josh Hare has whipped in a dangerous in-swinging cross first time and Connor Ogilvie has to header the ball over his own crossbar at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Luke Leahy whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Josh Grant has flicked the ball across Gillingham’s Penalty Area And Robbie McKenzie has smashed the ball clear and away from danger - anywhere will do as far as Gillingham are concerned.

And In The Forty Fifth Minute Of The Match, Gillingham had the chance to go 2-0 up, Ryan Jackson manages to pick out Vadaine Oliver with a long ball down-field and Vadaine Oliver gets to the ball down the right side of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area, And Vadaine Oliver manages to keep the ball in play by hooking the ball across Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and John Akinde’s shot towards goal is blocked by Max Ehmer and Anssi Jaakkola dives on to the loose ball and was able to gather the ball at the second attempt - And John Akinde had a half chance there to double Gillingham’s lead to 2-0 just before half time.

And just as we are into first half stoppage time, Bristol Rovers were looking to score the equaliser before the half time interval, Josh Hare see’s his low cross across the six yard box cleared out of play by Connor Ogilvie for A Bristol Rovers Throw On In Gillingham’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Josh Hare throws the ball short to Erhun Oztumer, who passes the ball back out-wide to Josh Hare, And Josh Hare fires in a fantastic low cross and Jack Tucker and Brandon Hanlan both compete for the ball at the near post and Jack Tucker has headed the ball up into the air and Jack Bonham claims the loose ball to relieve the pressure building on to Gillingham’s Goal, and the final noteworthy moment of the first half see’s John Akinde charged down Luke Leahy’s attempted clearance out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick, and after two minutes of stoppage time, Referee Scott Oldham blows his whistle for half time.

HALF TIME: BRISTOL ROVERS 0-1 GILLINGHAM

I uploaded the following comments on to Social Media At Half Time,,,,,, HALF TIME: BRISTOL ROVERS 0-1 GILLINGHAM - Vadaine Oliver's goal is the difference between both teams at half time, But Gillingham have created plenty of opportunities to add to the score-line, Ogilvie has headed over from Robertson's cross, Dempsey's cross / shot just goes wide. Dominic Samuel and Kyle Dempsey have forced Jaakkola to make important saves in goal for Bristol Rovers, Robbie McKenzie has curled one effort towards goal which goes just wide of the far left post, Akinde & Oliver up top allow Gillingham to win the physical battle in this match. But despite how impressive Gillingham have been in the first half, Bristol Rovers have had chances to score, Nicholson fires an effort narrowly wide, Nicholson has curled one effort towards goal just wide, McCormick has had an effort on goal just go wide of the far post as well. Gillingham deserve to be winning on balance of play in the first half, just a real shame that Gillingham have not extended there lead because Bristol Rovers will get opportunities to score in the second half, next goal in this match is huge, Hopefully Gillingham get a second goal.

And Gillingham switching to a diamond midfield formation with John Akinde and Vadaine Oliver up-front and Dominic Samuel playing in the central attacking midfielder role has worked (so far) John Akinde and Vadaine Oliver are winning the aerial battle up against Max Ehmer and Jack Baldwin, And Dominic Samuel is finding those pockets of space in various area’s on the pitch to cause Bristol Rovers problems and Dominic Samuel has seen his shot towards goal saved by Anssi Jaakkola, And Bristol Rovers are struggling to cope with the physicality from Vadaine Oliver and John Akinde, and at the same-time, Bristol Rovers do not have the physicality up-front because Brandon Hanlan is lining up as a lone striker.

But even though Brandon Hanlan is lining up as a lone striker, Erhun Oztumer is a quality player in midfield and he is capable of creating something out of nothing, Sam Nicholson has caused Gillingham plenty of problems defensively and you can see Paul Tisdale looking to do something to try and get Bristol Rovers back into this match, because you cannot see Bristol Rovers not testing Jack Bonham in-between the sticks and there is still plenty of time remaining in this match for Bristol Rovers to get a point, or turn this match on it’s head to pick up all three points, hopefully, Gillingham can score the all important second goal at some point in the second half which would put Gillingham in a very strong position to pick up all three points - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

And right at the start of the second half, Bristol Rovers do make a change because Alfie Kilgour comes on to replace Luke McCormick (A Substitution which I failed to spot initially) And I guess with Luke McCormick picking up that knock in the first half that Paul Tisdale is taking no chances and The Bristol Rovers Manger is not only making sure that Luke McCormick doesn’t pick up a serious injury, But also, Defender Alfie Kilgour comes on to line up alongside Max Ehmer and Jack Baldwin in a back three, as Bristol Rovers look to try and deal with the physicality from Vadaine Oliver and John Akinde.

Gillingham have not made any changes at the start of the second half, But Gillingham did create the first noteworthy attack, Bristol Rovers have a throw on down the right side of the pitch in there own final third, And Max Ehmer throws the ball back to Alfie Kilgour, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Alfie Kilgour passes the ball forwards to Ed Upson, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Josh Grant, who allows the ball to run through to Josh Hare on the byline, And Josh Hare takes a touch to control the ball before clipping the ball down the line towards Brandon Hanlan, who gets the ball under control and Tom O’Connor intercepts the ball and the ball ricochets towards Kyle Dempsey, And Kyle Dempsey gets the ball under control and passes the ball forwards to Dominic Samuel, And Dominic Samuel is looking around for passing options before managing to pick out Vadaine Oliver with a superb pass over the top down the right side of the pitch just outside Bristol Rovers Penalty Area - Bristol Rovers Left - And Vadaine Oliver takes a touch to control the ball and Vadaine Oliver whips a cross / shot across the face of goal, And Vadaine Oliver’s cross / shot doesn’t pick out John Akinde at the far post and doesn’t hit the target and the ball goes out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick.

Forty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Scott Robertson is penalised for a high foot on Luke Leahy from Robbie McKenzie’s Pass, and from here, Bristol Rovers create a half decent goal-scoring opportunity, Alfie Kilgour passes the ball short to Luke Leahy and Luke Leahy passes the ball inside centrally to Ed Upson, And Ed Upson takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball back out-wide to Luke Leahy, And Luke Leahy kicks the ball long down-field towards Brandon Hanlan on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Brandon Hanlan chests the ball down towards Sam Nicholson and Tom O’Connor boots the ball clear and away from danger and Jack Baldwin headers the ball square to Max Ehmer, And Max Ehmer passes the ball out-wide to Josh Hare, And Josh Hare passes the ball inside to Josh Grant, And Josh Grant runs forwards in possession of the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Josh Hare down the right side of the pitch, And Josh Hare takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post, And Luke Leahy hooks the ball back across the face of goal and Connor Ogilvie headers the ball partially clear and away from danger and Ed Upson gets the ball under control on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Ed Upson threads a pass through towards the byline and Josh Hare’s first time cross is low towards the near post, And Jack Bonham saves and then gathers the ball at the second attempt.

And from here, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver does really well to not only win the aerial challenge, but to also keep the ball in play down the right side of the pitch, And Vadaine Oliver passes the ball back to Kyle Dempsey, who takes a touch to control the ball, And Kyle Dempsey takes a few touches in possession of the ball before whipping in a dangerous low in-swinging cross towards the near post and Jack Baldwin kicks the ball partially clear and away from goal and Erhun Oztumer lays the ball off to Ed Upson, And Ed Upson kicks the ball long down-field and Brandon Hanlan manages to header the ball back towards Sam Nicholson, who manages to retain possession of the ball, looking to be heading towards the left wing before turning back into a more central position on the pitch, And Sam Nicholson manages to pick out Josh Hare with a quality cross-field pass, And Josh Hare manages to get the ball under control before passing the ball inside to Max Ehmer, who runs towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area in possession of the ball, And Max Ehmer lays the ball off to Erhun Oztumer, who takes a touch to control the ball before pretending to shoot, shift the ball on to his left foot, and then Erhun Oztumer, quickly shifts the ball on to his right foot, And Erhun Oztumer has whipped a curling effort towards the far left side of the goal and Jack Bonham had to dive at full stretch to his right to parry the ball wide and away from goal and the ball goes out of play for A Bristol Rovers Corner Kick - GREAT STRIKE FROM ERHUN OZTUMER, (WHO REALLY IS A TOP QUALITY PLAYER IN LEAGUE ONE) AND THE QUALITY OF THE STRIKE FROM OZTUMER IS MATCHED BY THE SAVE FROM JACK BONHAM.

And from the resulting corner kick, Josh Hare whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Jack Baldwin has headed the ball over the crossbar from close range and the ball has gone out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Gillingham’s Six Yard Box was packed so any header on target from Jack Baldwin could well see Bristol Rovers score a early equaliser in the second half, and with Alfie Kilgour coming on at half time to play alongside Max Ehmer and Jack Baldwin in defence, then Bristol Rovers have got three centre back’s who can cause Gillingham problems defensively from set plays.

Fifty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Alfie Kilgour is penalised for his foul on Dominic Samuel on the halfway line, but just before that foul, Robbie McKenzie intercepted the ball from Sam Nicholson at the crucial moment and passed the ball forwards to Dominic Samuel, so well done Robbie McKenzie for that interception, and from the resulting free kick, Jack Tucker kicks a diagonal cross-field cross long down-field and although Vadaine Oliver wins the initial aerial challenge, Josh Hare was in the right place at the right time to kick the ball long down-field and Connor Ogilvie headers the ball towards Tom O’Connor on the left flank on the halfway line, And Tom O’Connor gets the ball under control before kicking the ball long down-field and Max Ehmer looks like he has put himself in-between the ball and John Akinde to shield the ball out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick, But Vadaine Oliver almost manages to kick the ball against Max Ehmer to win Gillingham A Corner Kick, but the ball does in-fact go out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick, And Again, Bristol Rovers just cannot cope with the physicality from John Akinde and Vadaine Oliver.

Fifty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Connor Ogilvie is penalised for his foul on Brandon Hanlan, And Bristol Rovers have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Bristol Rovers came close to scoring the equaliser, Ed Upson passes the ball forwards to Josh Grant, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Josh Hare down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Josh Hare takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back inside to Josh Grant, And Josh Grant takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Alfie Kilgour, And Alfie Kilgour passes the ball towards Sam Nicholson a left / central area of the pitch, And Sam Nicholson takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball forwards to Brandon Hanlan, And Brandon Hanlan passes the ball back to Luke Leahy, And Luke Leahy play a one / two with Josh Grant before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross which Connor Ogilvie manages to header the ball clear towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, However, Josh Grant has possession of the ball for Bristol Rovers, And Josh Grant passes the ball short to Sam Nicholson, who takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to get a shot off towards goal, And Sam Nicholson’s shot towards goal takes a huge deflection off Jack Tucker and the ball diverts out of play for A Bristol Rovers Corner Kick - AND THAT WAS THE CHANCE FOR BRISTOL ROVERS TO EQUALISE!!!!!! - And from the resulting corner kick, Bristol Rovers created a half decent opportunity to level the game up at 1-1, Luke Leahy whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Vadaine Oliver headers the ball partially clear and away from danger and Erhun Oztumer gets the ball under control before passing the ball out-wide to Luke Leahy, And Luke Leahy whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Brandon Hanlan’s glancing header bounces just wide of the far left post and Jack Bonham had dived at full stretch to ensure that Brandon Hanlan’s header was not on target and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Fifty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had the chance to go 2-0 up, Connor Ogilvie kicks the ball long down-field and Jack Baldwin headers the ball clear and away from danger and Ryan Jackson gets the ball under control before passing the ball back to Jack Tucker, And Jack Tucker takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver flicks the ball on towards Scott Robertson, who manages to keep the ball in play and run wide away from goal and Scott Robertson passes the ball back to Tom O’Connor on the left flank, And Tom O’Connor takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Kyle Dempsey’s header towards goal loops up into the air and Anssi Jaakkola makes a comfortable save in goal for Bristol Rovers.

Gillingham were awarded a free kick in The Fifty Ninth Minute Of The Match, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Connor Ogilvie kicks the ball long down-field and Max Ehmer wins the aerial challenge up against Vadaine Oliver to header the ball partially clear and away from danger, But Tom O’Connor is first to get on to the loose ball, And Tom O’Connor goes on a driving run down the left flank in possession of the ball before whipping in a high and hanging cross towards the back-stick and Tom O’Connor’s cross is over-hit and runs out of play for A Bristol Rovers Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw, Luke Leahy throws the ball back to Jack Baldwin, who gets the ball under control and passes the ball forwards to Ed Upson, And Ed Upson passes the ball back to Jack Baldwin, And Jack Baldwin passes the ball forwards to Sam Nicholson on the halfway line, And Sam Nicholson manages to retain possession of the ball before laying the ball off to Erhun Oztumer, who plays a first time pass out-wide to Josh Hare down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Josh Hare not only manages to keep the ball in play, But Josh Hare goes on a dribbling run forwards down the right side of the pitch and continue’s his run forwards inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Josh Hare’s low cross is blocked by Scott Robertson at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Luke Leahy whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Vadaine Oliver manages to header the ball partially clear and away from danger and Scott Robertson kicks the ball forwards and further away from goal, and Ed Upson is on to the loose ball and passes the ball square to Erhun Oztumer, And Erhun Oztumer takes a touch to control the ball before going in a skilful run forwards in possession of the ball, taking on Scott Robertson and Kyle Dempsey and Erhun Oztumer is challenged by Vadaine Oliver and the ball ricochets off Kyle Dempsey, And Erhun Oztumer’s shot on the turn is saved by Jack Bonham In The Gillingham Goal, And Erhun Oztumer is the one player on the pitch who is capable of creating something out of nothing, thankfully, Jack Bonham has saved Erhun Oztumer’s shot on the turn to preserve Gillingham’s 1-0 lead.

And from here, Gillingham go from almost conceding at one end of the pitch, to almost doubling there advantage to 2-0 in the next attack, Jack Bonham has kicked the ball long down-field and John Akinde flicks the ball on towards Dominic Samuel, And Dominic Samuel passes the ball forwards towards John Akinde down the right side of the pitch in Bristol Rovers Final Third, And John Akinde has whipped in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Josh Hare has headed the ball straight into Max Ehmer, and the ball ricochets back towards Vadaine Oliver, And Vadaine Oliver see’s his first time shot towards goal saved by Anssi Jaakkola at point blank range and the ball diverts out of play for A Gillingham Throw On and Anssi Jaakkola has kept Bristol Rovers in this match with a very important stop - BUT THAT WAS THE CHANCE FOR GILLINGHAM TO GO 2-0 UP.

Sixty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Bristol Rovers make a double substitution as Zain Walker and Ali Koiki both come on to replace Josh Hare and Luke Leahy as Bristol Rovers substitute both wing backs, And Paul Tisdale will be hoping that fresh legs in both wing back positions can help Bristol Rovers cause Gillingham problems defensively in the wide area’s, As far as any substitutions for Gillingham goes, I think Scott Robertson could be a player who gets taken off because Scott Robertson is one player who may well need protecting having been in and out of The Gillingham Side in recent weeks.

In The Sixty Eighth Minute Of The Match, Bristol Rovers have the chance to equalise, Erhun Oztumer has possession of the ball on the halfway line for Bristol Rovers, And Erhun Oztumer manages to retain possession of the ball before running forwards into Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, And Erhun Oztumer is looking around for passing options before passing the ball short to Josh Grant, And Josh Grant passes the ball out-wide to Ali Kolki, And Ali Kolki runs inside centrally in possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Ed Upson, And Ed Upson passes the ball out-wide to Josh Grant, who shrugs off the attempted challenge from Dominic Samuel, And Josh Grant runs inside into a more central position on the pitch and Josh Grant continue’s his run towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Josh Grant’s shot towards goal fails to hit the target and that was a bit of a let off for Gillingham, because it had just opened up for The Bristol Rovers Midfielder to get a shot off on goal.

Sixty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Alfie Kilgour goes down to the deck requiring treatment for a head injury, and after getting some treatment from the physio’s, Alfie Kilgour was OK to continue playing for Bristol Rovers, But In The Seventieth Minute Of The Match, Bristol Rovers had the chance to equalise, Ed Upson passes the ball out-wide to Ali Kolki, And Ali Kolki keeps the ball in play before passing the ball inside towards Zain Walker, And Zain Walker passes the ball towards Ed Upson, who passes the ball forwards to Josh Grant, And Josh Grant passes the ball forwards to Erhun Oztumer, and Erhun Oztumer passes the ball short to Josh Grant, who is waiting around for passing options before laying the ball off to Erhun Oztumer, who manages to clip the ball towards Ali Kolki down the left side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Ali Kolki cannot quite manage to get the ball under control and the ball ricochets towards Brandon Hanlan, And Connor Ogilvie times his challenge to perfection on Brandon Hanlan, and not only has Connor Ogilvie made a goal saving interception, but Brandon Hanlan is penalised for his foul on Connor Ogilvie and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick - Had Ali Kolki got the ball under control then he would have surely equalised for Bristol Rovers. and that is a massive let off for The Gills.

Seventy Two Minutes Into The Match, And Jack Tucker is penalised for his fun on Josh Grant - And Bristol Rovers have been awarded a free kick right on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area - And From The Resulting Free Kick, Erhun Oztumer’s free kick towards goal hits John Akinde and the ball loops up into the air and Robbie McKenzie wins the aerial challenge and headers the ball down inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Tom O’Connor kicks the ball clear and away from danger towards the halfway line, and Dominic Samuel does exceptionally well to retain possession of the ball and wait for his team-mates to come forward to offer some support, And Dominic Samuel passes the forwards to Kyle Dempsey in Bristol Rovers Half Of The Pitch, And Kyle Dempsey retains possession of the ball and runs across towards the right side of the pitch and Kyle Dempsey passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, who takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to thread a pass down the line towards Kyle Dempsey, And Kyle Dempsey whips in a dangerous low cross across the six yard box and there was Vadaine Oliver to header the ball into the back of the net for 2-0 with a diving header and there was nothing that Anssi Jaakkola could have done to prevent Vadaine Oliver from scoring his second, and Gillingham’s second goal of the match - BRISTOL ROVERS 0-2 GILLINGHAM.

But we have got to mention the quality of play from Gillingham to hit Bristol Rovers on the counter attack, Dominic Samuel retains possession of the ball and passes the ball short to Kyle Dempsey, who passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson plays a return pass down the line towards Kyle Dempsey, who whips in a first time cross with quality and Vadaine Oliver has scored that all important second goal to give Gillingham a two goal lead, However, Vadaine Oliver has collided with the post after scoring for The Gills and requires some treatment, thankfully, Vadaine Oliver is back on to his feat again, but with that all important second goal, Gillingham can possibly look to bring on Trae Coyle for Vadaine Oliver and Gillingham can substitute Vadaine Oliver to ensure that he is available for selection for the home game against Swindon Town On Saturday.

However, straight from the kick off, Bristol Rovers almost halved the deficit straight away, Max Ehmer passes the ball out-wide to Sam Nicholson, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Sam Nicholson threads the ball down the line towards Zain Walker, And Zain Walker takes a touch to control the ball before playing a short pass back to Sam Nicholson, And Sam Nicholson see’s his cross charged down and deflected into Zain Westbrooke’s path, And Zain Westbrooke has kicked the ball up into the air and Ali Kolki is there first to get to the loose ball and play the ball back into Zain Westbrooke’s Path, And Zain Westbrooke’s first time shot towards goal clears Gillingham’s Crossbar by some considerable distance, Bristol Rovers have also made there fourth substitution of the match with Zain Westbrooke coming on for Ed Upson, this substitution must have taken place when Vadaine Oliver was getting some treatment.

Seventy Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Jack Bonham saves Sam Nicholson’s dangerous in-swinging cross with considerable ease, And In The Eightieth Minute Of The Match, Zain Westbrooke has whipped in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Jack Bonham has gathered the ball with ease, Bristol Rovers just do not have the physicality in the final third to cause Gillingham problems defensively in the air, And with Gillingham winning 2-0 and quite happy to let Bristol Rovers have possession of the ball, Then Bristol Rovers have to find a way to stick the ball into the back of the net very soon to set up a grand-stand finish to this match.

Eighty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Bristol Rovers were looking to find that goal which would set up a grand-stand finish, And Sam Nicholson has whipped in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Ryan Jackson has got the faintest of touches on to the ball to header the ball away from goal, And Ryan Jackson was clattered into by Zain Walker and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick and well done Ryan Jackson for that defensive header, and Ryan Jackson requires some treatment on the pitch, and this stoppage in play allows Gillingham to regain there composure and slow down the tempo of the match to our level.

Eighty Four Minutes Into The Match, And Ali Kolki times his sliding challenge to perfection on Ryan Jackson, And Gillingham have won a throw on in Bristol Rovers Final Third Down The Right Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson throws the ball short to Kyle Dempsey, who passes the ball back out-wide to Ryan Jackson, And Ryan Jackson passes the ball short to Kyle Dempsey, who passes the ball back to Dominic Samuel, And Dominic Samuel clips the ball over the top for Ryan Jackson to run on to, And Ryan Jackson manages to keep the ball in play by standing a cross up towards the far post, and there was John Akinde to header the ball over the crossbar, and the ball has gone out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick.

And that header was John Akinde’s last involvement in this match, Because Alex MacDonald comes on to replace John Akinde, And John Akinde has been superb up-front alongside Vadaine Oliver all evening, and this is probably one of John Akinde’s best performances in A Gillingham Shirt, Alex MacDonald will come on to sure things up defensively for The Gills, And In The Eighty Seventh Minute, Bristol Rovers created a half decent goal-scoring opportunity as Jack Baldwin passes the ball forwards towards Brandon Hanlan inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Brandon Hanlan has gone to ground underneath Connor Ogilvie’s challenge and Jack Tucker takes no chances and kicks the ball clear and away from danger at the expense of conceding a throw on, and from the resulting throw on, Ali Kolki throws the ball back to Jack Baldwin, who takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a high and hanging cross towards the back-stick and Jack Bonham was able to gather the ball with ease.

And In The Ninetieth Minute Of The Match, Bristol Rovers came close to scoring again, Sam Nicholson has managed to pick out Brandon Hanlan with a low cross across towards the near post, And Brandon Hanlan manages to retain possession of the ball before eventually being challenged by Alex MacDonald, However, Alfie Kilgour has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch, and Alfie Kilgour passes the ball down the line towards Sam Nicholson, And Sam Nicholson uses his pace to take on Alex MacDonald and stand the ball up towards the far post and Josh Grants Header towards goal goes wide of the far left post, and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Gillingham then make there second substitution of the match as Declan Drysdale comes on to replace Scott Robertson, who has put in a exceptional performance in the middle of midfield, And Declan Drysdale will come on to sure things up defensively for The Gills, The next attack see’s Bristol Rovers on the front-foot as Zain Westbrooke plays a one / two with Sam Nicholson and Zain Westbrooke passes the ball inside centrally to Erhun Oztumer, who passes the ball square to Jack Baldwin, And Jack Baldwin passes the ball out-wide to Ali Kolki down the left side of the pitch, And Ali Kolki whips in a dangerous low cross and Brandon Hanlan flicks the ball across the penalty area and Tom O’Connor boots the ball clear and away from danger and Erhun Oztumer gets the ball under control, takes a few touches in possession of the ball and passes the ball forwards towards Brandon Hanlan, And Brandon Hanlan lays the ball off to Zain Walker, who passes the ball backwards towards Zain Westbrooke, And Zain Westbrooke passes the ball out-wide to Sam Nicholson, And Sam Nicholson passes the ball back inside to Zain Westbrooke, And Zain Westbrooke takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Zain Walker’s diving header fails to hit the target and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

And In The Ninety Third Minute Of The Match, Trae Coyle comes on to replace Vadaine Oliver, And you have got to applaud Vadaine Oliver, not just for the two goals, but his overall performance was exceptional again for Gillingham and Vadaine Oliver has now scored three goals in his last two appearances for The Gills, And the final noteworthy moment of the match see’s Max Ehmer’s low cross across the face of goal go out for a goal-kick for The Gills, and neither Brandon Hanlan, Zain Walker or Ali Kolki can divert the ball goal-wards, and after over four minutes of stoppage time, Referee Scott Oldham blows his whistle for Full Time and the final score at The Memorial Stadium Is Bristol Rovers 0-2 Gillingham.

FULL TIME: BRISTOL ROVERS 0-2 GILLINGHAM

I uploaded the following stats update on to Social Media,,,,,, FULL TIME: BRISTOL ROVERS 0-2 GILLINGHAM - A brace from Oliver earns Gillingham three valuable points and Gillingham now move up to 12th in The League One Table after this win tonight, Gillingham's win against Bristol Rovers was also The Gills third away league win of the season. Vadaine Oliver will get all the praise and plaudits for scoring both goals tonight - and rightfully so - But you can pick a additional seven or eight players who were exceptional this evening, Robbie McKenzie is one of those players, who again was superb in-front of the back four, Kyle Dempsey whipped in a sensational cross for Oliver's second goal, Tucker and Ogilvie were brilliant in the heart of Gillingham's Defence, and when Jack Bonham had to be called upon, he prevented Oztumer from scoring from a free kick when the score-line was 1-0 to The Gills. After losing 3-2 against Exeter City In The FA Cup Second Round on Saturday, we wanted to see Gillingham respond tonight, And The Gills have responded by putting in our best performance and our most professional performance of the season by winning 2-0 against Bristol Rovers.

And the latter part of my status update is the big talking point, we wanted to see Gillingham respond with a result against Bristol Rovers, But this wasn’t a smash and grab 1-0 win, this was a exceptional 2-0 win for The Gills against A Bristol Rovers Side who were tipped by many at the start of the season to be dark horses for a playoff challenge in League One, And I do believe that this was Gillingham’s most professional performance of the season, and we have seen the players put that 3-2 home defeat to Exeter City In The Second Round Of The FA Cup behind them with a hard fought win against Bristol Rovers At The Memorial Stadium, If there is one negative on the result, it is the fact that we as supporters could not be inside The Memorial Stadium to celebrate Gillingham’s 2-0 win tonight, Traveling back from a away ground with a win, three points, a clean sheet, and celebrating the win with your fellow supporters are moments to savour that is for sure.

Gillingham are now twelfth in The League One Table, and more importantly, seven points clear of The League One Relegation Zone, that win against Bristol Rovers has opened up a gap between Gillingham and the bottom four, and if Gillingham can back up this win against Bristol Rovers with another win against Swindon Town, Then that gap between Gillingham and the bottom four is only going to increase, and hopefully, by the time we get to the home game against Peterborough United on Boxing Day the gap between Gillingham and the bottom four is ten points at the very least.

Bristol Rovers just could not cope with the physicality from John Akinde and Vadaine Oliver in there own final third, and Bristol Rovers were lacking a striker with that physicality up-front to cause Gillingham problems defensively, Sam Nicholson, Zain Westbrooke, and Erhun Oztumer are not players who can cause Gillingham problems defensively in the air, and the one player who can win the ball in the air in Brandon Hanlan was either isolated, or double marked to perfection from Jack Tucker and Connnor Ogilvie, and it was interesting to hear Steve Evans mentioned that these two trained attack verses defence against Brandon Hanlan when Brandon Hanlan was playing for Gillingham, So we knew how to prevent Brandon Hanlan from causing Gillingham problems defensively, and to keep a clean sheet away at The Memorial Stadium is a incredible response from how Gillingham conceded three goals against Exeter City, the entire team responded and put in a exceptional team performance, and just when Gillingham needed one as well.

Bristol Rovers Supporters have spoken about Gillingham on there forum, and one comment in-particular stood out, "Gillingham everything you need in league 1 with a mid table budget. Big, tough , experienced , hardworking , confident and organised.” And Bristol Rovers have the experience, they have the quality in there side to be pushing higher up the table, but they are perhaps lacking the organisation, the confidence and the toughness you need to dig out a unconvincing 1-0 win when your not at your best, And when you look at the likes of Sam Nicholson, Max Ehmer, Jack Baldwin, Brandon Hanlan, Luke Leahy, Ed Upson, Abumere Ogogo, Zain Westbrooke, and Erhun Oztumer in Bristol Rovers First Team Squad, then Bristol Rovers should be pushing much higher up The League One Table, and maybe Paul Tisdale will be hoping to bring in a few reinforcements when The Transfer Window Opens In January.

This was a professional performance, this was precisely the response we wanted to see from Gillingham after losing 3-2 to Exeter City In The Second Round Of The FA Cup, we were wondering how Gillingham were going to cope with the absence of Jordan Graham from the starting line up, and Vadaine Oliver and John Akinde up-front gave Gillingham the physicality in the final third and Dominic Samuel put in a superb performance for Gillingham in The Central Attacking Midfielder Role, But it wasn’t just the attacking players who put in a superb performance, defensively, Gillingham were out-standing and to go to The Memorial Stadium and keep a clean sheet is something that Gillingham have not done too often, even though we have picked up quite a few points away against Bristol Rovers in recent season’s, this was a very good win, Because the players have put that defeat to Exeter City behind them and Gillingham are now twelfth in The League One Table.

As for Gillingham being twelfth In The League One Table, I think any talk about challenging for the playoff is very premature, and with Gillingham playing against Swindon Town, Doncaster Rovers, Accrington Stanley, and Rochdale over the next four league games, the challenge has to be to get as many points as possible from these four matches and to open up a huge gap between Gillingham and The League One Relegation Zone, so much so that we are not even talking about looking over our shoulder at the bottom four, And four wins out of four from these four league games would put Gillingham on Thirty Two Points from Eighteen Matches.

Hopefully, the first of those four wins can be achieved on Saturday when Gillingham take on Swindon Town At Priestfield Stadium, this would also be another fixture that Gillingham Supporters would have loved to have gone to, But this match will be played behind closed doors, and hopefully, Gillingham can build on this 2-0 win against Bristol Rovers and pick up another three points against Swindon Town - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!

#BristolRovers #Gillingham #Football #LeagueOne

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fan-of-mulligan · 8 years ago

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FOM BLOG: GILLINGHAM 3 - 1 BRISTOL ROVERS

My Thoughts On Gillingham V Bristol Rovers……………………….

I Left My House at 12.50PM 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 Gillingham Jacket, Spare Lids, My Gillingham Scarf, My Gillingham Bag, A Packet Of Polo’s, Pad and Pens, and a 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola) - 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 at 13.10PM, I brought My Return Train Ticket To Gillingham for £3.90, 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 Bristol Rovers, Gillingham need to start winning matches and picking up three points, and let's hope that Gillingham Win Today - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Got On The 13.15PM Train, Sat Down and I checked My Notifications on Facebook And Twitter, and I had Tweeted How I think Gillingham will line up against Bristol Rovers, Gillingham have got four matches remaining, Bristol Rovers, Charlton Athletic, Fleetwood Town and Northampton Town, it is vital that Gillingham start the first of those four matches with a win against Bristol Rovers, because not only do Gillingham need the three points to boost our League One Survival Chances, But Also, A Win For Gillingham Against Bristol Rovers would give Gillingham some much needed momentum going into the final three league games of the season, and we clearly want to take some much needed momentum into the match against Charlton Athletic At The Valley On Easter Monday - A Match I will be traveling to via train.

I arrived in Gillingham at 13.20PM, and the one thing I noticed was that there were plenty of police around Gillingham Train Station for our home match against Bristol Rovers, I don’t think that Bristol Rovers Supporters are troublesome, or is this because we have just played against Millwall in our most recent league match, and The Police are needed for this match as it is Easter Weekend and Attendances usually are higher then what Gillingham Normally Get for Home Matches At Priestfield Stadium During The Season.

I made My Way Towards Priestfield Stadium and I caught up with Sharon and Peter just past Sainsbury’s, and we spoke about this up and coming match against Bristol Rovers and how this is a must win game for Gillingham now, as we are one point clear of the relegation zone, and with Port Vale At Home To Sheffield United, you would have to say that Port Vale have got a very difficult league fixture at Vale Park, and if Port Vale were to lose and if Gillingham were to win, then that gap over the bottom four increases to four points, which would be a huge gap at this stage of the season.

Brad caught up with Me, Sharon and Peter, and Brad must be looking at League One Next Season with some excitement as Rotherham United coming down From The Championship and Doncaster Rovers earning promotion into League One means two local fixtures next season, although Sheffield United’s promotion into The Championship means no trip to Bramall Lane Next Season, that’s assuming that Gillingham avoid relegation this season, because we don’t want to be traveling to the likes of Accrington Stanley, Morecambe, Newport County, Hartlepool United or Mansfield Town Next Season, You want to see Gillingham playing against Charlton Athletic, Southend United, Millwall, AFC Wimbledon, Peterborough United, Northampton Town, MK Dons, and there is the possibility of Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers coming down from The Championship as well, if Gillingham want to be playing in these type of matches, then The Gills need to start picking up points from our remaining four league matches, starting with Bristol Rovers, because a win against A Bristol Rovers Side Challenging For A Playoff Spot would be massive.

We were speaking about Season Tickets, and Peter and Sharon were unfortunately not going to re-new there Season Tickets, I am going to re-new but I could understand the lack of enthusiasm because I know so many Season Ticket Holders who just cannot wait for this season to end, many fans will either look to go to every game and just buy Match-Tickets, or, pick and choose the home games they want to go to, the main advantage of being A Season Ticket Holder is having your seat reserved when there is A Massive Cup Tie At Priestfield Stadium and that is generally about it, The Two Free Ticket Voucher, as Peter quite rightfully pointed out, doesn’t benefit The Actual Season Ticket Holder, and I can see Our Season Ticket Holders dropping by A Third, there is a lack of enthusiasm, there isn’t that much support for Adrian Pennock who has come in during difficult circumstances, but if you asked the vast majority of supporters who they think should be Gillingham Manager For Next Season, they would list Steve Cotterill, Chris Powell and Kenny Jackett and maybe 1-2 others, we are obviously hoping that Adrian Pennock can do enough to keep Gillingham in League One, which is something that Adrian Pennock can put on his CV, and something he can be proud of, but then we can start looking to appoint someone else as Gillingham Manager, because it is clear that A Squad Overhaul is needed this summer, and this coming off season is a massive one for Gillingham Football Club.

Brad was optimistic about the up and coming game against Bristol Rovers, this our most recent league game, and it is the match that Gillingham need to win if we’re to stand a great chance of retaining our League One Status, plus, we would go into that local derby game against Charlton Athletic full of confidence at The Valley and that is a match I am looking forward to, Brad needed to go and collect his ticket from Darius, while I spoke with Peter and Sharon a bit more, and I mentioned that Kings Ferry and The Supporters Coach are leaving from Gillingham at mid-day for Charlton Athletic On Easter Monday, and because Gillingham are playing on Good Friday, we have to keep reminding ourselves that it is Friday and Not Saturday because Gillingham are playing.

Stephen messaged me on Facebook to say that he put A Gillingham Win For NoirCat and A Bristol Rovers Supporter Mentioned that Bristol Rovers should bring 1,000 supporters to Priestfield Stadium, so there should be another decent away attendance at Priestfield Stadium this afternoon, this is another reason why it is essential for Gillingham to stay in League One, we want to be playing against teams who will bring large traveling support to Priestfield Stadium, and I am sure that Adrian Pennock will want to start The First Of Two Matches Over Easter With A Gillingham Win.

Sharon and Peter made there way to The Turnstile Entrance while I went inside The Club Shop To Buy One Match-Day Programme For £3, and Diane had already brought her ticket for Northampton Town Away, and I looked at the queue and it was quite packed already, so I decided not to queue up for the moment, Diane added what are we going to do for Charlton Athletic Away, I mentioned that we will meet up at Rainham Train Station, and Diane wanted to know where she can park her car, there is A Car Park Opposite the Railway Crossing, and there is a slip road behind Platform Two where cars have parked, Diane added she will drive around there looking for parking spaces, and we still need to arrange a time to get to Rainham Train Station, our plan was to get to Charlton around mid-day, so we can find somewhere for food and drink, hopefully see the players before the game, walk around the stadium and make sure we avoid what will be a more packed train looking to get to Charlton Athletic around 1PM / 1.30PM.

Me and Diane then waited out-side for Gary and We spoke with Lisa briefly, who only had three more matches left in her usual seat in the Rainham End before the season is finished, Like Me, Stephen and Diane, Lisa is going to Charlton Athletic By Train On Easter Monday and everyone is looking forward to the trip to The Valley, So Far, Gillingham had sold close to 2,000 with another 500 tickets being sent and more available on the day, perhaps, some of our fans are waiting to see what will happen against Bristol Rovers before deciding on whether they want to go to Charlton Athletic On Easter Monday, I agreed with Stephen’s Earlier Point, instead of just sending 1600 tickets and then another 500, Charlton Athletic should have sent 3,000 tickets straight away, I even asked Stewart if he wanted to go to Charlton, but he is going to London over the next week for another event.

Eventually, We Saw Gillingham’s Team News On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,,,,,, Tomas Holy, Ryan Jackson, Max Ehmer, Adedeji Oshilaja, Harry Cornick, Mark Byrne, Jake Hessenthaler, Josh Wright, Lee Martin, Cody McDonald, Joe Quigley SUBS: Stuart Nelson (GK), Chris Herd, Ollie Muldoon, Emmanuel Osadebe, Elliott List, Josh Parker and Rory Donnelly - I thought we were going to switch formation to A 4.4.2 Diamond Midfield Formation with Harry Cornick playing behind Joe Quigley and Cody McDonald, that was until I saw Luke’s Tweet which confirmed that Ryan Jackson was playing at Right Centre Back, and I suppose with the number of hamstring injuries Ryan Jackson has had this season, maybe playing at Right Centre Back would be more preferable for Ryan Jackson then playing at Right Wing Back, However, The Five At The Back Formation is clearly not the way forward for next season, I think Adrian Pennock is aware that Gillingham need two up-front and we’re not confidant in our defence at all, so we’re trying to cover the cracks in defence by lining up with three centre back’s.

I decided to queue up to get My Ticket For Northampton Town, while I was queuing up, Michael wanted to know if they are renewing Season Tickets before The Bristol Rovers Match Kicked Off, I was waiting in the queue for fifteen minutes before I eventually was able to buy My Northampton Town Ticket for £22, My Ticket was in The Front Row but I just wanted to get My Ticket, and I am sure we can sit or stand anywhere at Sixfields, there should be a decent turnout for that match and I can see Gillingham selling out the entire away end, hopefully there is nothing on the line for that match and Gillingham can retain there League One Status before our match on the final day of the season, but we would need to start picking up points and start winning games as quickly as possible, in-regards to renewing Season Tickets, The Club aren’t renewing Season Tickets This Afternoon as the main focus is selling tickets for this coming game against Bristol Rovers, and selling tickets for the final two away matches against Charlton Athletic and Northampton Town.

I Caught Up With Diane Again as I have got My Northampton Town Ticket and I mentioned to Diane that Stephen couldn’t do both games over Easter so this was always going to be the game he was going to miss, as Charlton Athletic Away is a game he wanted to go to, and he will be traveling to Northampton Town on the final day of the season, two local away games which are easy to travel to, and two away matches we want to be traveling to next season as well.

Diane decided to head round with Alan and Irene, while I got My Season Ticket Out and I entered The Family Enclosure Entrance of The Medway Stand, and After My Gillingham Bag was searched, I went through the turnstiles, brought one fifty / fifty match day lottery ticket and I spoke briefly about Charlton Athletic Away With The Ticket Seller, who was hoping that Peter Lloyd will have her ticket on the coach for Charlton Athletic, I mentioned that I was going to make the trip to Charlton Athletic Via Train, and I was going to leave early so I can get to The Valley with plenty of time to spare, one thing I couldn’t help but notice was that the temperature had dropped, the humid conditions had cooled down a bit, which I don’t mind as I prefer the weather to be cooler, not freezing, but not hot and humid conditions either.

I then Said C Ya, as I went over to see Michael and I told Michael that Season Tickets weren’t being renewed because everyone was buying tickets either for this match against Bristol Rovers, or away games against Charlton Athletic or Northampton Town, and then we looked ahead to this afternoon’s match against Bristol Rovers, and with Bury losing against Rochdale, it would be fantastic if Gillingham could pick up three points against Bristol Rovers and move three points clear of The League One Relegation Zone, Four Points Clear should Sheffield United win against Port Vale, but we weren’t confidant, Bristol Rovers are pushing for A Playoff Place and they won’t be easy to play against, but we were looking at our four remaining matches, and the games against Bristol Rovers and Fleetwood Town were Gillingham’s Best Chances of Picking Up Enough Points So That Gillingham can retain our League One Status.

Michael Thanked Me for getting the information about Season Tickets, I then went and spoke with Niall, and Niall was feeling optimistic about Gillingham’s Chances of getting A Valuable Win against Bristol Rovers, while Niall’s Friend and Me Predicted A Draw, although I was hoping for a win, this was a match where the points mean more then the performance, if we see a fantastic performance and three points, great, if we see a gritty hard fought 1-0 win where Bristol Rovers completely dominate the game and we smash and grab the win with our only shot on target, then that will do, we want the three points regardless of how or where they come from.

We spoke about Bury losing against Rochdale, and Bury still have to play against Bolton Wanderers, Port Vale are playing against Sheffield United, and Port Vale still have to play against Bolton Wanderers as well, the teams around us have got some tricky fixtures, but what would greatly strengthen Gillingham’s Survival Chances is a win, and this would be a great start to The Easter Weekend, IF, Gillingham can get the three points we so badly need against Bristol Rovers.

We then spoke about the importance of staying in this division and how relegation could lead to several season’s in League Two, or worse, a decline similar to how Tranmere Rovers have gone down into The Conference National, Our Opponents were in The Conference National just two season’s ago, and back to back promotions into League One has seen Bristol Rovers rise back up into the third tier, they have bounced back, but they are also the exception to the rule, staying in League One is essential for Gillingham Football Club, and we have got four games to pick up the two wins we need to stay up, wouldn’t it be fantastic if Gillingham can get those two wins in both matches we have got over Easter.

I then went to my seat and spoke with Andrew and Charlotte, I asked Charlotte who was The Referee Today, and Charlotte looked on the back of the match-day programme and Mark Heywood is Referee For Gillingham V Bristol Rovers, I had tweeted that To The Gills Debate Twitter Account as well to find out who The Referee Was, Looking Across To The Away End, Bristol Rovers had traveled well to Priestfield Stadium, now some would say it is Good Friday so there should be a good traveling support, but Bristol is a good three hours away from Gillingham, this isn’t exactly a five / ten mile away trip here, Bristol Rovers have also got a slim possibility of reaching The League One Playoffs As Well.

I then sent the following Tweet On Twitter,,,,,, - Gillingham V Bristol Rovers - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!! - And as I finished Sending That Tweet, Both teams were out of the tunnel ready for kick off, and the atmosphere raises in volume inside Priestfield Stadium as both teams lined up in-front of The Medway Stand, we don’t need passionate team talks now, the players will surely know the situation Gillingham are in, and this is a four game mini season where Gillingham need to pick up enough points between now and the end of the season for Gillingham to retain there League One Status.

Thankfully, Referee Mark Heywood didn’t switch ends, this means that Gillingham are kicking towards The Brian Moore Stand In The First Half, and Bristol Rovers are kicking towards The Rainham End, meaning that both teams will be kicking towards the ends where there supporters are situated, hopefully, this is the day where Gillingham end our winless run and pick up all three points at Priestfield Stadium - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

Two Minutes Into The Match, and Jake Clarke-Salter looks to hit a cross-field pass down the left side of the pitch to pick out Lee Brown on the over-lap, but Harry Cornick was well positioned to shield the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Harry Cornick will have a difficult task on his hands playing in an unfamiliar Right Wing Back Role, but he is going to have to put in an energetic and exceptional performance in this match, Because Bristol Rovers are flying high in League One and they will surely have some excellent wide players in there side.

A Minute Later, and I wasn’t sure that Ellis Harrison had fouled Ryan Jackson, and Gillingham are quick to get the ball forward, as Tomas Holy kicks the ball long down-field and Joe Quigley does managed to flick the ball on, but Jake Clarke-Salter headers the ball back to Joe Lumley, who I am sure will appreciate getting his first touch on the ball, and Bristol Rovers came close to causing Gillingham problems in the same minute, as Joe Lumley rolls the ball out to Jake Clarke-Salter, who plays the ball out-wide to Billy Bodin, who plays the ball inside to Stuart Sinclair, who plays the ball forward to Ellis Harrison, and Ellis Harrison almost picks out Lee Brown with a fantastic ball out-wide down the left side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Right - but Ellis Harrison’s pass was slightly over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Four Minutes Into The Match, And Cody McDonald has done brilliantly to clear Gillingham’s Lines by coming back and doubling up with Mark Byrne on Lee Brown, The Millwall Match was fast and frantic, this match looks like it is going to be a gradual process where both teams slowly build there way into this game, as Gillingham and Bristol Rovers both need the three points for different reason’s, for Gillingham, it is to try and retain our League One Status, for Bristol Rovers, it is about trying to push for A League One Playoff Place.

Then, In The Sixth Minute Of The Match, dreadful defending from Gillingham almost proved to be costly, Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper Joe Lumley Kick’s The Ball Long Down-Field and Ellis Harrison flicks the ball on and Max Ehmer headers the ball inside before Billy Bodin can get to the ball, and Adedeji Oshilaja see’s his attempted clearance charged down by Ellis Harrison and Jake Hessenthaler hooks the ball over his shoulder to get the ball partially cleared and away from danger, but the second ball drops to Stuart Sinclair, who chests the ball down and see’s his driven effort towards goal blocked by Jake Hessenthaler, but still Bristol Rovers have the ball as loose ball falls kindly to Chris Lines, who runs forward in possession of the ball, and Chris Lines has plenty of time to pick out a threaded through-ball in-between Harry Cornick and Ryan Jackson, and Chris Lines has managed to pick out Lee Brown with this threaded through-ball, and Lee Power pulls the ball back across the face of goal first time, but there was Max Ehmer to slide in and clear the ball out of play and away from danger at the expense of A Bristol Rovers Corner Kick.

From The Resulting Corner Kick, Chris Lines whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed clear and out of play at the near post by Mark Byrne, And Bristol Rovers continue to dominate the opening exchanges at Priestfield Stadium, as The Visitor’s Look To Move The Ball Quickly, From The Resulting Throw On, Lee Brown Throws The Ball Short to Chris Lines, who plays the ball out-wide to Lee Brown, and Lee Brown plays the ball back to Ryan Sweeney, who squares the ball to Tom Lockyer, and The Bristol Rovers Centre Back plays the ball out-wide to Jake Clarke-Salter, who looks to thread the ball through to Byron Moore, but Adedeji Oshilaja has done enough to get himself in-between Byron Moore, and the ball to shield the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Bristol Rovers are dominating the possession stats, and with Gillingham lining up with Mark Byrne, Jake Hessenthaler and Josh Wright in The Middle Of Midfield, we’re clearly playing like A Team who are trying to contain A Premier League Opponent, Bristol Rovers aren’t Arsenal, yet the early stages of this match have seen Bristol Rovers dominate and one of Josh Wright, Jake Hessenthaler or Mark Byrne needs to break forward and support Joe Quigley and Cody McDonald.

Ten Minutes Into The Match, and Max Ehmer is penalised for his challenge on Stuart Sinclair, and from the resulting free kick, Bristol Rovers have the first shot of the match, Chris Lines plays the ball short to Jake Clarke-Salter, who plays the ball back to Chris Lines, and Chris Lines runs forward in possession of the ball before threading a threaded through-ball in-between Harry Cornick and Ryan Jackson and Chris Lines has managed to pick out Lee Brown with this pass, and Lee Brown looks to cut inside into a central position inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, but Cody McDonald manages to intercept the ball and kick the ball long down-field and Gillingham have no-one forward, so this is only a temporary reprieve, and Bristol Rovers can continue to pile on the pressure on to Gillingham’s Goal as Jake Clarke-Salter brings the ball down and the Bristol Rovers Right Back passes the ball inside to Tom Lockyer, who plays the ball out-wide to Lee Mansell, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Lee Mansell plays the ball forward to Billy Bodin, who nutmegs Jake Hessenthaler and runs forward in possession of the ball, and Billy Bodin continue’s his run forward until he gets to the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Billy Bodin manages to get a shot away on target, but it is straight at Tomas Holy and very easy for The Czech Goalkeeper To Gather.

But the way Bristol Rovers are opening Gillingham up down our right side is so easy, Harry Cornick isn’t A Right Wing Back, his defensive awareness just isn’t there and Bristol Rovers have been threading the ball through down that side on several occasions, it might be worth playing Jake Hessenthaler at Right Wing Back and get Harry Cornick further forward to support Cody McDonald and Joe Quigley, because Gillingham have done very little to test Bristol Rovers Defensively.

Thirteen Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham manage to win themselves A Corner Kick with a really good attacking move which ended up with Harry Cornick using his pace to take on Lee Brown, and Harry Cornick has forced Lee Brown to slide in and knock the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, Much Better Gills, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Gillingham had a half chance to try and take the lead as Lee Martin whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and Adedeji Oshilaja does manage to flick the ball on towards the far post, but neither Josh Wright or Max Ehmer make a telling connection on the ball to direct the ball goal-wards, with perhaps both players getting in each other’s way as the ball goes harmlessly out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick.

Lee Martin is then penalised for his challenge on Byron Moore In The Fifteenth Minute, But A Minute Later, and Gillingham Managed To Win There Second Corner Kick In Quick Succession as Pressure From Joe Quigley see’s Ryan Sweeney knock the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Lee Martin has played the ball short to Mark Byrne, who plays the ball back to Lee Martin, and Lee Martin has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Ryan Sweeney has headed the ball clear and away from danger for Bristol Rovers, and The Visitor’s are looking to turn defence into attack, as Ryan Sweeney’s headed clearance falls to Chris Lines, who runs forward in possession of the ball, and Chris Lines looks to pick out Billy Bodin with A Forty Yard Cross-Field Pass, but Ryan Jackson is well positioned to header the ball clear and out of play for A Bristol Rovers Throw On - Excellent Defending From Ryan Jackson There.

Twenty Minutes Into The Match, and Bristol Rovers had the opportunity to take the lead, again, Bristol Rovers are being allowed to have possession of the ball, with Gillingham sacrificing possession for a defensive shape and organisation, but Lee Mansell plays a brilliantly weighted pass over Adedeji Oshilaja’s Head towards Ellis Harrison down the left side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Ellis Harrison allows the ball to bounce, and strikes a powerfully driven effort which clears Tomas Holy’s Crossbar, and that was the chance, that was the chance for Bristol Rovers to take the lead and that was a massive let off for Gillingham.

From The Resulting Goal-Kick, Tomas Holy kicks the ball long down-field towards Joe Quigley and Joe Quigley holds the ball up and Ryan Sweeney is knocked off balance challenging Joe Quigley for the ball, it was bad enough that Joe Quigley is penalised for a foul for showing great strength to retain possession of the ball, but for a yellow card to be given against Joe Quigley for that was a shocking decision, a decision which could well have disastrous consequences later on in the match should Joe Quigley get shown a second yellow card.

Twenty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Bristol Rovers Create A Half Chance With Gillingham Willing to allow Bristol Rovers to have possession of the ball, Lee Mansell plays the ball out-wide to Jake Clarke-Salter, who plays the ball down the line Billy Bodin, who checks the ball back to Lee Mansell, and Lee Mansell has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Ellis Harrison has flicked the ball on and Harry Cornick is in the right place at the right time to chest the ball back to Tomas Holy - PUT A TACKLE IN!!!!! - Was A Response I heard from someone behind me, as 1-2 Fans Frustrations are with Gillingham’s Performance so far as Bristol Rovers have created the better goal-scoring opportunities in this match so far.

Twenty Five Minutes Into The Match, and Lee Mansell is penalised for his challenge on Mark Byrne, And In The Twenty Eighth Minute, Mark Byrne attempts an ambitious ball over the top of Bristol Rovers Defence which almost picks out Harry Cornick on the over-lap, but Mark Byrne’s Pass Was Over-Hit and runs out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick, A Good Effort From Mark Byrne There, as Gillingham have done very little to get the home supporters off there feat in The Opening Twenty Eight Minutes Of The Match So Far.

Then, A Minute Later, And Bristol Rovers Have A Fantastic Opportunity to take the lead, Bristol Rovers are threatening down The Right Side Of The Pitch - Gillingham’s Left - and Jake Clarke-Salter plays the ball forward to Billy Bodin, who retains possession of the ball for Bristol Rovers before playing the ball through to Tom Lockyer, who had made A Third Man Run Down Towards The Byline, and Tom Lockyer manages to dig out a cross from the byline to the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Lee Mansell tee’s himself up before striking a powerful driven effort on the half volley towards goal, and had Ellis Harrison not been in the way then Lee Mansell could have given Bristol Rovers the lead with that effort - Huge Let Off For Gillingham.

Thirty Minutes Into The Match, and Ellis Harrison runs the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, Somehow, No Throw Is Given, much to our surprise and shock, so when Ryan Jackson manages to intercept the ball and falls to the deck, A Free Kick is given in Gillingham’s Favour, maybe that is The Official’s Atoning for there error there, because that clearly went out for A Gillingham Throw On, and in The Same Minute, we were again frustrated with The Official’s yet again, because Cody McDonald was taken out completely by Tom Lockyer right on the edge of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and Gillingham should have been awarded A Free Kick, you can hear the frustrations from Gillingham Supporters aimed towards Referee Mark Heywood, as that could well be a talking point at the end of this match, A Talking Point which only strengthens my opinion that Video Technology Needs To Come Into Football.

Thirty One Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham create A Chance Out Of Nothing as Cody McDonald goes on a run forward in possession of the ball, and Cody McDonald is forced to run wide to evade Ryan Sweeney’s challenge, and Cody McDonald picks out Josh Wright at the far post with A High And Hanging Cross, but Josh Wright cannot direct his attempted effort towards goal on target and Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper Joe Lumley is able to gather the ball, Gillingham and Bristol Rovers are Thirty One Minutes Into This Match and the only save either goalkeeper has had to make was Tomas Holy saving a driven effort towards goal which struck straight at him by Billy Bodin, it has been A First Half With Very Limited Goal-Scoring Opportunities From Both Teams.

Thirty Two Minutes Into The Match, and Bristol Rovers Have Won Themselves A Corner Kick and Chris Lines goes across to take the resulting corner kick for Bristol Rovers, and Chris Lines whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Cody McDonald does brilliantly to header the ball clear and away from danger and Adedeji Oshilaja does enough to beat Jake Clarke-Salter to the loose ball, and Adedeji Oshilaja takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball down the line for Harry Cornick to run on to, and Harry Cornick manages to keep the ball in play, and Harry Cornick is one on one with Lee Brown and looking to get to the byline, and Harry Cornick plays the ball across centrally towards Josh Wright On The Edge Of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and Josh Wright’s First Time Effort Towards The Bottom Left Corner Of The Goal only just flashes wide of the far post, Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper Joe Lumley dived towards that side of the goal and I think he would have had that effort covered, had Josh Wright’s effort on goal been on target - Still, This Is Something That Gillingham Can Build On.

Thirty Four Minutes Into The Match, And Harry Cornick timed his challenge to perfection on Lee Brown to concede A Corner Kick For Bristol Rovers - And that challenge from Harry Cornick had to be timed perfection as well, otherwise Bristol Rovers would have been awarded A Penalty - And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Chris Lines whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, But Tomas Holy does brilliantly to gather the loose ball to relieve the pressure building up on to Gillingham’s Goal.

But That Reprieve Is Only Temporary, as Bristol Rovers are looking to make the breakthrough yet again, this time, It Is Down The Right Side Of The Pitch as Billy Bodin, Lee Mansell and Jake Clarke-Salter link up very nicely, and Billy Bodin threads the ball through on the over-lap down towards the byline where Lee Mansell was, and Lee Mansell tried to pick out Ellis Harrison with A Cross, But Max Ehmer manages to header the ball partially clear and away from danger, but the second ball falls kindly to Chris Lines to go for the spectacular first time volleyed effort on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area which fails to hit the target - but it is another goal-scoring opportunity for the visitor’s, and that is something that we as Gillingham Supporters should be concerned about.

Then, A Minute Later and Ellis Harrison is penalised for his challenge on Max Ehmer, A Challenge which see’s Bristol Rovers Number Nine Shown A Yellow Card By Referee Mark Heywood, and In The Thirty Ninth Minute Of The Match, Bristol Rovers Left Back Lee Brown has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post which is slightly over-hit and Byron Moore cannot get a telling connection on the ball to either direct the ball goal-wards, or, header the ball back across the face of goal.

Both Teams Are Defending Very Well as we are approaching the closing stages of The First Half, In The Forty Second Minute, Adedeji Oshilaja is well positioned again to stop Billy Bodin from getting on the end of Jake Clarke-Salter’s Long Ball Over The Top, and Adedeji Oshilaja shields the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, and In The Forty Third Minute, Ryan Sweeney manages to get himself out of a predicament by kicking the ball against Cody McDonald to earn Bristol Rovers A Goal-Kick.

In The Closing Stages Of The First Half, Gillingham are moving the ball about nicely, with Adedeji Oshilaja squaring the ball to Max Ehmer, who clips the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, who passes the ball down the line towards Harry Cornick, but Bristol Rovers do enough to clear there lines, we’re trying to force the issue, and trying to get the ball forward, but Harry Cornick and Lee Martin are both struggling to attack in The Wing Back Roles, It Is A Role Which requires high energy levels, high stamina and you need to be incredibly fit to play as A Wing Back, both Harry Cornick and Lee Martin are coming back from long term injuries and there match fitness and match sharpness levels are just not there yet.

After One Additional Minute Of Added Time, Referee Mark Heywood blew his whistle for Half Time, and there have been A Few 0-0 Half Time Score-Lines At Priestfield Stadium This Season, But There Won’t Be Many First Half Performances as Disappointing Then The First Half Performance we have seen against Bristol Rovers, However, I did say pre-match that points more then performance, and if Gillingham can go on and find the winner from here without playing well, then so be it.

HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 0 - 0 BRISTOL ROVERS

Gillingham’s Best Goal-Scoring Opportunity Was The Counter Attack From Bristol Rovers Own Corner Kick, where Harry Cornick has possession of the ball in Bristol Rovers Final Third, and Harry Cornick plays the ball across centrally towards Josh Wright On The Edge Of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area, and Josh Wright’s First Time Effort Towards The Bottom Left Corner Of The Goal only just flashes wide of the far post, and other then that, Gillingham haven’t had many efforts on goal, and it is Bristol Rovers who are creating the better goal-scoring opportunities, and despite being Ninth In The League One Table, Bristol Rovers are clearly there for the taking, and that is what Adrian Pennock will need to remind his players in his half time team talk.

I spoke to David At Half Time, and I mentioned to David with the way Gillingham were set up and the way we were playing in The First Half, it was like we were set up to contain A Premier League Team In A FA Cup Tie, I had just sent the following Tweet On Twitter - HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 0 - 0 BRISTOL ROVERS - Dire First Half from Gills, big improvement needed in The Second Half, I bring Parker on now - I had also sent the following tweets to Rob On Twitter As Well,,,, - Notes In My Notepad mostly negative, main positive is The 0-0 score-line - ,,, - Toilet sums up the first half, if Gillingham can step it up in The Second Half we can go on and win and pick up 3 vital points.

Back To My Conversation With David, I mentioned that I would make A Change Now, Josh Parker was A Player I would bring on in addition to Joe Quigley and Cody McDonald, because these two are being pulled from pillar to post and getting vey little given in there favour From Referee Mark Heywood, and there has been little support or service to both players, attack wise, Gillingham have been appalling, defensively, we have done enough to go in at the break at 0-0 and this match is there for the taking with some improvement in The Second Half, Both Me and David Predicted for Gillingham to win against Bristol Rovers, I went for 3-1, David went for 2-0, just as long as Gillingham win then that is what really matters.

I spoke to Colin at Half Time, and he mentioned that 0-0 is the main positive and Gillingham are still in this match and he thought that Bristol Rovers would be too strong for Gillingham, well, on the performance we have seen from Bristol Rovers so far, they must have a few players on the treatment table, because there is very little separating both sides, and if we can kick on and up the intensity, the tempo and the quality, then Gillingham can pick up all three points, which is what we are hoping will happen during The Second Half.

Colin mentioned to me at half time to me that Gillingham’s Financial Situation is quite strained, which made me ask the following question, do you think Paul Scally would look to bring Peter Taylor back and go back to what he was doing just three season’s ago where Gillingham were signing 21 / 22 year old’s as we couldn’t afford the established players ??? - If things are tight financially at Gillingham Football Club, then we will be hoping that Southampton sell Paulo Gazzainga, as Gillingham have A Sell On Fee On The Goalkeeper, and we may well see Bradley Dack leave Gillingham in the summer as well.

But if this is correct, then Adrian Pennock will be given The Job At Gillingham In The Summer if he can keep Gillingham In League One, obviously, I am hoping that Adrian Pennock can keep Gillingham Football Club In League One and we look to bring someone else in as Manager In The Summer, but it does look increasingly likely that we might not be able to afford The Kenny Jackett’s, The Chris Powell’s, Or The Steve Cotterill’s Of This World, but surely the loss of Season Ticket Holders For Next Season will see Gillingham Lose A Lot Of Money as well, the right appointment, could well see Supporters really back Gillingham Football Club, and Supporters just cannot wait for The 2016 / 2017 season to end.

And when you see the likes of Millwall, Charlton Athletic, Southend United, AFC Wimbledon, MK Dons, Northampton Town, Peterborough United and Oxford United In League One, and with the possibility of Nottingham Forest coming down and Portsmouth coming up, then these are the matches we want to see Gillingham playing in, but this means retaining our League One Status, financially for the club, playing in these types of matches will see Gillingham get higher away attendances in League One, then say, Accrington Stanley or Morecambe traveling to Priestfield Stadium.

As For Any Tactical Changes, Josh Parker On For One Of Jake Hessenthaler or Mark Byrne would be my choice, we need to get another attacking player on the pitch to try and go on and pick up all three points, The Next Forty Five Minutes Are Massive For Gillingham Football Club, Hopefully, Gillingham can go on and pick up all three points against Bristol Rovers - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

Both Teams Came Out On To The Football Pitch At The Start Of The Second Half, Adrian Pennock didn’t make any Half Time Substitutions, But Bristol Rovers Manager Darrell Clarke does make the first substitution of the game, as Luke James replaces Ellis Harrison, who was booked in The First Half and that may well be behind Darrell Clarke’s Thinking, taking off a player who was booked in The First Half to ensure that he wasn’t sent off and will be available for selection for Bristol Rovers next match against Oldham Athletic On Monday.

The Second Half Starts with Lee Martin fouling Billy Bodin, and Lee Mansell fouling Cody McDonald, I actually thought that Cody McDonald’s foot was slightly high so I was surprised that Gillingham were awarded a free kick in our favour there, and Lee Mansell was actually shown A Yellow Card for Bristol Rovers and that was very harsh in my opinion, then, The Second Half really did come to life as Gillingham and Bristol Rovers both had chances to score in quick succession, first, it was Gillingham who were on the front-foot as Tomas Holy kicks the ball long down-field and Tom Lockyer wins the aerial challenge up against Cody McDonald, but the loose ball drops to Josh Wright inside Bristol Rovers Penalty Area, and Josh Wright chests the ball down and scuffs his first time effort wide of Joe Lumley’s Right Hand Post - To Be Fair To Josh Wright, he was under a lot of pressure to take that chance on first time - but that was the chance for Gillingham to take the lead.

Then, From The Resulting Goal-Kick, And Bristol Rovers could, and perhaps should have taken the lead themselves, Joe Lumley kicks the ball long down-field from the resulting goal-kick and Max Ehmer wins the initial aerial challenge, but the second ball drops kindly to Lee Brown who plays the ball over the top of Gillingham’s Defence and Billy Bodin is one on one with Tomas Holy, and Billy Bodin opts to strike the ball on the volley first time which flashes wide of the far post by a few inches, and that was a golden opportunity for Bristol Rovers to take the lead, and Andrew Said - Maybe, This Is Sign which tells us that Gillingham will win today - because Billy Bodin had the time to take another touch and he didn’t have to go for goal first time.

Then, From The Resulting Goal-Kick, Gillingham could have taken the lead, Tomas Holy kicks the ball down-field and Ryan Jackson flicks the ball on into Bristol Rovers Half of The Pitch and Mark Byrne headers the ball towards Josh Wright, and Chris Lines should cut this headed effort out, but Chris Lines cannot stop the ball going towards Josh Wright, who headers the ball towards Cody McDonald, but Tom Lockyer is there to clear the ball up into the air, and Chris Lines wins the aerial challenge up against Josh Wright and Stuart Sinclair plays the ball back to Joe Lumley, who see’s his clearance charged down by Josh Wright, and Josh Wright’s Shot On The Turn Is Saved By Joe Lumley - Josh Wright could have scored A Hat-Trick For Gillingham Football Club already, he could have scored twice for Gillingham in The Second Half.

Then, A Minute Later, Gillingham continue to build on there impressive start to The Second Half as Lee Martin whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area, which almost picks out Harry Cornick, but Joe Lumley is well positioned to make the save, This has been a huge improvement from Gillingham, Josh Wright has two efforts on goal, one off target and one saved by Joe Lumley, and Lee Martin has also seen his in-swinging cross saved by The Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper, The First Half Performance was very disappointing, but so far, there has been plenty of encouraging things to talk about regarding Gillingham in The Second Half, and all The Gills need to do is break the deadlock.

Fifty Three Minutes Into The Match, and Bristol Rovers are showing why they are challenging for a playoff position in League One with some quality pass and move football, and At The End Of This Passing Move, Chris Lines passes the ball out-wide to Lee Brown, and thankfully, The Linesman Down The Brian Moore Stand / Medway Stand Side Of The Pitch raises his flag for offside.

A Minute Later, and Bristol Rovers are the team looking to make the break-through, as Lee Brown squares the ball short to Chris Lines, who tries to pick out Byron Moore with a cross-field pass, but there was Adedeji Oshilaja to header the ball out of play for A Bristol Rovers Throw On, However, In The Fifty Sixth Minute Of The Match, Gillingham have the chance to open the scoring, Joe Quigley uses his strength to shrug off the challenge from Lee Mansell to run into an more central position on the pitch, and Joe Quigley hits a driven effort from twenty five yards out wide of Joe Lumley’s Right Hand Post when Cody McDonald and Josh Wright were in better positions to open the scoring - SHOULD HAVE PASSED IT JOE!!!! - Was My Response, and will Gillingham rule not taking that opportunity later on during the match ???

And Bristol Rovers created two decent goal-scoring opportunities in the aftermath of the chance that Joe Quigley had just spurned for The Gills, Fifty Six Minutes Into The Match, and Billy Bodin came very close to breaking the deadlock, as Billy Bodin’s fiercely struck effort towards goal from twenty yards out only just about cleared Tomas Holy’s Crossbar, as Billy Bodin’s effort on goal cleared the angle where crossbar and post meet, and In The Fifty Seventh Minute, Adedeji Oshilaja times his challenge on Billy Bodin to perfection.

But Bristol Rovers continued there dominance a minute later because Bristol Rovers should have opened the scoring in The Fifty Eighth Minute, Cody McDonald is penalised for his challenge on Lee Mansell, and from the resulting free kick, Bristol Rovers should have scored, Chris Lines was waiting for someone to make a run off the ball, but with no movement from the players in-front of him, Chris Lines plays the ball back to Jake Clarke-Salter, who takes a touch to control the ball and Jake Clarke-Salter passes the ball square to Chris Lines, who takes a touch to control the ball and Chris Lines runs forward in possession of the ball before kicking the ball high into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Max Ehmer manages to header the ball up against Billy Bodin by winning the aerial challenge, but Billy Bodin still manages to get to the loose ball first, and The Bristol Rovers Midfielder manages to pass the ball back to Byron Moore on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Byron Moore takes a touch to control the ball before curling an accurate effort on goal which floats over Adedeji Oshilaja’s head and Tomas Holy can only parry the ball into Stuart Sinclair’s path, and Stuart Sinclair manages to sky his effort over Gillingham’s crossbar and that is a massive let off for The Gills - I don’t think there was much Tomas Holy could have done about that, as Tomas Holy was unsighted by Adedeji Oshilaja, but I was just relieved that Bristol Rovers failed to convert the re-bound, and maybe, just maybe, this is going to be Gillingham’s Day.

In The Aftermath of that goal-scoring opportunity for Bristol Rovers, The Visitor’s make there second substitution of the match, as Jermaine Easter comes on and replaces Byron Moore, it is another attacking substitution from Darrell Clarke, and Bristol Rovers are determined to pick up all three points against Gillingham and keep there League One Playoff Ambitions Alive, as this substitution shows Bristol Rovers Intentions Very Clearly.

After that substitution from Bristol Rovers, the visitor’s could have capitalised on a dreadful clearance from Tomas Holy, and Gillingham were very lucky that Bristol Rovers weren’t expecting such a dreadful clearance in the first place, otherwise, Bristol Rovers could have taken the lead, However, On The Hour Mark, Gillingham had the chance to open the scoring as Mark Byrne’s Long Throw Into The Heart Of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area is headed clear and out of play at the expense of a corner kick for The Gills, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Lee Martin’s In-Swinging Cross Towards the near post lacked any quality, but Chris Lines headed clearances goes out of play for A Throw On In Bristol Rovers Final Third and Gillingham can try again, unfortunately for Gillingham, Ryan Jackson’s Long Throw which was hurled into the heart of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area was gathered with ease by Goalkeeper Joe Lumley, but Gillingham are putting Bristol Rovers under a bit of pressure here, even if Joe Lumley hasn’t been severely tested in-between the sticks.

Sixty Three Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham turned defence into attack as Lee Martin manages to cut out Tom Lockyer’s Pass, and Lee Martin clears the ball down the line which takes a slight deflection off Tom Lockyer and Joe Quigley keeps the ball in and runs forward in possession of the ball, and Joe Quigley looks to take on Ryan Sweeney with a neat step over, but The Bristol Rovers Defender manages to time his challenge to perfection, however, Gillingham can create a goal-scoring opportunity from the resulting throw on, and not only did Gillingham create a goal-scoring opportunity, but The Gills manage to take the lead, Mark Byrne hurls in an dangerous long throw into the heart of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and Max Ehmer flicks the ball on and the ball ricochets off A Bristol Rovers Defender straight into Josh Wright’s Path, and Josh Wright has fired Gillingham into the lead with a fiercely struck shot and there was nothing that Joe Lumley could have done about that, great strike from Josh Wright, who is on the score-sheet for The Gills Yet Again.

Josh Wright could have scored A Hat-Trick For Gillingham already and it is brilliant to see Josh Wright On The Score-Sheet, and in the aftermath of that goal from Josh Wright, Adrian Pennock makes A Double Substitution For Gillingham as Josh Parker and Rory Donnelly come on for Harry Cornick and Joe Quigley, A Double Substitution that pleased me because Gillingham needed to go for another goal to try and pick up all three points, any attempt to try and defend this 1-0 lead would invite additional pressure on to a defence that is incapable of keeping A Clean Sheet, The Next Twenty Seven Minutes Plus Stoppage Time are going to be huge for Gillingham.

Sixty Six Minutes Into The Match, and Josh Wright is penalised for his challenge on Billy Bodin, And The Bristol Rovers Midfielder picks himself up and dusts himself down before driving in a powerful struck effort towards goal from the resulting free kick and Gillingham do manage to clear there lines, This could well be a backs against the wall performance from The Gills throughout the rest of the match, and we knew that Sheffield United were winning against Port Vale, so if Gillingham can held on for all three points, then those two results combined would be massive for The Gills.

Sixty Eight Minutes Into The Match, and Lee Martin forces Ryan Sweeney to concede A Corner Kick, and Gillingham have the chance to double there advantage from the resulting corner kick, however, Lee Martin’s in-swinging cross is headed clear and away from danger by Tom Lockyer, and in the aftermath of that defensive clearance from Bristol Rovers, Darrall Clarke makes his third and final change as Cristian Montaño replaces Lee Mansell, in what is another attacking substitution from Bristol Rovers to get themselves back into this match.

Seventy Two Minutes Into The Match, and Josh Parker is penalised for his challenge on Jermaine Easter, and from the resulting free kick, Bristol Rovers do in-fact win themselves a penalty, Chris Lines squares the ball to Billy Bodin, who flicks the ball round the corner down towards the right side of the pitch and Adedeji Oshilaja gets to the loose ball first, and Adedeji Oshilaja’s threaded pass down the line is cut out by Tom Lockyer, who not only intercepts the ball, but The Bristol Rovers Defender now has possession of the ball and is bearing down towards Gillingham’s Goal and Adedeji Oshilaja clips Tom Lockyer inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Referee Mark Heywood points to The Penalty Spot, and Adedeji Oshilaja has been shown A Yellow Card for conceding The Penalty Kick.

Why didn’t Adedeji Oshilaja just boot the ball into Row Z ??? - And what is really annoying on two counts is 1. Adedeji Oshilaja has played really well for Gillingham prior to that defensive error and 2. Bristol Rovers can now level the game up at 1-1, And up stepped Billy Bodin to take The Resulting Penalty Kick For Bristol Rovers, and Tomas Holy dived to his left, as Billy Bodin goes straight down the middle, Bristol Rovers equalise for 1-1, and Gillingham have now got Seventeen Minutes Plus Stoppage Time to try and find a winner, The Same-Thing happened against Millwall, Gillingham went 1-0 up in that match and were pegged back to 1-1, and 1-1 wasn’t a bad result, but we can make that Millwall result look so much better if Gillingham can go on and pick up all three points against Bristol Rovers.

And Gillingham have the chance to go back in-front yet again, as Josh Wright plays the ball forward to Lee Martin, who runs down the left wing in possession of the ball, and Lee Martin was looking to whip in a cross, but with two players double marking him, Lee Martin checks the ball back to Rory Donnelly, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Rory Donnelly whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper Joe Lumley doesn’t get the best of contacts to punch the ball and Tom Lockyer has to bail Joe Lumley out of trouble by heading the ball out of play at the expense of A Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Before The Corner Kick Could Be Taken, Tom Lockyer needed treatment from The Bristol Rovers Physio, and when Gillingham could finally take the resulting corner kick, Gillingham could and perhaps should have regained the lead, as Lee Martin whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Cody McDonald’s glancing header flashes wide of Joe Lumley’s Left Hand Post - HUGE CHANCE FOR THE GILLS - And if only that effort from Cody McDonald had hit the back of the net.

Bristol Rovers are looking to turn this match on it’s head in The Seventy Fifth Minute, as The Two Substitutes Jermaine Easter and Cristian Montaño link up very nicely for the visitor’s, and Jermaine Easter tee’s up Cristian Montaño to try his luck from edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, but Cristian Montaño’s effort towards goal is tame and much easier for Tomas Holy to save, but nonetheless it is a save that Tomas Holy is required to make.

Seventy Eight Minutes Into The Match, and Gillingham Win A Free Kick In A Promising Position On The Pitch, as Ryan Sweeney is penalised for his challenge on Rory Donnelly and Gillingham have the chance to regain the lead from the resulting free kick, Unfortunately, Gillingham do not create a clear cut goal-scoring opportunity from the resulting free kick, as Lee Martin’s in-swinging cross towards the far post doesn’t quite manage to pick out Max Ehmer, and Lee Martin’s Cross goes out of play for A Bristol Rovers Goal-Kick.

Eighty and Eighty One Minutes Into The Match, and both teams create one goal-scoring opportunity a piece as both sides are pushing for what surely will be the winning goal, And It Is Gillingham who are looking to make the breakthrough first, as Josh Wright plays the ball out-wide to Lee Martin, who is willing to use his pace to take on Tom Lockyer, and Lee Martin cuts inside into an more central position, before unleashing a driven effort towards goal which sails over Bristol Rovers Crossbar by some considerable distance and fails to test Joe Lumley in-between the sticks, and In The Eighty First Minute Of The Match, It Is Bristol Rovers Turn to try and find that all important winning goal - as I had the opinion that whoever scored next will go on to win the game - Bristol Rovers are moving the ball about very nicely and all three attacking substitutes, Jermaine Easter, Cristian Montaño, and Luke James were involved in the build up play, and Chris Lines plays the ball out-wide to Tom Lockyer, and The Bristol Rovers Defender cut inside and see’s his driven effort towards goal take a huge deflection off Luke James, and that deflection see’s the ball loop up into the air and just wide for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - that was the chance - and I thought for A Moment that Bristol Rovers had taken the lead there.

Eighty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Emmanuel Osadebe comes on to replace Mark Byrne, who was given a warm reception when he was substituted, and at the very least, This Is A Substitution from Adrian Pennock in an attempt to try and win the game, And Gillingham are on top as The Gills are looking to find that all important winning goal, Ryan Jackson has hurled in an dangerous long throw into the heart of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and Max Ehmer wins the initial aerial challenge, but the loose ball falls kindly into Joe Lumley’s grasp, and The Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper boots the ball long down-field and Emmanuel Osadebe headers the ball back into Bristol Rovers half of the pitch and Cristian Montaño mis-kicks the ball and the loose ball falls kindly into Josh Wright’s Path, but Stuart Sinclair times his challenge to perfection and Chris Lines plays the ball forward first time to Cristian Montaño, who runs forward in possession of the ball and Cristian Montaño is tackled and intercepted by Emmanuel Osadebe, who goes on an incredible run forward himself and Emmanuel Osadebe keeps running, and he keeps running, taking the ball away from Cristian Montaño and attempting a fancy flick to go past Lee Brown, but Lee Brown puts himself in a position where he is in-between Emmanuel Osadebe and the ball and Lee Brown manages to get the ball clear.

But the chance is still there for The Gills as Jake Hessenthaler headers the ball down into Josh Wright’s Path, and Josh Wright takes a touch to control the ball, and Josh Wright plays the ball out-wide, and Lee Martin runs forward in possession of the ball, and Lee Martin is up against Bristol Rovers Defender Tom Lockyer one on one, and Lee Martin manages to continue his run forward into Bristol Rovers Penalty Area, lay the ball off to Josh Wright, who threads the ball through first time to Cody McDonald, and Cody McDonald lays the ball off to Josh Wright, who see’s his first time effort towards goal saved by Joe Lumley.

And The Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper tries to get the ball forward quickly yet again, and this time it is Ryan Jackson cutting out Joe Lumley’s quick kick out down-field, and Ryan Jackson’s interception turns into a good pass towards Jake Hessenthaler on the halfway line, and Jake Hessenthaler plays the ball out-wide to Lee Martin, who takes a touch to control the ball before going on a driving run down the left wing - GO ON LEE MARTIN!!!!! - Was My Response, and Lee Martin carries on running forward before passing the ball inside into an more central position towards Rory Donnelly, who manages to retain possession of the ball, and Rory Donnelly runs out-wide towards the left wing, and Rory Donnelly forces Jake Clarke-Salter to slide in and concede A Corner, and the atmosphere inside Priestfield Stadium raises in volume, and maybe, just maybe, Gillingham can take the lead from the resulting corner kick.

From The Resulting Corner Kick, Lee Martin goes short, and I thought we had wasted a decent goal-scoring opportunity, but Adedeji Oshilaja kicks the ball against Lee Brown, and Gillingham can try again from the resulting corner kick, and Gillingham almost take the lead from the resulting corner kick, Lee Martin has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area and Josh Wright gets a glancing header on the ball and Rory Donnelly cannot get a telling touch on the ball at the back-stick to divert the ball goal-wards - GILLINGHAM SHOULD HAVE SCORED!!!!!!! - And will we rule missing that goal-scoring opportunity come the full time whistle ???

And missing that goal-scoring opportunity could and perhaps should have had dire consequences at the other end of the pitch, Eighty Six Minutes Into The Match, and Tomas Holy manages to gather Cristian Montaño’s dangerous in-swinging cross, but Bristol Rovers came very close to taking the lead in The Eighty Seventh Minute, Cristian Montaño has possession of the ball for Bristol Rovers Down The Right Side Of The Pitch On The Halfway Line, and Cristian Montaño plays the ball back to Lee Brown who takes a touch to control the ball, and Lee Brown threads the ball through to Jermaine Easter, who takes a touch to control the ball and Jermaine Easter runs wide towards the left wing before checking back inside and playing the ball back to Stuart Sinclair, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Stuart Sinclair squares the ball to Jake Clarke-Salter on the halfway line, and Jake Clarke-Salter takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball sideways to Ryan Sweeney, who takes a touch to control the ball before running forward in possession of the ball, and Ryan Sweeney tries to thread the ball through to Lee Brown, but Ryan Jackson makes a crucial interception, however, the second hall falls back into Ryan Sweeney’s path, and The Bristol Rovers Defender continue’s his run forward before threading the ball out to Lee Brown on the over-lap, and Lee Brown fires in an dangerous driven cross which is initially blocked by Josh Wright and the second ball would have fallen to Billy Bodin inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, but Adedeji Oshilaja slides in to make a goal-saving interception.

But the chance is still there for Bristol Rovers, as Tom Lockyer plays the ball back to Jake Clarke-Salter who takes a touch to control the ball, and Jake Clarke-Salter turns and evades Lee Martin’s challenge before playing the ball out-wide to Tom Lockyer, who takes a touch to control the ball before playing the ball back to Jake Clarke-Salter, and Jake Clarke-Salter takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Ryan Jackson and Adedeji Oshilaja both challenge Cristian Montaño in the air for the ball, but the second ball falls kindly to Ryan Sweeney, who, on the stretch see’s his shot towards goal bravely saved by Tomas Holy, as The 6’ 9’ Goalkeeper was out very quickly to narrow the angle and Cristian Montaño plays the ball back to Lee Brown, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Lee Brown’s dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post is over-hit, although, Tom Lockyer manages to keep the ball in play and dig out an dangerous in-swinging cross and Tomas Holy is well positioned to make the catch.

And From Here, Tomas Holy boots the ball long down-field and Cody McDonald watches the bounce of the ball very carefully and Cody McDonald brings the ball down, turns past Stuart Sinclair, shifts the ball towards the right side of Bristol Rovers Penalty Area with Stuart Sinclair looking to close down the angle, and Cody McDonald has smashed the ball into the top right corner of the net and there was nothing that Joe Lumley can do about that strike and the roof just came off Priestfield Stadium when Cody McDonald Scored - CODY, CODY CODY!!!!!!!! - Was My Response, and “OH CODY MCDONALD” Could be heard clearly sang around Priestfield Stadium, Now, Can Gillingham hold on for three valuable points ???

Bad News However, is the fact that Tomas Holy is currently down injured and requiring treatment and with Five Minutes Of Added Time Shown By The Fourth Official and with all three substitutes used by Adrian Pennock, Tomas Holy just needs to get himself through the remaining minutes of this match then he can rest up, Thankfully, Tomas Holy was OK to continue playing, big final five additional minutes of added time now, please hold on for the win Gills.

And it is now backs against the wall for The Gills, as Max Ehmer was in the right place at the right time to kick the ball long down-field, Tomas Holy does brilliantly to catch Tom Lockyer’s dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and finally, Cristian Montaño and Jermaine Easter combine nicely for Bristol Rovers down the left side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Right - and Cristian Montaño has tried to pick out Luke James at the back-stick, but Cristian Montaño’s in-swinging cross towards the far post is over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, slowly but surely, Gillingham are getting there and we’re almost closing in on three valuable points for The Gills, and this would be a fantastic way to start The Easter Weekend IF Gillingham can held on for the win.

But not only did Gillingham managed to held on for the win, we made absolutely sure of all three points with a third goal in The Ninety Sixth Minute, Bristol Rovers Have A Throw On Down The Right Side Of The Pitch - Gillingham’s Left - just in our half of the pitch, as Tom Lockyer throws the ball short to Chris Lines, who eventually plays the ball back to Tom Lockyer, who only just manages to play the ball through to Stuart Sinclair, but Josh Wright kicks the ball long down-field to get the ball further away from Gillingham’s Goal, and Joe Lumley gets to the loose ball and The Bristol Rovers Goalkeeper takes several touches on the ball to try and get the ball forward, but Joe Lumley’s clearance is poor and Max Ehmer gets the ball partially clear and away from danger.

However, the second ball falls kindly into Jake Clarke-Salter’s path, and Jake Clarke-Salter kicks the ball long down-field into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Adedeji Oshilaja’s volleyed clearance turns into a decent pass for Cody McDonald to run on to, and Cody McDonald cushions the ball down with his head and Cody McDonald has the calmness and composure in the final third to lift the ball over the advancing Joe Lumley and when the ball dropped into the back of the net, three points for The Gills were guaranteed now, and now we can finally celebrate three points for The Gills, and there was just time left in the match for Bristol Rovers to re-start the game from the kick off, and when Referee Mark Heywood blew his whistle for full time, the celebrations can finally begin.

We made hard work of it, but that win combined with the news coming through that Port Vale lost 3-0 against Sheffield United has given Gillingham a giant step forward in confirming our League One Survival, we’re obviously not quite there just yet, but we’re in a lot better place then we were before kick off, As Colin made his way to the exit, he signalled to me that we’re almost safe now, and we will be talking about that Cody McDonald Goal for some-time to come.

FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 3 - 1 BRISTOL ROVERS

David came over and said that I was correct, I predicted A 3-1 Gillingham Win at Half Time and David went for 2-0, but what a way to win it and what a goal from Cody McDonald, David didn’t stop off to speak for very long, and I mentioned that I would see you at Charlton, I then spoke with Niall and his friend briefly and we were all delighted with the win, and the way Gillingham performed in The Second Half, we created chances, and when we conceded for 1-1, you thought - here we go again - but to score two late goals and win 3-1 was brilliant, there haven’t been many moments where Gillingham have put smiles on our faces this season, but that was defiantly one of them.

The Players Applauded The Supporters as they went around to all three home stands, and then the players huddled in the middle of the pitch for one final post match team talk, and the way Gillingham won against Bristol Rovers, how late we scored both goals, the team huddle at the end of the match, this could well be one of those season defining moments and something we may well look back on at the end of the season, you saw what this win meant to Adrian Pennock as he joined Cody McDonald for the goal celebration for the third goal, and we still had to try and hang on when we got to additional time.

It was also nice to see smiles on Supporters Faces as Lisa, Gary, Mick, Lee and Gary all had smiles on there faces, it has been a difficult season for Gillingham Supporters, there have been more lows then high’s, but that was one of those matches which makes up for all of the disappointment, we needed someone to step up and win this match, and that is precisely what Cody McDonald has done, and now, The Millwall Result looks really good and Gillingham go to Charlton Athletic On Easter Monday full of confidence, the way we won against Bristol Rovers late on means that we go into this huge derby game on Easter Monday with our morale much higher then it was at the start of the game, and Gillingham should take at least 2,000 supporters to The Valley On Easter Monday.

I made sure I had everything on me before making my way to the exit, and I got speaking to James’s Dad first and foremost, who picked out Gillingham V Bristol Rovers as our most likely fixture on the fixtures list that was winnable for Gillingham and we have picked up all three points in a match that we needed to win, and when Bristol Rovers equalised from the penalty spot, I thought that was it and Gillingham were going to draw 1-1 again, but to win the way we did will give the players confidence and us as supporters will start to feel more optimistic about our survival prospects now, and also, to go into The Charlton Athletic Game full of confidence, we also spoke about how The Millwall Point looks a very good point now.

I then started speaking with James Post Match, And Me and James both mentioned that we voted for Cody McDonald For Gillingham’s Player Of The Season, And everyone was speaking about that goal that Cody McDonald scored for 2-1 and the goal for 3-1 wasn’t bad either, and when you look at the players who are going to be out of contract this summer, Cody McDonald is one player you can say with any certainty that you would offer him a new deal, we were starting to feel more confidant about Gillingham retaining our League One Status for the following season, but we were also not too over-confidant, knowing full well that survival hasn’t been assured on a mathematical basis, but the win against Bristol Rovers has seen Gillingham take a giant stride forwards in our attempts to retain our League One Status.

Also, I recommend that you check out James’s YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq75ABWSDUtT_26Vn3cY1Ig/videos - James, Reece and co do an incredible job with The Last Waltz Blog and I recommend that you check out there content.

I then got speaking with Clive, Gary and Diane after the game, and one of the things Gary and Clive were speaking about is how would you judge this season overall and do we consider Gillingham retaining our League One Status as a level of success, Clive Said Yes, Me and Gary Said No, I mentioned that Gillingham retaining our League One Status would be pleasing, but it is more of a sigh of relief then achieving a level of success, especially when you look at the quality of players Gillingham have signed this season, Paul Konchesky, Billy Knott, Scott Wagstaff, Chris Herd, Jamie O’Hara, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Frank Nouble and Lee Martin, when we signed all of these players, we signed these players as Gillingham made a genuine attempt to try and challenge for the playoffs, and when Paul Scally made A Managerial Change and Appointed Adrian Pennock as Gillingham Manager, Paul Scally wanted Gillingham to challenge for the playoffs, well, on that basis then Adrian Pennock has failed because Gillingham are no-where near A Playoff Position In League One.

Onto another subject, and Gary mentioned that Baily Cargill could win Young Player Of The Season, And Jay Emmanuel-Thomas Wins Goal Of The Season, both players currently not at the club, and I actually voted for Baily Cargill for Gillingham’s YOTS And I voted for Jay Emmanuel-Thomas for GOTS As Well, I had also voted for Cody McDonald for Gillingham’s Player Of The Season, most likely, Josh Wright will win the award, but I think that Cody McDonald is just as deserving of the award in my opinion, it is between Josh Wright, Cody McDonald and Stuart Nelson for the main award as they have been Gillingham’s Most Consistent Players This Season.

Some Of Our Supporters have the opinion that it is time to release Cody McDonald in the summer and they are fully entitled to have that opinion, But Gary mentioned that to replace Cody McDonald, your talking about spending £300,000 on A Striker who has a similar track record that Cody McDonald has got, and even then, there are no guarantee’s that striker will be as successful, Luke Norris, Rory Donnelly and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas have come in to try and claim Gillingham’s Number One Striker Role and while Luke Norris did very well last season, Rory Donnelly scored ten goals in ten games in The 2015 / 2016 season, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas was scoring on a consistent basis in the first half of this season, Cody McDonald is still our top goal-scoring striker in a team that really has struggled.

Gary also mentioned that we haven’t had A Consistent Strike-Partner who can get the best out of Cody McDonald, Josh Parker, Rory Donnelly, Joe Quigley and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas have played alongside Cody McDonald this season, and the two players who have played successfully alongside Cody McDonald are not available, Adebayo Akinfenwa has signed A New Contract With Wycombe Wanderers, and John Marquis is scoring goals for fun for Doncaster Rovers and he is being linked with moves to Championship Clubs, while it is well documented that the defence needs a good sort out in the summer, we defiantly can do with better attacking options, and if Gillingham had a reliable strike-partner alongside Cody McDonald, then Cody McDonald would be in-between 15 - 20 goals this season.

I then mentioned to Gary that Gillingham have won and Stephen isn’t here this time to watch Gillingham Play, but Stephen will be going to Charlton Athletic Away On Easter Monday - A Match that Stephen, Myself and many others are looking forward to - and we can enjoy going to The Valley a bit more now that Gillingham have picked up all three points against Bristol Rovers, Me and Diane had put wins for our NoirCat League Predictions, and Gary added that I am surely closing in on promotion now, while I know that Stephen is desperate to achieve promotion into The Premier League and bounce back at the first attempt.

Gary then headed off and Me and Diane then said C Ya To Gary while we waited by The Players Entrance, and Me and Diane got speaking with Scott Wagstaff, and Scott Wagstaff mentioned that he might be back for the final game of the season against Northampton Town, but if Gillingham are safe by then, then Scott Wagstaff won’t be risked at Sixfields, Hopefully, Gillingham are in a situation where our League One Status is safe and secured before the final league game of the season, so that we can go to Northampton Town and enjoy the day.

While Me And Diane waited by The Players Entrance, we checked The League One Table and Gillingham moved up to Seventeenth In League One and Four Points Clear Of The League One Relegation Zone, which was very good news, and while I was waiting by The Players Entrance, I sent the following tweets On Twitter,,,,,,,,, I replied to Rob’s Tweet Mentioned That,,,, But don't we make hard work of it though.,,, I sent the following Tweet To Brad,,, Well Brad We did it, three massive massive points for The Gills Today.,,, I Tweeted About Cody McDonald, Mentioning That, Gillingham have got to do everything we can to keep hold of Cody McDonald, Those Two Goals from Cody Today could keep Gills in League One.,,, And I asked Rocket-Man Did you go to Vale Park Today ???

While we were waiting for the players and congratulating them on there performance, Diane asked me what day and time was The NoirCat Presentation Evening, and I sent Gary The Following Message On Facebook, Hello Gary, Diane wants to know what day is The NoirCat Presentation Night ??? - I got A Response Later On With Gary Telling Me that it is on It's Friday the 19th of May, But At The Time I didn’t get a response, and I told Diane that I would let her know as soon as Gary replies back to me.

We were also starting our planning and preparation for Charlton Athletic Away, Diane wanted to know what time were going to leave, and Me, Stephen and Diane spent plenty of time planning over the weekend on what time we wanted to leave, 10.30AM Was Mentioned, but that was too early for Stephen as he had to get the train from Faversham, Diane asked me about parking and I mentioned The Car Park opposite The Railway Crossing and there is a slip road next to Rainham Train Station where Diane could park, Diane mentioned that she would look around for somewhere to park, while I will ask about the train times at Rainham Train Station - We eventually decided on The 11.15AM Train to Charlton, but ti took plenty of time for the three of us to plan that.

After speaking to the players after the game, Me, Diane, Alan and Ethan made a move, I stopped off at Sainsbury’s To Buy A 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola for £1.30 and Diane brought a few bits and pieces as well, Charlton Athletic was the next match, a match we were looking forward to and a match that Stephen was especially looking forward to, I Said C Ya to Diane, before walking back with Gary to Gillingham Train Station, Gary added that The Second Half Was Perhaps one of Gillingham’s Better Performances, and Gary added that the view from The Rainham End, Cody McDonald’s Goal looked really good and I might not have seen precisely how good that goal was from where I was sitting, I will need to see this goal again, and having seen The Highlights since then, The Goal From Cody McDonald looks better and better the more times you see it, this wasn’t a goal to make the score-line 5-0, this was a last gasp winner in The Ninetieth Minute, it was an important goal and that is what makes this goal so special.

Cody is the one player out of contract you would offer a contract to right now, I mentioned to Gary that The Millwall Result looks an even better result with Gillingham winning against Bristol Rovers, while our chances of winning against Millwall were slim, to pick up four points out of six out of these two matches is excellent, and now we go to Charlton Athletic full of confidence and four points from our last two league matches, Gary asked me how I was going to Charlton, and I mentioned that we were going up via train.

As we arrived at Gillingham Train Station, there was a bit go a wait for The 18.35PM Train, so Gary decided not to wait on The Platform while I did, and Gary Said C Ya To Me, and while I was waiting on Platform Three, I rang up Stewart to tell him the score and that Gillingham had won and we were four points clear of The League One Relegation Zone, and that he would need to have a look at Cody McDonald’s winning goal again.

As The 18.35PM Train Arrived At Gillingham Train Station, I got on the train and I checked a few messages on Facebook And Twitter, I arrived in Rainham at 18.40PM, Went To George’s Plaice to Buy A Small Portion Of Chips and Two Jumbo Plain Sausages for £5.10, And once I got My Change Back, I made The Fifteen To Twenty Minute Walk back home again, all in all, a brilliant result for Gillingham, and hopefully Gillingham can build on this win against Bristol Rovers in our up and coming league games against Charlton Athletic and Fleetwood Town - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#Gillingham #BristolRovers #CodyMcDonald #Football

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