Gillingham v Port Vale-Match Thread

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

We`re back at Priestfield for a big game this Saturday.A win on Saturday would push a little bit further away from the drop zone and keep the unbeaten run going.A defeat would more than likely put us in the bottom four.

Team? Doughty is back from his suspension,Ehmer could make his debut infront of the Gillingham faithful.Loft will be hoping to impress against his former side.

I wont be at the game as I am taking my kids to see the Faversham Christmas lights being turned on,but I will be at the JPT Area Semi-Final Match the following Saturday.

[fan_of_mulligan]

I think Gillingham will line up as follows.......................

----------------------------------Nelson-------------------------------------
Hoyte----------------Legge----------------Egan-------------------Chicksen
--------Hessenthaler------------Loft------------------Doughty-------------
Dack---------------------------------------------------------------Dickenson
-------------------------------McDonald--------------------------------------

Subs: G.Morris (GK), Ehmer, Pritchard, McGlashan, Norris, Kedwell, German

With Max Ehmer and Harry Lennon signing in loan and Michael Doughty back from suspension, Peter Taylor has got a real selection headache in defence and midfield, does he start Max Ehmer alongside Leon Legge and John Egan in a 5.3.2 / 3.5.2 formation or does he bring Michael Doughty back into the starting line up and play 4.5.1 / 4.3.3, I have gone for the latter formation which is what we played against Leyton Orient in that incredible 3-2 win two week's a go which means that Michael Doughty, Doug Loft and Jake Hessenthaler will play in a midfield trio (personally I would push one of them further forward to support Cody McDonald), but I can see all three of them occupying the same space in the middle of the park.

My surprise inclusion would be Bradley Dack starting on the right wing with Jermaine McGlashan likely to come on past the hour mark if we need to stretch Port Vale's defence where McGlashan can use his pace against tiring defenders, after a impressive start to the season Dack has gone backwards to being an impact sub again and I would like to see Dack start and give him the freedom to join Cody McDonald in attack, Dack is capable of scoring some spectacular goals so let's put Dack in a position where he can hurt the opposition.

The last two matches have seen crucial goals from substitutes in injury time (McDonald against Leyton Orient and German against Bradford City), I hope we don't have to require injury time again to score a winning / drawing goal, but at least we have shown character to compete until the last kick of the game.

What are the odds though that Peter Taylor names a completely different starting eleven and I am still clueless at guessing what team he will name come 2.15PM Tomorrow Afternoon

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

I think we will go with two upfront FOM.You can never be sure what Team Taylor will put out,but we need to play two upfront at home.

[lidbid46]

Had a rant elsewhere on here, but still cross!

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

I only listened to one half as I was out at the Faversham Christmas Lights.But after we scored we seem to be the stronger side until I stopped listening.Loft coming close a couple of times,Cody with a header,and Hoyte also had a chance.I was gutted when I came home to find we drew the game in the 93rd minute after Egan put us ahead early in the second half.It does seem Taylor`s tactics have cost us a bit,and Nelson`s mistake for their goal.Lets hope this does not come back to haunt us come what May.Our Defenders cannot stop scoring,and are showing our Strikers up! Egan with two goals,one which was from 30 yards add that to his defensive displays we have a cracking player on our hands.At least we`re unbeaten in 4 games in all Competitions.

We have a week off from the League now,and the JPT Area Semi-Final next week against Orient is a great chance for some positivity.The crowd for the game looks set to be way lower than Bristol City,but the players will need the fans behind them.

[fan_of_mulligan]

A Couple of talking points I will go through before talking about the match in general.

1. For the second home match in a row Gillingham have conceded a equaliser in injury time because we were holding on and while this tactic worked in League Two under Martin Allen, I don't think we have got the players to try and hold on to a win in League One because we are up against better teams with better players, (against Leyton Orient we got lucky because Cody McDonald scored a late late winner) I know we're trying to protect our slender lead, but by dropping deeper and deeper we only invited more pressure on our own goal, and surely experienced players like Doug Loft, Leon Legge and Stuart Nelson needed to try and push the team ten yards further forward, if the instructions from the sidelines are not getting across to the players then surely the players need to take responsibility and push the team further up the pitch ???

2. Once again a defender has scored a brace, against Leyton Orient Leon Legge scored twice and against Port Vale it was John Egan's turn to score two goals in the same match, it is great to see the defenders getting themselves on the score-sheet and we need to see more goals from all area's of the pitch, but John Egan and Leon Legge scoring for The Gills highlights the problems we have got up-front, because I don't think any combination of Cody McDonald, Danny Kedwell, Antonio German, Brennan Dickenson or Luke Norris works up-front for The Gills.

Antonio German has come back in pre-season with the right attitude but I don't think he can cut it for Gillingham in League One, Luke Norris is a un-tried youngster who has been hit and miss this season and Brennan Dickenson is more likely to be played on the left wing then down the middle as a central striker, and that leaves our main two strikers of Danny Kedwell and Cody McDonald, neither have formed a lethal partnership up-front which will score and create goals and Cody McDonald needs a strike-partner to play alongside who is going to provide him the sort of service he thrives on, I also think that since coming back from injury that Danny Kedwell hasn't been as fit as he was before the injury, his recent penalty miss against Leyton Orient could of proven costly had we lost or drawn that game but Cody McDonald's late winner sparred Danny Kedwell of any criticism.

With Rumours of Danny Kedwell likely to leave the club on loan, Danny Kedwell being an unused substitute against Port Vale and speculation about who we are trying to sign, then it is clear that Peter Taylor is looking to strengthen our weakest area of the pitch by bringing in another striker, if that means Danny Kedwell leaves the club then it is unfortunate and I do want to see Danny Kedwell stay at Gillingham Football Club, but if there is a striker available who can come in and score and create enough goals to keep Gillingham in League One then this unknown player is someone we need to go for, even if Danny Kedwell stays, we need to sign someone who will push Kedwell out of the starting eleven and Danny Kedwell becomes an impact sub / squad player for the 2015 / 2016 season, when you strengthen your squad, you cut off from the bottom and add better reinforcements in at the top - well that tends to be the plan anyway.

FIRST HALF.........

I didn't like the 5.3.2 system that Gillingham started with against Port Vale (although changing the formation in the second half really did mess things up), I could understand playing five in midfield with Jermaine McGlashan and Brennan Dickenson out-wide, but I just felt that 5.3.2 was too negative for a home game, even more so when you consider that Michael Doughty, Jake Hessenthaler and Doug Loft were occupying the same space on the pitch and it felt like de ja vue again when I mentioned to Wainscotty that one of those three needed to push forward and support Cody McDonald and Brennan Dickenson - because that is what we said for the home match against Leyton Orient.

Brennan Dickenson headered Jake Hessenthaler's corner kick wide of Chris Neal's left hand post when I thought Leon Legge had headered the ball wide in the seventh minute, and Michael Brown and Mark Marshall have forced Stuart Nelson to make routine saves in the opening stages of the match and Port Vale looked the better team and looked the more balanced side with Mark Marshall and Dany N’Guessan, playing on both wings and Ben Williamson playing as the lone striker, where as Gillingham were playing long balls forward to Brennan Dickenson and Cody McDonald and when Brennan Dickenson did take on and go past Adam Yates, he would only have Cody McDonald to cross the ball to in Port Vale's Penalty Area.

Eighteen Minutes into the match and Port Vale Opened the scoring, Dany N’Guessan skips past Michael Doughty's challenge and passes the ball inside to Michael O'Connor who goes past Jake Hessenthaler who was reluctant to concede a foul and Dany N’Guessan takes one touch to control the ball and another to blast the ball into the bottom right corner of the net and there was nothing Stuart Nelson could of done to save that shot as Dany N’Guessan's shot bounced right in-front of Stuart Nelson, I felt our defence stood off Dany N’Guessan and no-one really attempted to put in a challenge and it was bad enough going 1 - 0 down, even worse to go 1 - 0 down playing 5.3.2, because the way Gillingham had lined up was for a game where we were winning or drawing, trying to pull ourselves back on level terms is going to be very difficult playing with a wing back system.

And 1-0 was almost 2 - 0 as Mark Marshall capitalize's on a dreadful defensive error by Leon Legge on the edge of our penalty area and Mark Marshall uses his pace to go past Gavin Hoyte and pulls the ball across Gillingham's six yard box and at least Leon Legge redeemed himself by getting back into position and clearing the ball away from danger, had Leon Legge not been there then Dany N’Guessan would of increased Port Vale's lead to 2 - 0, and having almost conceded, Gillingham made it 1-1 in The Twenty Eight Minute as John Egan runs with the ball inside Port Vale's half of the pitch and plays a neat one / two with Jake Hessenthaler, and John Egan cuts inside on to his stronger left foot which fools Louis Dodds and John Egan's shot on goal from twenty five yards out goes right into the bottom right corner of the net and there was nothing Chris Neal could of done to stop John Egan from equalising, precisely what Gillingham needed because that goal gave The Gillingham Supporters a much needed lift.

That goal lifted Gillingham's performance levels because Doug Loft very nearly scored against his former club in the thirty first minute as Gavin Hoyte goes in a fantastic run inside and looked to have lost possession of the ball to Michael O'Connor and Gavin Hoyte was just able to poke the ball through to Doug Loft who's first time shot was easy for Chris Neal to save as Doug Loft went for placement rather then power, three minutes after that Cody McDonald headers Adam Chicksen's cross over the crossbar.

The final five minutes plus stoppage time saw both teams create goal-scoring opportunities and both sides could of re-taken the lead, Mark Marshall uses his pace to take on Michael Doughty and Leon Legge and Mark Marshall's low cross looked to have been dealt with by John Egan, but Egan's poor first touch allowed Ben Williamson to tackle him and Louis Dodds curling shot on target was heading for the top right corner of the net only for Stuart Nelson to make a out-standing acrobat save and Stuart Nelson gathered the ball at the second attempt, Gillingham then had three great chances to score just before half time, the first of these efforts from Brennan Dickenson would of been goal of the season had Dickenson scored, Brennan Dickenson hit a piledriver of a shot from twenty five yards out and somehow Chris Neal managed to tip the ball on to the top of the crossbar and Gillingham only had a corner kick, Jake Hessenthaler swung in the resulting corner kick which was cleared initially by Port Vale and Michael Doughty plays the ball back to Doug Loft who's first time shot went through a penalty area packed with players and Chris Neal does brilliantly to dive to his right and palm the ball away from danger and out of play for a throw on, I cannot believe that Brennan Dickenson and Doug Loft had not scored for The Gills and just before half time would of been the perfect time to score as well.

And right at the end of the first half, Adam Chicksen and Brennan Dickenson combined nicely down the left and Adam Chicksen gets to the byline and pulls the ball back to Gavin Hoyte who somehow skies the ball over the crossbar from eight yards out, really we wanted Cody McDonald to be on the end of that chance and half time also came at the wrong time for The Gills as we had built up some decent momentum and we really needed to see Brennan Dickenson, Gavin Hoyte or Doug Loft covert one of those chances, not scoring when we have been on top has come back to bite us on the backside and maybe those misses did prove to be costly when you consider The Full Time Score.

HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 1 - 1 PORT VALE

[fan_of_mulligan]

SECOND HALF..............

Port Vale were on top for the opening stages of The Second Half as Stuart Nelson punched clear a dangerous in-swinging corner kick and then gathered the second ball as Port Vale got to the second ball first as Gillingham had everyone back defending the corner kick, Stuart Nelson also got a very strong arm on to the ball as he saved a one v one effort with Ben Williamson almost scoring for Port Vale as the visitors continued to build on there excellent start to the first half and Stuart Nelson has kept Gillingham in the match otherwise Port Vale might be out of sight by now.

Gillingham wasted a fantastic chance to go in-front after fifty three minutes as Doug Loft's shot went wide of Chris Neal right hand post when Gavin Hoyte was in an excellent position to be threaded through on a over-lapping run, and a minute later Gillingham had a even better chance to score as Brennan Dickenson's cross from the right went over Cody McDonald's head but Michael Doughty was unmarked at the far post and his scuffed shot was on target and had to be turned behind for a corner kick by Chris Neal, not the cleanest of strike's but sometimes the mis-kicked efforts catch the goalkeeper out and do hit the back of the net, After those two goal-scoring chances for The Gills, Gillingham scored in The Fifty Fifth Minute as John Egan's powerful header from Michael Doughty's corner kick was almost kept out by Chris Neal, but the ball crept over the line and Gillingham had turned the game on it's head to lead 2 - 1.

Having taken the lead Gillingham almost conceded as Frederic Veseli runs from one end of the pitch to the other before threading the ball through to Mark Marshall who see's his shot saved by Stuart Nelson at the near post and Max Ehmer's mis-kick allowed Mark Marshall to try again but his shot was blocked and finally gathered by Stuart Nelson, Michael O'Connor and Dany N’Guessan also have goal-scoring opportunities in what had been a promising spell for Port Vale, Leon Legge could of made the afternoon more comfortable as his looping header from Jake Hessenthaler's free kick just went over Chris Neal's crossbar and Leon Legge almost scored a carbon copy of the first goal he scored against Leyton Orient in our 3-2 win two weeks a go.

Port Vale had two great chances to score in the seventy second and seventy fourth minutes of the match respectively, in the seventy second minute, a long ball down-field was headered half clear by Max Ehmer and Michael Brown's first time shot was blocked by John Egan, but Colin Daniels shot hit the inside of the post, stayed out and Leon Legge cleared the re-bound and there was nothing Stuart Nelson could of done about that, and Port Vale had a even better chance in The Seventy Fourth Minute as Dany N'Guessan skies a one v one effort with Stuart Nelson over the crossbar from just eight yards out.

I have to say that I was nervous and animated through-out Saturday's Match, because I knew how important it was for Gillingham to pick up all three points and Wainscotty can vounch for my nervousness as I had my head in my hands at times, sighing with relief and frustration at the same-time and chanting "COME ON GILLS!!!" For what had been the hundredth time, maybe I knew what was coming at the end because of my nervousness, but Port Vale just created so many goal-scoring opportunities that they could of score 4-5 goals on there performance in the second half, Michael Brown had a shot that went across the face of goal and just wide of Stuart Nelson's left hand post and in added time Port Vale hit the crossbar as there was some serious pinball action inside Gillingham's Penalty Area and Michael O'Connor's shot is blocked by Max Ehmer, Loius Dodds shot is blocked by Leon Legge by Dodds reacts first to the second ball and smashed it against the underside of Gillingham's Crossbar and somehow Gillingham managed to get away with that and I thought Gillingham survived a lucky escape and we will hang on for all three points - Did Stuart Nelson tip that shot on to the crossbar ??? - I am sure those in Block C Of The Medway Stand can answer that question for me.

But Port Vale did equalise right at the very end of the game, Carl Dickenson's cross is headered clear by Leon Legge but Michael O'Connor headers the ball inside to Michael Brown who skips past half hearted challenges from Bradley Dack and Doug Loft and Michael Brown's shot is deflected and somehow finds the back of the net and Port Vale equalise with the last kick of the game, you had to say that the goal was coming because of how Gillingham just sat back and invited pressure on our own goal and sadly it is a costly mistake by Stuart Nelson and it is a mistake that has cost us a valuable win, but I also think that the saves that Stuart Nelson made throughout the rest of the match made sure that Gillingham got something from the game, gutted to concede a late equaliser though.

FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 2 - 2 PORT VALE

I got to mention the three substitutions Gillingham used during the match, I had no problem with Antonio German coming on for Cody McDonald, now if Gavin Hoyte was fatigued or injured then why not bring on Harry Lennon and play him at right wing back ??? - while I disagreed with the 5.3.2 system at home, changing to a back four and moving John Egan to right back was pushing the self destruct button, surely Max Elmher should of been the player to move to right back as Leon Legge and John Egan have played alongside each other a lot recent, Bradley Dack should of never come on, by the time Dack came on in the eighty eighth minute Gillingham were hanging on and Amine Linganzi would of been a better option, or a even better suggestion, couldn't Michael Doughty stay on the pitch for the rest of the match and see the game out ???

McGlashan could of come on for Brennan Dickenson and we could of used McGlashan's pace much higher and in a much beneficial area of the pitch for Gillingham, Peter Taylor deserved credit for his substitutions against Leyton Orient and Bradford City, but I felt the three attacking substitutions when Gillingham were trying to see the game out did not help our cause at all and our substitutions helped Port Vale more then they helped us.

I thought Cody McDonald put in a very poor performance against Port Vale and while the service and support to him was not great, I don't think Cody McDonald works hard enough in the final third - maybe he is being instructed to stay in the middle and not chase lost causes, but his performances recently have not been good enough, I do think Cody McDonald needs a strike-partner who is going to give him the service he will thrive on, if that means Danny Kedwell out to get someone in then I think that is something Peter Taylor will need to do - I like Danny Kedwell for his work-rate and commitment to the cause, but we need someone up-front who can hold the ball up, flick the ball on and score goals at this level, those players tend to cost big money and there not easy to find either, as Danny Kedwell is one of our senior players he is probably one of our higher wage earners.

To end on a positive, Gillingham have won two and drawn two of our last four matches so we are on a unbeaten run, but had we held on for another minute it would of been three wins and one draw, we're also seeing goals spread around the team as Antonio German, Cody McDonald, Doug Loft, Jermaine McGlashan, Leon Legge x2 and John Egan x2 have scored in the last four games, would of been nice to go into The Leyton Orient match off the back of a all important league win.

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

Cheers FOM,It was a long read though!

[gillsfan1066]

My vote for best fan on the Board ........KFG, what a guy, he read the whole dam thing and still had the energy to type a few words on the old key board of thanks.
I tried but when I couldn't find anything about the price of coke (sniff sniff), or the bit about who drove to the game, I just stopped reading, Miss FM how COULD you leave the best bit out ??
Wonderful report on the game, I feel I was there, and still am.