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fan-of-mulligan · 2 years

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FOM BLOG: GILLINGHAM 1-0 SUTTON UNITED - LEAGUE TWO - 2022 / 2023 SEASON

With the train strikes affecting travel to Priestfield Stadium For Saturday 1st October 2022, I got a lift over to the ground, and I know many other supporters who had to make alternative travel plans for Gillingham V Sutton United, and there are also train strikes for Crewe Alexandra V Gillingham, which will affect how supporters will travel to Gresty Road the following Saturday, But the train strikes combined with the traffic problems on The A249 meant additional difficulty getting to the ground for Gillingham V Sutton United

When I arrived outside Priestfield Stadium at 13.30PM, (After I went to Sainsbury’s to buy A 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola and something to eat) I spoke with a few supporters regarding Hartlepool United 0-0 Gillingham, Now in isolation, A 0-0 Draw away from home would be considered a respectable result, but with Gillingham only scoring two goals in ten league matches, and Gillingham having only scored four goals in thirteen competitive matches this season, the lack of goals scored combined with Gillingham’s low league position in League Two is very concerning, also, there were question marks surrounding Neil Harris’s tactical decisions away at Hartlepool United, Lewis Walker and Joe Gbode did not come on to freshen up our attacking options, Cheye Alexander came on to replace Stuart O’Keefe who was substituted because of injury, and Gillingham were playing for the point in the closing stages of the match, and Gillingham held on for the point thanks to a excellent save from Glenn Morris, and had Hartlepool United won the match late on, Gillingham would have dropped into the relegation zone in League Two.

But what was even more concerning about The 0-0 draw against Hartlepool United was the lack of creativity, it’s not like we can point to a encouraging performance and Gillingham just came up against A Hartlepool United Goalkeeper who made six or seven fantastic saves and the performance was superb and Gillingham just came up against A Goalkeeper who was outstanding on the day, Because the goalkeeper who put in the outstanding performance was Glenn Morris, and Ryan Law also made an important goal-line clearance right at the end of the first half as well, and looking at the attacking options Gillingham have got in Mikael Mandron, Scott Kashket, Lewis Walker, Jordan Green and Hakeeb Adelakun - Scott Kashket and Mikael Mandron are good signings at this level, Hakeeb Adelakun was superb at Scunthorpe United and he has plenty of experience playing League One and League Two Football, Jordan Green has got pace, and Gillingham have taken a chance on Lewis Walker, But in the summer, Neil Harris spoke about adding pace, physicality and power to this Gillingham Side, and if I was Neil Harris, I am looking at the free agent market to sign another striker and looking at signing someone like Tom Elliott or look at alternative options like Theo Robinson and Leon Clarke, Tom Elliott is the striker who stands out because he fits the description of a physical aerial presence up-front, and Gillingham can do with signing A Target-Man Type Of Striker, Because Mikael Mandron doesn’t win the ball often enough in the air for Gillingham.

Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Social Media, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows….. Glenn Morris, Cheye Alexander, Will Wright, Max Ehmer, Ryan Law, Jordan Green, Robbie McKenzie, Shaun Williams, Hakeeb Adelakun, Scott Kashket, Mikael Mandron SUBS: Jake Turner (GK), Hagi Mnoga, Elkan Baggott, Alex MacDonald, Lewis Walker, and Joe Gbode - Stuart O’Keefe not included in the squad wasn’t too much of a surprise, but there is no Ben Reeves, Olly Lee, Dom Jefferies, David Tutonda, and Josh Chambers clearly wasn’t going to be included in the match-day squad for Gillingham against Sutton United.

But with only six substitutes on the bench, and this time it isn’t because of no club development player on the bench because Joe Gbode is in the match-day squad, the injuries are pilling up and five of the players mentioned are midfielders in Olly Lee, Ben Reeves, Stuart O’Keefe, Dom Jefferies and Josh Chambers, and it is a good thing that Gillingham have re-signed Josh Chambers, Because Gillingham’s options in midfield are looking very depleted at the moment, But one change which has not happened is Elkan Baggott starting for Gillingham against Sutton United, Because Elkan Baggott must be suffering the affects of jet-lag having traveled back from Indonesia to England, and that is a very long flight as well.

And after going into The Ticket Office to buy away tickets for Doncaster Rovers, Crewe Alexandra and Leyton Orient, as well as buying tickets for home matches against Brighton & Hove Albion’s U21’s And Colchester United In The Football League Trophy, I made my way to The Family Enclosure Entrance For The Medway Stand, showed My Season Ticket at the gate, walked through the turnstiles before queuing up to buy two match-day programmes at The Kiosk for £6, and I made my way towards my seat towards The Back Of The Medway Stand Lower.

I got speaking to Season Ticket Holders sitting behind me about Gillingham’s 0-0 draw away against Hartlepool United, a match which saw Gillingham wear a brand new yellow away kit because Gillingham’s Home And Away Kits both clashed with Hartlepool United’s Home Shirt, And Hartlepool United have got a dreadful winless run and there was an opportunity for Gillingham to pick up three points against another side down the bottom of end of League Two and slowly move up The League Two Table, now, if Gillingham were to win against Sutton United, then that point the previous week looks a better point and Gillingham will have picked up four points from two matches against Hartlepool United and Sutton United, but the real concern is where are the goals going to come from ???

And perhaps this is why Neil Harris is starting Jordan Green, Hakeeb Adelakun, Scott Kashket and Mikael Mandron, with the thought process being all four players on the pitch at the same-time are going to cause Sutton United problems defensively, and that may well mean that Gillingham have to be vulnerable defensively to try and create more goal-scoring opportunities against Sutton United, similar to how Gillingham played against Grimsby Town, Where Gillingham drew 1-1 and had two goals disallowed for offside, both goals were scored by Mikael Mandron in that game, but perhaps this is how Gillingham need to play to create goal-scoring opportunities and score more goals.

Both teams then walked out on to the pitch at Priestfield Stadium As Gillingham host Sutton United in this important League Two Fixture, prior to kick off, Sutton United come into this fixture sitting in Thirteenth Position in League Two with four wins, two draws and four defeats and fourteen points from ten matches played, Gillingham are Twentieth In League Two with one win, four draws and five defeats from ten matches played, A Win for Gillingham would move The Gills on to ten points and Gillingham would slowly move themselves up The League Two Table, And let’s hope that Gillingham can pick up all three points against Sutton United - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

At least Referee David Rock doesn’t switch ends, which means that Gillingham are kicking towards The Brian Moore Stand In The First Half, And Sutton United are kicking towards The Rainham End, Which means that Gillingham are kicking towards The Rainham End In The Second Half, Sutton United Supporters are situated in the end two blocks in The Gordon Road Stand, for the supporters who have made it to Priestfield Stadium, they have done well to navigate the busy traffic and having to deal with the additional problems of the train strikes, which makes traveling a bit more difficult for supporters who usually travel via rail to home and away matches.

And the first noteworthy moment of the match see’s Scott Kashket win a throw on for Gillingham by kicking the ball against Rob Milsom, And Gillingham have won a throw on in Sutton United’s Final Third Down The Medway Stand Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw, Robbie McKenzie hurls in a long dangerous throw and Omar Bugiel wins the first aerial challenge and Craig Eastmond boots the ball clear with a up and under clearance for Sutton United and Shaun Williams headers the ball down the line towards Jordan Green and Jordan Green works his way into a crossing position before seeing his cross charged down by Louis John at the expense of conceding a corner for Gillingham, and from the resulting corner kick, Shaun Williams whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Coby Rowe headers the ball wide and away from goal and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Throw Down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw, Robbie McKenzie throws the ball short to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adlakun is twisting and turning and using his skill to take on both Harry Beautyman and Josh Neufville, And Hakeeb Adelakun’s cross from the byline goes out of play for A Sutton United Goal-Kick - What we have seen in the opening stages is how Sutton United are capable of dealing with the aerial threats from long throws and corner kicks, Because Sutton United are another tall physical side in League Two, so any set play for Gillingham has got to be exceptional delivery for Gills to test Sutton United defensively.

Three Minutes Into The Match, And Cheye Alexander has kicked the ball into touch for A Sutton United Throw, And From The Resulting Throw, Sutton United show there first attacking intent of the match, Rob Milsom hurls the ball long down the line and Jordan Green wins the initial challenge and gets the ball under control before being challenged robustly by Omar Bugiel and Rob Milsom passes the ball down the line towards Will Randall, And Will Randall runs inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area in possession of the ball, And Will Randall passes the ball square to Joe Kizzi on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Joe Kizzi lays the ball off to Josh Neufville, and Josh Neufville passes the ball back to Craig Eastmond, who threads through a low through-ball first time and Max Ehmer makes the important clearance and Louis John has possession of the ball for Sutton United, And Louis John’s speculative effort from distance is blocked by Robbie McKenzie, and the ball ricochets out of play for A Sutton United Throw On.

And once the ball has gone out of play, Jordan Green can get some treatment from the physio’s, And after a moment or two of getting some treatment, Jordan Green is back on his feat, but even though Jordan Green is back on his feat, that knock is a cause for concern, Because Ben Reeves, Olly Lee, Stuart O’Keefe, Dom Jefferies and David Tutonda are all sidelined because of injury, and Gillingham have only been able to name six substitutes on the bench for Gillingham V Sutton United, OK, Josh Chambers has signed and he is deemed not fit enough to make the squad for this match, but there are still plenty of players who are unavailable because of injury, and does Neil Harris start to look at the free agent market if players are sidelined because of injury for three or four weeks, or maybe consider promoting some young players into the first team to cover some gaps in the squad ???

Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Sutton United created the first clear cut goal-scoring opportunity of the game so far, Sutton United have a throw on in Gillingham’s Final Third Down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, And Joe Kizzi throws the ball short to Josh Neufville, who turns past Hakeeb Adelakun, And Josh Neufville runs inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area in possession of the ball and Josh Neufville’s curling effort towards goal is saved and parried by Glenn Morris and Cheye Alexander completes the clearance for Gillingham and Scott Kashket chases after the loose ball and charges down Louis John’s pass down the line and Scott Kashket’s challenge deflects the ball out of play for A Sutton United Throw On - I do believe you have got to give credit for Glenn Morris for the save, because that effort on goal from Josh Neufville went past Ryan Law and maybe Glenn Morris was unsighted momentarily and had to react late to make the save - but regardless of how unorthodox the save is from Glenn Morris, that save preserves The 0-0 score-line.

Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had a half chance to try and open the scoring, Max Ehmer has possession of the ball in Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, And Max Ehmer passes the ball back to Goalkeeper Glenn Morris, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field and Louis John wins the aerial battle up against Mikael Mandron to header the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw, And From Here, Cheye Alexander throws the ball short to Hakeeb Adelakun, who plays a short pass back out-wide to Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander passes the ball back to Max Ehmer, And Max Ehmer takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball square to Ryan Law, And Ryan Law threads a long pass down the line for Scott Kashket to get on to the end of, And Scott Kashket manages to retain possession of the ball and lay the ball off to Mikael Mandron, And Mikael Mandron works his way towards the byline and passes the ball back to Ryan Law, And Ryan Law manages to pick out Robbie McKenzie with a squared pass towards the edge of Sutton United’s Penalty Area, And Robbie McKenzie’s driven effort towards goal is charged down by Craig Eastmond, and the ball deflects out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Shaun Williams whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Craig Eastmond headers the ball partially clear towards the edge of Sutton United’s Penalty Area, And Hakeeb Adelakun’s first time pass out-wide goes out of play for A Sutton United Throw - Gills are going to find Sutton United difficult to beat in the air with the size and stature of Sutton United’s Players, Because Gillingham do not have five players of Tom Eaves height in our starting line up for this fixture.

And from the resulting throw, Rob Milsom throws the ball long down the line and Omar Bugiel wins the aerial challenge to flick the ball on and Cheye Alexander knocks the ball forwards and Will Randall kicks the ball against Shaun Williams, and the ball deflects out of play for A Sutton United Throw, And From The Second Sutton United Throw, Rob Milsom throws the ball long down the line and again Omar Bugiel wins the aerial challenge and Robbie McKenzie’s clearance is more up and under then height and distance, and Hakeeb Adelakun wins the aerial challenge on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Mikael Mandron boots the ball long down towards the halfway line and Louis John thumps the ball forwards first time and Glenn Morris gathers the ball with ease.

And from here, Glenn Morris kicks the ball long down-field and Mikael Mandron does win the aerial challenge to try and flick the ball on towards Scott Kashket and Coby Rowe flicks the ball through to Craig Eastmond, who boots the ball clear and Kylian Kouassi tries to flick the ball past Ryan Law, But Ryan Law wins the initial aerial challenge and Kylian Kouassi passes the ball back towards Joe Kizzi, And Joe Kizzi kicks the ball long down-field and Max Ehmer wins the first aerial challenge and Shaun Williams wins the fifty / fifty challenge and that allows Max Ehmer to pass the ball first time forwards towards Mikael Mandron, And Mikael Mandron lays the ball off to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams manages to pick out Scott Kashket with a long pass down-field and even though Scott Kashket had almost got on to the end of that pass from Shaun Williams before Sutton United Goalkeeper Lewis Ward kicked the ball clear, Scott Kashket was flagged for offside.

Thirteen Minutes Into The Match, Max Ehmer played a heavy pass back to Glenn Morris, And Glenn Morris passes the ball out-wide to Will Wright, who took no chances and kicked the ball into touch at the expense of conceding a throw on for Sutton United In Gillingham’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw, Rob Milsom hurls in a long dangerous throw and Robbie McKenzie headers the ball behind and out of play for A Sutton United Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner, Sutton United should have opened the scoring, Will Randall whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Joe Kissi headers the ball headers the ball back across the face of goal and both Coby Rowe and Louis John cannot make contact with the header across the face of goal from Joe Kizzi and the ball goes pout of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - But this is Sutton United’s strength’s, they are a big physical, combative League Two Side - The type of team that Neil Harris was trying to construct at Gillingham during the off season - and Sutton United are going to be strong from set plays and that is a huge let off for Gillingham.

And from the resulting goal-kick, Glenn Morris kicks the ball long down-field and Mikael Mandron wins the initial aerial challenge and the loose ball drops kindly to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun plays a first time through-ball through to Scott Kashket, And Scott Kashket accurately places the ball into the bottom left corner of the net with a very composed finish, But The Linesman Down The Medway Stand Side Of The Pitch had his flag raised for offside, Decent goal from Scott Kashket, but that offside flag was raised very quickly - OFFSIDE ONE FOR GILLINGHAM.

And from the free kick given for offside, Lewis Ward kicks the ball long down-field and Omar Bugiel wins the aerial challenge to try and header the ball on towards Kylian Kouassi and Glenn Morris gathers the ball with ease, and from here, Glenn Morris kicks the ball high towards the halfway line and Craig Eastmond wins the first aerial challenge and Kylian Kouassi manages to shield the ball and lay the ball off to Omar Bugiel, and Omar Bugiel clips the ball through to Josh Neufville, and Josh Neufville is being closely marked by Ryan Law and has to pass the ball back to Joe Kizzi, And Joe Kizzi takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Coby Rowe, who is being challenged by Mikael Mandron and Coby Rowe passes the ball centrally towards Louis John on the halfway line, And Louis John passes the ball back to Goalkeeper Lewis Ward, Lewis Ward then boots the ball long down-field and Glenn Morris makes a routine save in goal for Gillingham - And I don’t think Louis John or Coby Rowe look comfortable in possession of the ball, both centre back’s are physical, strong and combative, but neither centre back looks comfortable when they have the ball at there feat.

Seventeen Minutes Into The Match, And Shaun Williams tries to pick out Scott Kashket with a clipped pass down the line and Louis John clears the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw Down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, And The Resulting Throw is taken very quickly by Hakeeb Adelakun, who throws the ball forwards towards Scott Kashket and Scott Kashket gets to the ball first ahead of Louis John and Coby Rowe, and Scott Kashket tries to lob the ball over the advancing Lewis Ward, And Lewis Ward saves and gathers the ball at the second attempt - a very quick throw from Hakeeb Adelakun see’s Gillingham try and force the opening goal of the game, and again, Louis John and Coby Rowe are both not the quickest and Gillingham can get in and behind this Sutton United Defence and Scott Kashket was very unlucky not to open the scoring for Gillingham there.

Eighteen Minutes Into The Match, And Sutton United have a throw on in Gillingham’s Final Third Down The Medway Stand Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw, Rob Milsom hurls in a long dangerous throw and Shaun Williams headers the ball partially clear and away from goal, and Rob Milsom gets the ball under control before playing a short squared pass inside to Will Randall, And Will Randall turns and passes the ball centrally towards Joe Kizzi, and Joe Kizzi takes a touch to control the ball before chipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross, and Robbie McKenzie headers the ball away from goal and Josh Neufville is first to the loose ball, and Josh Neufville runs inside into a more central area on the pitch, and Josh Neufville passes the ball back towards Louis John, Louis John then passes the ball out-wide to Rob Milsom, And Rob Milsom passes the ball down the line towards Will Randall, And Will Randall runs back towards the halfway line in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Coby Rowe, Coby Rowe then passes the ball out-wide to Joe Kizzi, who passes the ball down the line towards Josh Neufville, and Josh Neufville tries to back-heal the ball through to Kylian Kouassi, But Hakeeb Adelakun was in the right place at the right time to make the important interception, and Hakeeb Adelakun tries to pick out Mikael Mandron with a threaded through-ball and Louis John comes across to sweep up at the back, and Louis John boots the ball long down-field, and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Throw On - But Sutton United are just starting to put Gillingham under a bit of pressure defensively.

Twenty Minutes Into The Match, And Mikael Mandron is penalised for a foul on Will Randall, And Sutton United have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Will Randall’s high and hanging cross towards the back-stick was too high and too long for Joe Kizzi to get on to the end of and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, But In The Twenty Second Minute Of The Match, Sutton United almost opened the scoring from A Gillingham Error, Gillingham had a throw on in Sutton United’s Final Third Down The Medway Stand Side Of The Pitch, And Robbie McKenzie hurls in a long throw and Omar Bugiel headers the ball clear and Shaun Williams headers the ball forwards and Louis John headers the ball clear for Sutton United and Shaun Williams headers the ball out-wide to Robbie McKenzie, Robbie McKenzie then passes the ball back to Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander passes the ball back to Glenn Morris, And Glenn Morris’s first time clearance ricochets off Kylian Kouassi and Glenn Morris thankfully was able to boot the ball clear and away from goal and Louis John wins the aerial challenge up against Mikael Mandron and Shaun Williams wins the next aerial challenge, and Mikael Mandron tries to flick the ball on towards Jordan Green, and although Louis John wins the aerial challenge, Jordan Green has possession of the ball for Gillingham, And Jordan Green’s pass back to Will Wright was not great, But Kylian Kouassi lunges into a late challenge on Will Wright, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick.

GLENN MORRIS ERROR - There have been a few error’s from Glenn Morris in recent week’s Grimsby Town opening the scoring from a poor error from Glenn Morris, and Morris made another error in that match which was not capitalised on, giving away the penalty against Mansfield Town, which Glenn Morris atoned for by saving the penalty and most of Glenn Morris’s goal-kicks went out of play that day, and now this error against Sutton United, There have been many matches this season where Glenn Morris has earned Gillingham important points with vital saves, but there have been just a few error’s over the past few weeks which have concerned Gillingham Supporters.

And from the resulting free kick, Glenn Morris kicks the ball long down-field and Louis John headers the ball clear and Will Randall flicks the ball on and Cheye Alexander headers the ball forwards and Jordan Green flicks the ball on, Harry Beautyman then chests the ball under control and tries to pass the ball down the line, But Scott Kashket manages to nip in there to intercept the ball and Scott Kashket runs down towards the byline, And Scott Kashket’s first time cross is deflected out of play off Louis John at the expense of conceding a corner, and from the resulting corner kick, Shaun Williams whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Max Ehmer headers the ball down towards Mikael Mandron and Mikael Mandron cannot get a shot off on goal because three Sutton United Players are around him and the visitor’s manage to clear there lines - But that was a much better corner kick from Gillingham, something different to cause Sutton United problems defensively.

Twenty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Coby Rowe smashes the ball long down-field and Will Wright is in the right position to header the ball back to Glenn Morris, and from here, Glenn Morris boots the ball long down-field and Louis John wins the aerial challenge up against Mikael Mandron and Hakeeb Adelakun clips the ball down the line towards Jordan Green In The Medway Stand / Brian Moore Stand Corner Of The Pitch, And Jordan Green manages to keep the ball in play, use his pace to take on Rob Milsom, And Jordan Green’s clips in a dangerous cross and Louis John wins the initial aerial challenge and Mikael Mandron goes for the spectacular over-head kick, and the ball drops down towards Ryan Law who smashes the ball into the back of the net, But Referee David Rock had already blown his whistle for a foul and the goal will not stand.

DISALLOWED GOAL NUMBER TWO FOR GILLINGHAM - It was always going to be a disallowed goal as soon as Mikael Mandron went for the over-head kick, Now had Mikael Mandron chested the ball back to Ryan Law, and Ryan Law smashed the ball into the back of the net, then the goal would have counted, Nothing controversial about this goal being ruled out for a high foot, But two disallowed goals for Gillingham, and we’re seeing a bit more from Gillingham as a attacking threat compared to the last two league games against Mansfield Town and Hartlepool United.

Twenty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham have a throw on in there own final third, And Cheye Alexander throws the ball long down the line and Mikael Mandron wins the aerial challenge and Louis John gets the ball under control before smashing the ball long down-field, and Will Wright wins the aerial challenge to header the ball towards the halfway line and Josh Neufville is on to the loose ball, takes a few touches and passes the ball out-wide to Will Randall, And Will Randall checks back on himself, runs back towards the halfway line and pass the ball square to Coby Rowe, And Coby Rowe threads a pass down the line towards Joe Kizzi, And Joe Kizzi is being closely marked by Hakeeb Adelakun and Joe Kizzi passes the ball back towards Coby Rowe, Coby Rowe then boots a high and hanging diagonal cross-field cross and Omar Bugiel wins the aerial challenge up against Cheye Alexander and Robbie McKenzie to try and header the ball down towards Harry Beautyman or Kylian Kouassi, But Glenn Morris makes the important stop for Gillingham.

And from here, Glenn Morris rolls the ball short to Ryan Law, And Ryan Law takes one touch to control the ball, but his pass forwards towards Mikael Mandron is intercepted by Coby Rowe, who runs forwards in possession of the ball, And Coby Rowe plays a short pass square to Omar Bugiel, and Omar Bugiel tries to clip a pass through to Kylian Kouassi, But Glenn Morris makes a routine gather for Gillingham, And Sutton United are just starting to cause Gillingham a few more problems defensively.

Mikael Mandron is then penalised for a foul on Will Randall, and from the resulting free kick, Rob Milsom clips in a high and hanging cross and Shaun Williams headers the ball wide and away from goal and Joe Kizzi is first to the second ball, And Joe Kizzi’s cross is woefully over-hit, and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, And In The Thirty Fourth Minute Of The Match, Harry Beautyman is penalised for tripping Hakeeb Adelakun right on the edge of Sutton United’s Penalty Area, And Gillingham have got a chance here to test Lewis Ward in-between the sticks for Sutton United, and from the resulting free kick, Hakeeb Adelakun’s driven effort towards goal is blocked by Sutton United’s Defensive Wall and Shaun Williams gets the ball under control before passing the ball back to Ryan Law, And Ryan Law chips the ball forwards and Louis John wins the aerial challenge and Shaun Williams headers the ball out-wide to Jordan Green, who manages to keep the ball in play, and Jordan Green passes the ball back to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams passes the ball forwards towards Mikael Mandron, And Mikael Mandron’s attempted threaded pass through to Scott Kashket is blocked by Louis John - Better from Gillingham - even though we have not tested Lewis Ward, we are seeing small sign’s of improvement from The Gills.

Thirty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Rob Milsom is penalised for jumping into the back of Jordan Green, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Shaun Williams whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Joe Kizzi headers the ball away from goal and Kylian Kouassi completes the clearance heading the ball even further away from goal, and Hakeeb Adelaun passes the ball back towards Glenn Morris, And Glenn Morris boots the ball long down-field and Louis John wins the first aerial challenge and Craig Eastmond passes the ball back to Coby Rowe, Coby Rowe then boots the ball forwards and Ryan Law wins the aerial challenge on the halfway line and Hakeeb Adelaun passes the ball inside centrally to Shaun Williams, Shaun Williams passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Law, And Ryan Law passes the ball forwards towards Mikael Mandron, Mikael Mandron then passes the ball back to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams runs down the line down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch In Possession Of The Ball, And Shaun Williams is fouled by Omar Bugiel, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick.

And from the resulting free kick, Will Wright passes the ball through to Scott Kashket inside Sutton United’s Penalty Area, And Scott Kashket is through by the byline, And Scott Kashket fires the ball low across the face of goal and Goalkeeper Lewis Ward can only parry the ball straight into the path of Mikael Mandron, And Mikael Mandron sticks the ball into the back of the net from close range, and we all though that Gillingham had taken the lead, But Gillingham have a third goal ruled out for offside by The Linesman Down The Medway Stand Side Of The Pitch - OFFSIDE NUMBER TWO, AND THE THIRD GOAL DISALLOWED FOR GILLINGHAM.

I have to say, that this offside decision looks the most controversial, Because it looked liked Scott Kashket had bended his run to time his positioning to perfection to get on to the end of that pass from Will Wright, But The Linesman had raised his flag for offside, And I did see comments from supporters post match who sit in the opposite end of The Medway Stand to where I sit, and many of the comments I saw online suggested that this goal should have counted and the offside decision was the incorrect decision, I wish we had the option to see a highlight from the opposite side and we can see clearly if the offside decision was correct or not, but I did see comments from supporters in a better position in The Medway Stand which seemed to suggest that Mikael Mandron’s goal should have stood.

Thirty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Scott Kashket is chasing a lost cause and putting pressure on Louis John, and although the ball has gone out of play for A Sutton United Throw On, the endeavour from Scott Kashket is appreciated from The Gillingham Supporters, And In The Forty First Minute Of The Match, Harry Beautyman’s pass out-wide to Rob Milsom is over-hit and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Throw, and pressure from Gillingham is forcing mistakes from Sutton United, and from the resulting throw, Jordan Green throws the ball short to Mikael Mandron who plays the ball back out-wide to Jordan Green, And Jordan Green takes on Harry Beautyman and plays a short pass to Mikael Mandron, who has possession of the ball out-wide, And Mikael Mandron passes the ball back to Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander’s first time cross see’s Robbie McKenzie win the aerial battle and Joe Kizzi has to header the ball away from goal for Sutton United and Hakeeb Adelakun has possession of the ball, and Hakeeb Adelakun runs wide and tries to win a corner for Gillingham, But Joe Kizzi makes the important clearance for Sutton United and Kylian Kouassi wins the initial aerial challenge and Shaun Williams chests the ball under control but could not keep the ball in play, as the ball goes out for A Sutton United Throw.

And just as we reach the end of the first half, Rob Milsom whips in a high and hanging cross towards the far post and Ryan Law manages to kick the ball against Joe Kizzi and the ball ricochets out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, and the final noteworthy moment of the first half see’s Will Wright kick the ball into touch at the expense of coinciding a throw on for Sutton United In Gillingham’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw, Rob Milsom hurls in a long dangerous throw and Robbie McKenzie wins the first aerial challenge and Jordan Green headers the ball out of play for a corner kick for Sutton United, But Referee David Rock blows his whistle for half time at Priestfield Stadium, and the score-line is goal-less between both sides.

HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 0-0 SUTTON UNITED

Gillingham have had three goals disallowed, two for offside and one for a foul, And Glenn Morris’s first time clearance ricochets off Kylian Kouassi which almost saw Sutton United capitalise on a goalkeeping error and Josh Neufville’s shot towards goal was saved by Glenn Morris, Hakeeb Adelakun’s effort on goal from a free kick was blocked by Sutton United’s Defensive Wall, And Scott Kashket had a decent chance to open the scoring, But Lewis Ward had saved Kashket’s lobbed effort.

But Coby Rowe and Louis John are both slow, both centre back’s are dominate in the air because Mikael Mandron isn’t winning many aerial challenges, but both centre back’s are not the quickest and neither centre back is comfortable in possession of the ball either, if Jordan Green, Hakeeb Adelakun and Scott Kashket can get the ball to feat and get the chance to run at Sutton United’s Defence, I do think Gillingham can find the opening goal, and that’s the key talking point, Gillingham have to score first, If Sutton United score first, the visitor’s will sit on the one goal lead, If Gillingham score, Then Gills will force Sutton United to open up and Gillingham could exploit space vacated by Sutton United if the visitor’s need to bring on another attacking player.

As for any substitutions or tactical changes for Gillingham, Alex MacDonald was warming up, and we have to wait and see on who will get substituted at half time, But if Gillingham can win against Sutton United, then you are talking about four points out of six for Gillingham against Sutton United and Hartlepool United, Yes, we want Gillingham to be higher up the table, even if Gillingham can find the winning goal against Sutton United, But we need any win against Sutton United just to give the players a lift.

Because one season ticket holder sitting behind me mentioned that Gillingham are not scoring goals and winning games, players confidence and belief levels look fragile, so any win will hopefully give the players a lift, Because The Gillingham Side we saw playing against Rochdale in the opening home game of the season is not The Gillingham Side we are seeing right now, so any win against Sutton United will do, and hopefully, three points for The Gills is precisely what we see as the players came out on to the pitch ready for the start of the second half - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

And right at the start of the second half, Alex MacDonald comes on to replace Jordan Green, who did pick up a knock in the first half, But with Olly Lee, Stuart O’Keefe, Dominic Jefferies and Ben Reeves not in the squad, Gillingham are lacking options in midfield, And Jordan Green’s injury is concerning and highlights the lack of midfield options Gillingham have got in the squad, thankfully, Josh Chambers was signed earlier in the week, but the number of midfield players injured is very concerning.

And from the re-start, Shaun Williams passes the ball back to Will Wright, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Will Wright kicks the ball long down-field and Coby Rowe wins the first aerial challenge and Robbie McKenzie wins the second aerial challenge and Alex MacDonald gets the ball under control and passes the ball square to Mikael Mandron, And Mikael Mandron passes the ball out-wide to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun hits a over-hit cross towards the far post which goes out of play for A Sutton United Throw, And From Here, Rob Milsom throws the ball down the line and Omar Bugiel wins the aerial challenge and Shaun Williams kicks the ball forwards for Gillingham, and Louis John boots the ball long down-field and Will Wright is slightly lucky to be able to control the ball and Will Wright passes the ball back to Ryan Law, who runs forwards in possession of the ball and lays the ball off to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun retains possession of the ball and passes the ball back to Will Wright, Will Wright then threads a pass down the line towards Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander threads a pass down the line towards Scott Kashket, who tries to make something happen and Rob Milsom intercepts the ball and Harry Beautyman is on to the loose ball, takes a few touches before passing the ball back to Rob Milsom, who boots the ball long down-field, and Max Ehmer is on to the loose ball and passes the ball back to Goalkeeper Glenn Morris, Glenn Morris then boots the ball long down-field and Louis John wins the aerial challenge up against Mikael Mandron and Shaun Williams headers the ball down towards Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Law, who runs down the line in possession of the ball, And Ryan Law plays a short pass inside to Hakeeb Adelakun, who cannot get the ball under control and Craig Eastmond passes the ball out-wide to Rob Milsom, who boots the ball long down-field and Will Wright tries to thread a pass down the line which is intercepted by Harry Beautyman, and Will Randall is on to the second ball, and Will Randall turns and runs into a more central area of the pitch, And Will Randall switches the play to Joe Kizzi on the opposite flank, And Joe Kizzi passes the ball back inside to Will Randall, and Will Randall lays the ball off to Harry Beautyman, who tries to clip a pass through to Omar Bugiel first time and Glenn Morris makes a comfortable save in goal for Gillingham.

Forty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Shaun Williams kicks the ball long down-field and Scott Kashket was chasing a lost cause, and the off the ball running from Scott Kashket forces Goalkeeper Lewis Ward to kick the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw Down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, And from the resulting throw, Cheye Alexander throws the ball short to Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie passes the ball back out-wide to Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander runs down the right flank in possession of the ball before laying the ball off to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald see’s his attempted cross blocked and the ball ricochets off A Sutton United Player and Cheye Alexander, and the ball deflects into Alex MacDonald’s Path, And Alex MacDonald passes the ball inside centrally towards Hakeeb Adelakun, who runs inside Sutton United’s Penalty Area in possession of the ball and Will Randall comes across to make a vital interception, And Will Randall’s clearance almost creates a counter attacking opportunity for Sutton United, But Shaun Williams manages to intercept the ball and Shaun Williams passes the ball square to Will Wright, And Will Wright takes a few touches in possession of the ball before hitting a diagonal cross-field cross and Ryan Law cannot keep the ball in play and the ball goes out of play for A Sutton United Goal-Kick.

And from the resulting goal-kick, Sutton United created a decent goal-scoring opportunity, Goalkeeper Lewis Ward kicks the ball long down-field and Robbie McKenzie wins the aerial challenge to header the ball forwards and Coby Rowe shields the ball from Scott Kashket to allow the ball to run through to Lewis Ward, And Lewis Ward kicks the ball long down-field again and this time, Striker Omar Bugiel headers the ball out-wide to Josh Neufville, And Josh Neufville runs forwards in possession of the ball inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Josh Neufville’s driven effort towards goal is blocked by Max Ehmer and the ball deflects out of play for A Sutton United Corner Kick, And from the resulting corner kick, Rob Milsom whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Coby Rowe’s looping header towards goal fails to hit the target and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - Set Plays is how I think Sutton United can cause Gillingham problems, Because Sutton United have got Omar Bugiel, Coby Rowe, Louis John and Kylian Kouassi, who all can provide Sutton United with a aerial threat.

Fifty One Minutes Into The Match, And Louis John is penalised for a foul on Alex MacDonald, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in the far corner of The Gordon Road Stand / Rainham End, and from the resulting free kick, Shaun Williams whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards Mikael Mandron and Louis John gets the ball half cleared and Joe Kizzi just smashes the ball clear for Sutton United and Glenn Morris is on to the loose ball, And Glenn Morris kicks the ball long down-field and Rob Milsom gets the ball under control and passes the ball down the line towards Will Randall, And Will Randall passes the ball inside centrally towards Harry Beautyman, who does really well to pass the ball back to Louis John, And Louis John passes the ball back to Goalkeeper Lewis Ward, And Lewis Ward kicks the ball long down-field and Shaun Williams gets the ball under control before running forwards in possession of the ball, And Shaun Williams squared pass to Robbie McKenzie is intercepted by Josh Neufville, and Josh Neufville passes the ball inside centrally to Harry Beautyman, And Alex MacDonald manages to time his challenge to perfection to knock the ball out of play for A Sutton United Throw, And from the resulting throw, Joe Kizzi throws the ball down the line towards Josh Neufville, And Ryan Law and Hakeeb Adelakun between the two of them manage to intercept the ball and Hakeeb Adelakun kicks the ball long down-field and Scott Kashket manages to chase after the loose ball, and Scott Kashket runs inside into a more central position of the pitch and passes the ball back to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald passes the ball square to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams passes the ball out-wide to one or Ryan Law or Hakeeb Adelakun, and the ball rolls slowly out of play for A Sutton United Throw On, That’s poor from both Ryan Law and Hakeeb Adelakun, it’s not like Shaun Williams has fired the ball out-wide, it was a slowly paced pass which should have been kept in play.

Fifty Five Minutes Into The Match, Gillingham have a throw on down The Medway Stand Side Of The Pitch In Sutton United’s Final Third, And Robbie McKenzie has hurled in a long dangerous throw and Max Ehmer was very harshly penalised for a soft foul, and any possibility of Gillingham getting a shot off on goal, and maybe even opening the scoring had gone as quickly as the throw that Gillingham had won in a matter of seconds.

Fifty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Josh Neufville is penalised for a foul on Ryan Law, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in there own half of the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Glenn Morris kicks the ball long down-field and Scott Kashket and Louis John both are chasing the loose ball and Louis John makes very faint contact with Scott Kashket inside Sutton United’s Penalty Area, but the ball has gone out of play for A Sutton United Goal-Kick - But questions are being asked if that should have been a penalty kick for Gillingham ??? - I thought very doubtful at the time, and re-watching the incident again, there is contact from Louis John, but the contact is very very minimal to say the least.

Fifty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Louis John is booked for fouling Scott Kashket off the ball and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Will Wright’s long ball down-field towards Max Ehmer and Hakeeb Adelakun is over-hit and the ball goes out of play for A Sutton United Goal-Kick - Just a complete waste of a set play from Gillingham, and we’re not testing Sutton United with free kick’s in promising positions on the pitch which is really disappointing.

Sixty Minutes Into The Match, And Sutton United have a throw on in there own final third, and from the resulting throw, Rob Milsom throws the ball long down the line and Robbie McKenzie wins the aerial challenge and Scott Kashket’s first touch works Scott Kashket into a shooting position, And Scott Kashket see’s his driven effort towards goal blocked by Coby Rowe and Joe Kizzi wins the next aerial challenge and Craig Eastmond now has possession of the ball and goes on a driving run forwards being seeing his pass cut out by Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander passes the ball inside to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams passes the ball back to Will Wright, And Will Wright passes the ball square to Max Ehmer, Max Ehmer then passes the ball back to Glenn Morris, who smashes the ball long down-field and Scott Kashket does brilliantly to chase after a lost cause to keep the ball in play, And Scott Kashket is intercepted by Joe Kizzi and Ryan Law intercepts the ball off Harry Beautyman, And Scott Kashket goes down to the deck and lays the ball off to Ryan Law, And Ryan Law plays the ball back to Hakeeb Adelakun, who skilfully retains possession of the ball, plays a short pass forwards to Scott Kashket, and Scott Kashket plays the ball out-wide first time to Ryan Law, And Ryan Law fires in a low cross first time which no Gillingham Player can get on the end of.

And Rob Milsom now has possession of the ball for Sutton United, And Rob Milsom goes on a driving run forwards towards the halfway line in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Harry Beautyman, And Harry Beautyman passes the ball square to Craig Eastmond, And Craig Eastmond passes the ball out-wide to Joe Kizzi, Joe Kizzi then passes the ball down the line towards Josh Neufville, and Josh Neufville passes the ball inside to Omar Bugiel, who retains possession of the ball and lays the ball off to Harry Beautyman, and Harry Beautyman passes the ball out-wide to Rob Milsom, And Rob Milsom lays the ball off to Will Randall, Will Randall then passes the ball back to Harry Beautyman, and Harry Beautyman passes the ball back to Coby Rowe, Coby Rowe passes the ball out-wide to Joe Kizzi, And Joe Kizzi passes the ball inside to Craig Eastmond, Craig Eastmond then plays a first time pass out-wide to Josh Neufville, who tries to take on Ryan Law, And Ryan Law times his challenge to perfection on Josh Neufville, at the expense of conceding a corner kick - and from the resulting corner kick - Rob Milsom whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Rob Milsom’s cross is punched clear by Glenn Morris, And Josh Neufville’s pass out-wide to Rob Milsom is poor and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Throw On.

The Match is just starting to open up and go more end to end in the past few minutes, and looking at the options Gillingham have got on the bench, Lewis Walker and Joe Gbode are on the bench if Neil Harris wants to freshen up Gillingham’s Attacking Options, Scott Kashket has been superb for Gillingham, But Mikael Mandron unfortunately has put in a disappointing performance, and Mikael Mandron is the striker I would substitute within the next five to ten minutes for Gillingham.

Sixty Three Minutes Into The Match, Craig Eastmond is booked for his challenge on Scott Kashket, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in Sutton United’s Half Of The Pitch, And from the resulting free kick, Will Wright’s long ball down-field is comfortable for Lewis Ward to gather and it is another wasted set play from Gillingham, and from here, Lewis Ward quickly throws the ball forwards and Cheye Alexander wins the aerial challenge to header the ball down to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun lays the ball off to Cheye Alexander who is intercepted and Will Wright passes the ball back to Glenn Morris, who boots the ball long down-field and Louis John wins the aerial challenge up against Mikael Mandron and Robbie McKenzie headers the ball out-wide to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun runs down the line in possession of the ball, cuts inside and passes the ball square to Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie lays the ball off to Mikael Mandron, who retains possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun threads a through-ball through to Robbie McKenzie, And Robbie McKenzie cannot get to threaded pass as Louis John smashes the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw.

And from the resulting throw, Robbie McKenzie hurls in a long dangerous throw and Omar Bugiel headers the ball clear and Kylian Kouassi headers the ball further away from goal and Shaun Williams first time ball forward is blocked and I think on the breakaway, Shaun Williams was fouled by Craig Eastmond, and yet, Referee David Rock has awarded a free kick in Sutton United’s Favour, And with this stoppage in play, Sutton United make a substitution as Charley Kendall comes on to replace Kylian Kouassi, and I am looking at Gillingham’s options on the bench, I can understand Elkan Baggott not coming on, But Joe Gbode, Lewis Walker, and Haji Mnoga are all on the bench if Neil Harris wants to make changes, and with five substitutes in The Football League this season, Gillingham have got more options and the substitutes bench will play a crucial role for Gills this season as well, Neil Harris has surely got to start thinking about making a change.

And from the resulting free kick, Rob Milsom kicked the ball long down-field and Omar Bugiel wins the aerial challenge to flick the ball on and Glenn Morris makes a very important save in goal for Gillingham, and from here, Glenn Morris was quick to throw the ball forwards towards Alex MacDonald, But Craig Eastmond gets to the ball first, And Craig Eastmond turns wide towards the byline and Craig Eastmond over-runs the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw, thanks to the persistence from Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald quickly throws the ball forwards towards Scott Kashket, And Scott Kashket turns and see’s his driven effort towards goal take a slight deflection off Rob Milson, and the ball deflects out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner, Shaun Williams whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Coby Rowe wins the first aerial challenge to header the ball up and under inside Sutton United’s Penalty Area and Omar Bugiel wins the second aerial challenge, And Mikael Mandron jumps into the back of Omar Bugiel and Sutton United have been awarded a defensive free kick, just foolish from Mikael Mandron, And Neil Harris has got to substitute Mikael Mandron now and bring on one of Lewis Walker or Joe Gbode, Mandron has put in a disappointing performance and Gillingham have got to make a change up-front.

Craig Eastmond is penalised and booked for a foul on Scott Kashket after seventy three minutes, this happened after Scott Kashket was charging down a uncontested drop ball from a free kick which should have never been uncontested in the first place so well done Scott Kashket for earning Gillingham a deserved free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Shaun Williams almost picks out Will Wright with a cross towards the far post and Omar Bugiel smashes the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And from the resulting corner, Shaun Williams whips in a cross towards the far post, and although Mikael Mandron has gone down to the deck, no penalty kick has been awarded, and the ball goes out of play for A Sutton United Goal-Kick, No Penalty For Gillingham was the correct decision as well.

Seventy Five Minutes Into The Match, And Max Ehmer clears the ball out of play for A Sutton United Throw Down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, and from the resulting throw, Rob Milsom hurls in a long dangerous throw and Will Wright wins the initial aerial challenge and Craig Eastmond’s shot towards goal takes a double deflection and Louis John and Joe Kizzi win the next two aerial challenges and Shaun Williams manages to intercept the ball from Josh Neufville, and Shaun Williams pass the ball down the line towards Alex MacDonald is over-hit and the ball goes out of play for A Sutton United Throw, And from this throw, Joe Kizzi throws the ball long down the line and Ryan Law and Will Wright win the first two aerial challenges and Charley Kendall manages to flick the ball against Shaun Williams and the ball ricochets out of play for A Sutton United Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Sutton United had the chance to take the lead, Rob Milsom whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Louis John’s Header towards goal fails to hit the target, And Sutton United had two players at the far post ready to header the ball on target or back across the face of goal, and this is where Sutton United can cause Gillingham problems, from set plays and winning the first and second balls.

Seventy Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham have a throw on down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, and from the resulting throw, Hakeeb Adelakun is quick to throw the ball forwards towards Scott Kashket and Coby Rowe’s clearance is more up and under then height and distance, and Louis John wins the second aerial challenge and Hakeeb Adelakun is on to the loose ball, And Hakeeb Adelakun plays a one / two with Mikael Mandron before firing a driven effort towards goal which comfortably fails to hit the target, and the ball goes out of play for A Sutton United Goal-Kick.

Seventy Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Sutton United have a throw on down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, In Gillingham’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw, Rob Milsom throws the ball down the line towards Will Randall, who is intercepted by Hakeeb Adelakun, and Hakeeb Adelakun runs wide in possession of the ball before being disposed and Mikael Mandron lays the ball off to Cheye Alexander, who is intercepted by Harry Beautyman, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball inside to Will Randall, who passes the ball back to Craig Eastmond, And Craig Eastmond passes the ball square to Joe Kizzi, who plays a pass down the line towards Josh Neufville, and Josh Neufville see’s his first cross blocked by Alex MacDonald and his second cross partially cleared by Max Ehmer, and Craig Eastmond lays the ball off to Joe Kizzi, who clips in a dangerous in-swinging cross first time and Will Wright’s defensive header goes just wide of the far post with Glenn Morris scrambling across his goal-line and Harry Beautyman was there waiting at the far post as well - I thought that was in for a moment, but the ball has gone out of play for A Sutton United Corner Kick.

And from the resulting corner kick, Will Randall whips in a cross towards the far post and Joe Kizzi’s header is cleared by Mikael Mandron and Craig Eastmond’s first time pass forwards is blocked by Will Wright and Hakeeb Adelakun completes the clearance for Gillingham and this stoppage in play allows Neil Harris to make his second substitution of the match after eighty minutes as Lewis Walker comes on to replace Mikael Mandron, Now Mikael Mandron was jeered off the pitch, and supporters will either agree or disagree if that is acceptable or unacceptable, For me, I am focusing on the substitution being the correct decision and really, Neil Harris should have made that substitution fifteen minutes earlier, Because the score-line is 0-0, Lewis Walker and Joe Gbode are both on the bench and Neil Harris doesn’t make the changes, there are five substitutions in The Football League This Season, Manager’s are going to be making more tactical substitutions and Neil Harris has not used the bench, especially as Gillingham are still drawing 0-0 and needing to find a way to score a late winner.

Sutton United also make a substitution themselves as Enzio Boldewijn comes on to replace Will Randall, Now Sutton United have stopped the game twice so they can only make there three remaining substitutions in one go now, Gillingham can at least stop the game twice to make our remaining substitutions, But Neil Harris needs to use the bench to try and find a winning goal for Gillingham here.

And when the match resumed, Gillingham created a half chance, Ryan Law throws the ball long down the line and Joe Kizzi wins the first aerial challenge and Ryan Law wins the second aerial challenge and Scott Kashket flicks the ball down towards Shaun Williams, who wins the fifty / fifty ball and passes the ball out-wide to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald passes the ball down the line and Lewis Walker retains possession of the ball and lays the ball off to Shaun Williams, Shaun Williams then passes the ball out-wide to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald boots the ball long down-field and Louis John’s Clearance goes up into the air and Louis John headers his own clearance forwards and Robbie McKenzie is on to the loose ball, And Robbie McKenzie runs forwards in possession of the ball, lays the ball off to Scott Kashket, And Scott Kashket clips the ball out-wide to Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander is twisting and turning before passing the ball out-wide to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun takes on Enzio Boldewijn before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross which is comfortable for Lewis Ward to save in goal for Sutton United.

And from here, Lewis Ward kicks the ball long down-field and Ryan Law headers the ball forwards for Gillingham and Coby Rowe wins the aerial challenge up against Scott Kashket and Shaun Williams passes the ball out-wide to Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander passes the ball forwards to Hakeeb Adelakun, who back heals the ball back to Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander tries to pick out Lewis Walker with a threaded pass out-wide, but the ball goes out of play for A Sutton United Throw, And From The Resulting Throw, Rob Milsom throws the ball down the line and Omar Bugiel wins the aerial challenge to flick the ball on and Will Wright passes the ball forwards and Louis John boots the ball long down-field for Sutton United and the ball goes all the way through to Glenn Morris, And Glenn Morris boots the ball long down-field and Louis John wins the fifty / fifty challenge with Scott Kashket and Ryan Law and Alex MacDonald manage to regain possession of the ball for Gillingham between the two of them, And Alex MacDonald passes the ball back to Will Wright, And Will Wright kicks the ball long down-field and Rob Milsom wins the aerial challenge and Shaun Williams pinches possession of the ball for Gillingham, passes the ball short out-wide to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun fires in a low dangerous cross first time and Lewis Walker gets the ball under control and Lewis Walker’s shot on the turn goes narrowly wide - A Chance For Gillingham - A Chance For Lewis Walker to score his first goal for Gillingham and what a important goal it could have been as well.

Eighty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Josh Neufville times his challenge to perfection on Ryan Law at the expense of knocking the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And the atmosphere around Priestfield Stadium raises in volume and can Gillingham find a late winner ??? - and from the resulting corner kick, Alex MacDonald almost scored directly from the corner as Lewis Ward parried the ball down inside the penalty area and Josh Neufville gets the ball partially clear and Cheye Alexander headers the ball forwards for Gillingham and Shaun Williams plays a first time pass out-wide to Alex MacDonald, and Alex MacDonald see’s his initial cross charged down and Shaun Williams clips the ball across to the far side of Sutton United’s Penalty Area, And Hakeeb Adelakun went for goal from a very wide angle and Lewis Ward has to divert the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And from the resulting corner kick, Shaun Williams passes the ball short to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun passes the ball back out-wide to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Max Ehmer and Louis John both compete for the ball, the ball ricochets up into the air and Robbie McKenzie headers the ball back towards Will Wright, And Will Wright’s low driven effort towards goal is brilliantly saved by Lewis Ward because that penalty area was very crowded and congested - HOW HAVE GILLINGHAM NOT SCORED!!!!!

And with that effort on goal saved by Lewis Ward preventing Will Wright from scoring, you just wonder if today is one of those days of chances created, But Gillingham still cannot score goals, and with the ball out of play, Sutton United make a double substitution as Jonathan Barden and Kwame Thomas come on to replace Harry Beautyman and Omar Bugiel, This double substitution is Sutton United’s way of trying to see out the rest of this match with A 0-0 Draw, and yet, Neil Harris has got Joe Gbode on the bench, Maybe move Max Ehmer up-front as a extra striker, Because Sutton United have made four substitutions, Gillingham have made two, Gills have got to do something to try and turn this 0-0 draw into a 1-0 win.

Eighty Nine Minutes Into The Match, Ryan Law tries to thread a pass down the line towards Lewis Walker, And Coby Rowe manages to shield the ball out of play for A Sutton United Goal-Kick, And there is a altercation between Coby Rowe and Lewis Walker, neither player was booked for this altercation and a warning was sufficient punishment, And Lewis Ward is going to take as much time as possible with the resulting goal-kick, And The Fourth Official has put five additional minutes of added time up on to the board, five minutes for Gillingham to find a late winner - COME ON GILLS!!!!!!!

And from the resulting goal-kick, that is precisely what Gillingham were able to achieve, Lewis Ward kicks the ball long down-field and Robbie McKenzie wins the initial aerial challenge and Hakeeb Adelakun boots the ball long down-field and Louis John wins the next fifty / fifty challenge and Craig Eastmond’s clearance goes straight to Shaun Williams, who passes the ball square to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald gets the ball under control before running forwards in possession of the ball, and Alex MacDonald threads a pass through to Scott Kashket inside Sutton United’s Penalty Area, And Scott Kashket’s shot towards goal is saved by Lewis Ward and Alex MacDonald headers the re-bound into the back of the net with the ball clipping the inside of the post to give Gillingham A 1-0 Lead, and a deserving 1-0 lead as well - GILLINGHAM 1-0 SUTTON UNITED

What a fantastic moment for Alex MacDonald to score potentially a last gasp winning goal for Gillingham with Alex MacDonald having a long injury layoff last season, and great reactions from Alex MacDonald to header the ball into the far corner of the net as well, Because with Scott Kashket’s effort on goal saved by Lewis Ward, you just wondered if the chance had gone, But there was Alex MacDonald to header the ball into the back of the net to give Gillingham a crucial lead so late on in the match.

And in the aftermath of those celebrations, Elkan Baggott comes on to replace Scott Kashket, who fully deserved to be applauded off the pitch with his non stop running and exceptional performance for Gillingham all game against Sutton United, And Elkan Baggott comes on just to give Gillingham the additional protection of a third centre back.

But straight from the kick off, Sutton United could and perhaps should have equalised, the kick off is played back to Craig Eastmond, who passes the ball out-wide to Rob Milsom, And Rob Milsom smashes the ball long down-field and the ball is flicked on and Shaun Williams gets the ball clear and Coby Rowe passes the ball out-wide to Craig Eastmond, And Craig Eastmond kicks a diagonal cross-field cross and Enzio Boldewijn headers the ball down and Shaun Williams just smashes the ball clear and Lewis Walker manages to header the ball out-wide to Hakeeb Adelakun, And Hakeeb Adelakun is twisting and turning and looks to run centrally before passing the ball out-wide to Cheye Alexander, And Cheye Alexander passes the ball short to Hakeeb Adelakun, But Rob Milsom intercepts the ball and passes the ball forwards towards Kwame Thomas, and Kwame Thomas turns and passes the ball down the line to Enzio Boldewijn, and Enzio Boldewijn passes the ball inside to Jonathan Barden, and Jonathan Barden passes the ball out-wide to Joe Kizzi, And Joe Kizzi lays the ball off to Josh Neufville, and Josh Neufville passes the ball centrally to Jonathan Barden, Jonathan Barden then passes the ball square to Rob Milsom, And Rob Milsom passes the ball down the line to Enzio Boldewijn, and Enzio Boldewijn whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Joe Kizzi headers the ball down towards Josh Neufville, And Josh Neufville’s shot across the face of goal goes narrowly wide of the far post - I thought for a moment that Sutton United were going to score a last gasp equaliser.

But there was a chance from this goal-kick for Gillingham to secure the win, Glenn Morris kicks the ball long down-field and Lewis Walker flicks the ball on and Rob Milsom passes the ball back to Lewis Ward, who passes the ball square to Coby Rowe, and Coby Rowe passes the ball square to Louis John, And Louis John passes the ball out-wide to Rob Milsom, who plays a pass down the line to Enzio Boldewijn, and Enzio Boldewijn passes the ball back to Rob Milsom, And Rob Milsom plays the ball square to Craig Eastmond, who square the ball to Jonathan Barden, and Jonathan Barden passes the ball out-wide to Joe Kizzi, who plays the ball back to Coby Rowe, And Coby Rowe boots the ball long down-field and Max Ehmer wins the aerial challenge and Jonathan Barden wins the second ball and Craig Eastmond is on to the third ball for Sutton United, But Robbie McKenzie times his challenge to perfection, turns and runs forwards in possession of the ball, And Robbie McKenzie passes the ball through to Lewis Walker, who runs through on goal into Sutton United’s Penalty Area, And Lewis Walker’s cross / shot was saved by Lewis Ward.

But after five additional minutes of added time, And Gillingham managed to win 1-0 and secure three priceless points, three deserved points, three points which could be the result that kickstarts Gillingham’s Season, The Gillingham Players were down on the deck after that win, especially the likes of Max Ehmer, Shaun Williams and Alex MacDonald, Because this was also a big win mentally for the players as well, And finally - WELL DONE GILLS!!!!!!!

FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 1-0 SUTTON UNITED

I mentioned to one supporter after the game that this win for Gillingham was a big psychological win for Gillingham, and if you were to look at the last two league games that Gillingham have played, Hartlepool United 0-0 Gillingham and Gillingham 1-0 Sutton United, It’s four points out of six, it’s back to back clean sheets in the league, and it is something for Gillingham to build on, also, looking at this performance as a whole, Gillingham deserved to win, and most importantly, we found a way to win as well thanks to Alex MacDonald, and again, what a moment that was for Alex MacDonald, scoring a late winner in-front of The Rainham End.

I mentioned the following on Social Media,,, Psychologically, This is a massive win for Gillingham, to get our second home win of the season having not won the previous five home league games, and with four of the next five matches at home, hopefully, Gillingham can start to turn Priestfield Stadium into a fortress.

The photo of Alex MacDonald’s Goal Celebration is a nice moment, and Glenn Morris mentioned that he has kept his fifth clean sheet in the league this season, Paul Fisher mentioned that the players deserved the win for the hard work and effort that they are putting in every single day and the supporters were great as well, and the win is deserved with the three goals disallowed in the first half, and how Gillingham looked the more likely side to score a late winner as well.

And that is because Lewis Walker came on and made a big impact and he changed the way Gillingham played, unfortunately, Mikael Mandron struggled and he needed to be substituted, thankfully, Gillingham won late on, But Neil Harris has got to use his bench more, Elkan Baggott was clearly jet lagged after playing for Indonesia, so he never was going to start for Gillingham against Sutton United, But there are five substitutions in The Football League This Season, And Neil Harris needs to use the bench to Gillingham’s Advantage.

As for Gillingham’s Man Of The Match, Scott Kashket for me, Because Scott Kashket was running everywhere and he was a constant pest for Sutton United to try and deal with, and even with the winning goal, It was Scott Kashket’s shot that was saved by Lewis Ward and Alex MacDonald headed in the re-bound to score Gillingham’s Winning Goal.

But winning against Sutton United is so important, Because four of the next five matches are home games, Brighton & Hove Albion’s U21’s and Colchester United are Football League Trophy Games, Stevenage and Barrow are League Two Matches, an opportunity for Gillingham to try and turn Priestfield Stadium into a fortress and hopefully go on a cup run in The Football League Trophy as well.

Yes, Sutton United were very ordinary, yes, Gillingham look way off the teams in the top seven of League Two, yes, the lack of goals scored is still very concerning, but the performance from Gillingham was encouraging, It’s four points out of six and back to back clean sheets in the league, these are small steps and positives to take into the next few matches, the key is for Gillingham to build on this, go on a decent unbeaten run and keep picking up points and hopefully score more goals in the coming weeks, But this was a big win for Gillingham against Sutton United, and home wins were in short supply in The 2021 / 2022 Season, Hopefully, Gillingham can build on this result against Sutton United and maybe, just maybe, this win can kick-start Gillingham’s Season - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!

#Gillingham #SuttonUnited #Football #LeagueTwo #Gills

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