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fan-of-mulligan · 4 years

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FOM BLOG: GILLINGHAM 2-0 BLACKPOOL

My Thoughts On Gillingham V Blackpool……………

Gillingham’s Home Match Against Blackpool On Saturday The 26th Of September was going to be one of Gillingham’s toughest tests of the season, which sounds bizarre on the outside looking in, Because Gillingham have played against two teams relegated from The Championship in Hull City and Wigan Athletic, and both of these matches gave Gillingham different challenges, But unlike those two clubs, Blackpool no longer have the off the field problems they experienced with the previous regime, And Manager Neil Critchley has recruited very well in the summer with Demetri Mitchell, Daniel Kemp, Bez Lubala, Jordan Williams, Ethan Robson, CJ Hamilton, Jerry Yates, Oliver Sarkic and Marvin Ekpiteta all signing for Blackpool, and the fact that all nine players mentioned are twenty five or younger suggests that Neil Critchley will focus on signing young players with potential, and Blackpool are tipped by many supporters to be one of the dark horses who can challenge for A League One Playoff Position at the end of The 2020 / 2021 Season.

Most of the messages that had been tweeted out by Gillingham Football Club on The Thursday and Friday had been regarding getting the I Follow Codes for Gillingham V Blackpool, And if you were A Season Ticket Holder, then you get to watch the match for free, But the code I received for Gillingham V Hull City was not going to work for Gillingham V Blackpool, which means that Gillingham have to constantly send out new codes for every league home league game - How is that going to work when Gillingham have back to back home league games on A Saturday or Tuesday Night, I have no idea - But if you had not renewed your Season Ticket for The 2020 / 2021 Season and you had every intention to renew your Season Ticket, but you were unable to do so because of lockdown, Then you have to pay £10 to watch every home league game on I Follow.

It also doesn’t help at all that Season Ticket Holders were only given one week to renew there Season Tickets back in February, and it also doesn’t help at all that supporters have not been given a choice regarding what happens regarding the missed home league games at the end of The 2019 / 2020 Season, Paul Scally mentions that supporters are happy to let the club keep that money to keep the club going, but the communication from Gillingham Football Club over lockdown has been very poor to say the least, Other football clubs have given supporters options, and one option I have seen from York City is the money lost from the home matches you have missed at the back end of The 2019 / 2020 Season, can be used as a partial payment to your Season Ticket for The 2021 / 2022 Season, that makes sense, the football club keeps the money and you are making savings on your Season Ticket costs in the near future.

Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follow,,,,,, Jack Bonham, Ryan Jackson, Jack Tucker, Zech Medley, Connor Ogilvie, Scott Robertson, Josh Eccles, Jacob Mellis, Dominic Samuel, Vadaine Oliver, Jordan Graham SUBS: Joe Walsh (GK), Robbie McKenzie, Alex MacDonald, Henry Woods, Trae Coyle and John Akinde - Gillingham could only name six substitutes on the bench, and one of the main reasons for that is because Centre Back Christian Maghoma had to be tested for Covid Protocols, But Jack Bonham recovering from his back strain was a unexpected boost, And I thought Dominic Samuel would be eased back into The Starting Line Up having signed for Gillingham On The Monday, And Josh Eccles is back in The Starting Line Up having been cup tied for the League Cup Third Round Tie Away Against Stoke City On Wednesday Night.

The last time Gillingham played against Blackpool, We were celebrating Brandon Hanlan’s stoppage time winner as Gillingham won 3-2 at Bloomfield Road, John Akinde and Regan Charles-Cook were on the score-sheet for Gillingham that night and I asked the question, Will we be celebrating another stoppage time winner from The Gills Today ??? - Looking at Gillingham Related News From Elsewhere, Young Striker Toby Bancroft was starting for Margate against Carshalton Athletic, And Former Gillingham Defenders Callum Davies and Finn O’Mara were both starting for Folkestone Invicta against Wingate & Finchley FC.

One thing I noticed as I was watching the pre-match warm up was the sound of the wind, and this is going to be one of those days where you appreciate watching Gillingham V Blackpool on I Follow, Because it must be freezing inside Priestfield Stadium (Even though we would love to watching Gillingham V Blackpool Live inside the ground, but right now that is not possible, But avoiding getting frozen watching the match live is something we can appreciate) - As for the match against Blackpool, I think this is a match that Gillingham need to win for three main reason’s, One, Gillingham need to bounce back from the defeat against Stoke City In The Third Round Of The League Cup and get a win which would give the players a much needed confidence boost, Two, A Win against Blackpool will see Gillingham pick up six points out of a possible nine, Which is very important when you look at the fixtures coming up in October, And Three, Gillingham would pick up there first home league win of the season, and we don’t want to be talking about Gillingham not picking up enough points at Priestfield Stadium, and therefore, It is vital for Gillingham to get that first home league win of the season against Blackpool.

I then posted the following on to Twitter,,,, Ten Minutes Until Kick Off - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!! - And the players came out on to the pitch ready to kick off the third League One Fixture Of The 2020 / 2021 Season, Hopefully, Gillingham can pick up all three points and start looking up The League One Table, rather then looking over our shoulder already at The League One Relegation Zone - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MATCH DETAILS (FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS)

Three Minutes Into The Match, And Jerry Yates is penalised for a foul on Josh Eccles and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Jack Tucker kicks the ball long down-field and Marvin Ekpiteta kicks the ball clear away from danger when Goalkeeper Chris Maxwell was calling for Marvin Ekpiteta to leave the ball to run through to him, And Bez Lubala wins the initial aerial challenge down Blackpool’s Left Side Of The Pitch In Blackpool’s Final Third - Gillingham’s Right - And Ryan Jackson wins the second aerial challenge to header the ball forwards towards Dominic Samuel, and Michael Nottingham has come across to provide defensive cover and Michael Nottingham has completely sliced the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick.

And Michael Nottingham conceding a very cheap corner kick for The Gills proves to be very costly, Because from the resulting corner kick, Gillingham manage to open the scoring, Scott Robertson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Connor Ogilvie’s looping header clips the top of Blackpool’s Crossbar with Chris Maxwell well beaten in The Blackpool Goal, And Jack Tucker does brilliantly at the back-stick to header the ball back across the face of goal and there was Dominic Samuel in the right place at the right time to header the ball against the underside of the crossbar from close range to give Gillingham the all important lead in this League One Fixture against Blackpool, Because in both matches against Hull City and Wigan Athletic, It has been the opposition who have scored the opening goal of the game - GILLINGHAM 1-0 BLACKPOOL.

Connor Ogilvie almost scored from exactly the same spot where Ogilvie scored his header against Southend United when Gillingham won 1-0 against Southend United In The First Round Of The League Cup, And I have to give plenty of praise and plaudits to Jack Tucker to be so quick to react at the back-stick to header the ball back across the face of goal, and Dominic Samuel scoring just four minutes into his second debut for Gillingham is a dream start to this match for Dominic Samuel, and also, the perfect start to this match for Gillingham as well.

Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool almost equalised in fortuitous circumstances, Ollie Turton has possession of the ball down Blackpool’s Right Side Of The Pitch - Gillingham’s Left - Just inside Blackpool’s own half of the pitch, And Ollie Turton passes the ball out-wide to Grant Ward, And Grant Ward slips and this allows Jordan Graham and Scott Robertson to close down The Blackpool Midfielder, but despite the fact that Grant Ward was down on the deck, The Blackpool Midfielder still manages to pass the ball centrally to Ethan Robson, And Ethan Robson plays a first time ball forwards to CJ Hamilton, And CJ Hamilton passes the ball square to Keshi Anderson on the halfway line, just inside Gillingham’s Half, And Keshi Anderson goes on a driving run forwards in possession of the ball, And Keshi Anderson continue’s his towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Keshi Anderson tries to pick out Jerry Yates with a pass, which is intercepted by Zech Medley, But the deflection off Zech Medley is heading goal-wards and Jack Bonham dives across to his right side to turn the ball around the post at the expense of conceding a corner kick, if there was more pace on the pass from Keshi Anderson, then the deflection off Zech Medley could have beaten Jack Bonham in The Gillingham Goal and Blackpool would have equalised, And from the resulting corner kick, Grant Ward whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Josh Eccles manages to header the ball clear and away from danger, However, Demetri Mitchell is first to the loose ball down the left side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Right - And Demetri Mitchell takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to hit a diagonal cross-field cross towards CJ Hamilton and Connor Ogilvie allows the ball to go over his head and out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, In Gillingham’s Final Third, Right in the corner of The Rainham End and The Gordon Road Stand.

And with CJ Hamilton not capitalising on that goal-scoring opportunity opportunity for Blackpool, Gillingham had the chance to double there lead from the next passage of play, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver does really well to win the aerial battle to flick the ball on towards Jacob Mellis, And Jacob Mellis manages to retain possession of the ball before being fouled by Ethan Robson and Grant Ward, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Jordan Graham whips in a high and hanging cross towards the far side of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Jerry Yates headers the ball partially clear and away from danger towards the edge of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Jacob Mellis’ first time volleyed effort towards goal clears Blackpool’s Crossbar by some considerable distance, And had Jacob Mellis scored that volleyed effort to give Gillingham A Two Goal Lead, Then Jacob Mellis would have scored a very early contender for Gillingham’s Goal Of The Season Award For The 2020 / 2021 Season.

Thirty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool created one of there better opportunities of the first half to try and score an equaliser, Michael Nottingham passes the ball forwards to Bez Lubala inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area Down The Left Side Of The Pitch - Gillingham’s Right - And Bez Lubala manages to retain possession of the ball despite Jack Tucker tightly marking Bez Lubala, And Bez Lubala cuts inside into a more central position on the pitch, And Bez Lubala see’s his attempted pass deflect off Jacob Mellis, into Ethan Robson’s Path and Ethan Robson plays a first time pass forwards towards Keshi Anderson, But Jack Tucker is in the right place at the right time to boot the ball long down-field and Marvin Ekpiteta wins the aerial battle up against Vadaine Oliver to header the ball forwards and Grant Ward’s Header drops to Jordan Graham, who gets the ball under control before passing a short pass inside to Scott Robertson, And Scott Robertson gets the ball under control before trying to thread a through-ball through to Vadaine Oliver, But Ethan Robson is in the right place at the right time to make the crucial interception, And Ethan Robson takes a few touches in possession of the ball before playing a short pass sideways towards Jerry Yates, And Jerry Yates runs forwards in possession of the ball before striking as fiercely driven effort towards goal from twenty five yards out and the ball bounced just in-front of Jack Bonham, and Jack Bonham does brilliantly to parry the ball wide away from goal, And Jack Bonham manages to get to the loose ball ahead of Jerry Yates, who had pushed Connor Ogilvie down to the deck and Gillingham had been awarded a defensive free kick - A Very Good Save From Jack Bonham to preserve Gillingham’s Slender 1-0 Lead.

OTHER MATCH INCIDENTS WHICH WERE NOT SHOWN ON EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS

FIRST HALF

Five Minutes Into The Match, And Marvin Ekpiteta tries to pick out Jerry Yates with a long ball down-field which is slightly over-hit and runs all the way through to Jack Bonham to make a routine save - It’s fantastic to see Jack Bonham start in goal for Gillingham against Blackpool for this latest League One Fixture, Because I was convinced that Joe Walsh would start in goal and Gillingham would have to sign A Emergency Goalkeeper On Loan to provide Goalkeeper Cover On The Bench - Joe Walsh was excellent in goal against Stoke City for Gillingham’s League Cup Third Round Match On Wednesday Night, But having Jack Bonham back in goal is a major boost for The Gills - Six Minutes Into The Match, And Ryan Jackson tries to pick out Dominic Samuel with a long ball down-field and Demetri Mitchell had done enough to shield the ball back to Chris Maxwell and prevent Dominic Samuel from getting on to the end of Ryan Jackson’s long kick down-field.

Twelve Minutes Into The Match, And Ethan Robson is penalised for his challenge on Jordan Graham and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Jordan Graham whips in a high and hanging cross towards the edge of Blackpool’s Penalty Area and Connor Ogilvie jumps high to try and win the aerial challenge towards the back-stick, but Connor Ogilvie doesn’t win the aerial challenge, And Dominic Samuel is pushed down towards the deck by A Blackpool Player, and just when Blackpool were looking to hit Gillingham on the counter attack, there was Josh Eccles in the right place at the right time to make the all important interception to prevent Gillingham from being caught out at the back.

Fourteen Minutes Into The Match, And Jordan Graham see’s his dangerous in-swinging cross take a huge deflection off Grant Ward and Gillingham have been awarded a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Jordan Graham’s dangerous in-swinging cross is headed clear and away from danger by Michael Nottingham and the chance had gone for The Gills - You do wonder with the windy conditions inside Priestfield Stadium, just how both teams will approach attacking and defending set plays throughout the entire match ???

Fifteen Minutes Into The Match, And Grant Ward is penalised for his challenge on Scott Robertson, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Gillingham have the chance to potentially double there advantage, Zech Medley passes the ball out-wide to Connor Ogilvie, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball centrally to Scott Robertson, And Scott Robertson passes the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch, And Ryan Jackson takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to play a diagonal cross-field cross pass towards Jordan Graham, who manages to keep the ball in play, And Jordan Graham runs forwards in possession of the ball, drops his shoulder to evade the challenge from Ollie Turton, And Jordan Graham’s see’s his fiercely driven effort towards goal blocked by Michael Nottingham, and that goal-scoring opportunity was the chance for Gillingham to go 2-0 up - Having Jordan Graham on the left wing gives Gillingham that player who likes to cut inside and shoot, Luke Rooney used to do that for Gillingham when he played on the left wing.

Vadaine Oliver is then penalised for a foul on Blackpool Goalkeeper Chris Maxwell, And Blackpool have been awarded a free kick, And In The Sixteenth Minute Of The Match, Blackpool really should have equalised, CJ Hamilton somehow has possession of the ball inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and we can consider ourselves very lucky that CJ Hamilton rushed his initial effort on goal which is hit wide of Jack Bonham’s Far Right Post, More composure and better finishing would have seen CJ Hamilton score the equaliser for Blackpool, Blackpool Supporters in the build up to this match have hyped up CJ Hamilton’s Performances for Blackpool this season, and although CJ Hamilton has not capitalised with this goal-scoring opportunity, he is a player that Gillingham need to watch out for throughout the rest of this match.

Eighteen Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham have a throw on, right in the far corner of The Medway Stand / Brian Moore Stand Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw and Blackpool not only manage to clear the ball away from danger, But the visitor’s turn defence into attack, with Ollie Turton passing the ball forwards to Keshi Anderson, And Keshi Anderson takes a touch to control the ball before managing to pick out CJ Hamilton with a long pass down the left side of the pitch, And CJ Hamilton takes on Scott Robertson, And CJ Hamilton see’s his dangerous in-swinging cross take a slight deflection off Connor Ogilvie and Jack Bonham was able to make a comfortable save catching CJ Hamilton’s Cross, However, Scott Robertson has gone down injured and requires treatment, And with Stuart O’Keefe, Kyle Dempsey and Matty Willock all out injured, Gillingham have picked up quite a few injuries in central midfield already this season, thankfully, Scott Robertson is OK to continue playing for now, and it may well have to be the case that Gillingham will need to monitor Scott Robertson and then double check his injury at half time to see if Scott Robertson is OK to continue playing in The Second Half.

Twenty One Minutes Into The Match, And Jack Tucker has possession of the ball for Gillingham in Gillingham’s Own Defensive Final Third, And Jack Tucker tries to pick out Jordan Graham with a diagonal cross-field cross and Ollie Turton’s back header towards Goalkeeper Chris Maxwell is terribly judged by The Blackpool Right Back, Because Ollie Turton has headed the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And we will gladly accept a cheap corner kick in Gillingham’s Favour, Because Gillingham capitalised on the mis-kick from Michael Nottingham which allowed Gillingham to take the lead in The Fourth Minute, And we were hoping that another cheap corner kick given away will achieve the same result, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Gillingham almost doubled there advantage in fortuitous circumstances, Because Jordan Graham whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post, And there is a mix up between Goalkeeper Chris Maxwell and Defender Marvin Ekpiteta, And Marvin Ekpiteta at least headers the ball out of play for another Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Jordan Graham whips in another dangerous in-swinging cross and Marvin Ekpiteta just about manages to divert the ball out of play for another Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Third Corner Kick, Scott Robertson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Jack Tucker manages to header the ball back across the face of goal and Connor Ogilvie is penalised for his aerial challenge on Demetri Mitchell, And Blackpool have been awarded a defensive free kick inside there own penalty area.

Dominic Samuel is then penalised for a foul on Demetri Mitchell In The Twenty Eighth Minute Of The Match Down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch, In Gillingham’s Own Defensive Final Third, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ethan Robson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Josh Eccles headers the ball clear and Josh Eccles then clears a second cross out of play for A Blackpool Throw On, Jack Tucker is then in the right place at the right time to header Grant Ward’s cross partially clear and away from goal down the left side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, But CJ Hamilton gets the ball under control and takes on Connor Ogilvie before whipping in a high and hanging cross towards Bez Lubala, which is over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Throw On.

Twenty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Marvin Ekpiteta is penalised for his foul on Vadaine Oliver and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, There was some decent one touch passing between Scott Robertson, Josh Eccles and Jacob Mellis in the build up to that attack as well, and from the resulting free kick, Jordan Graham stands over the ball on the halfway line and Jordan Graham kicks a high and hanging ball towards Jack Tucker, who is beaten in the air by Michael Nottingham, who wins the aerial battle, and Ryan Jackson is on to the loose ball roughly twenty five yards out from goal, And Ryan Jackson almost manages to pick out Jacob Mellis with a clipped back down the right side of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, and Jacob Mellis just cannot get the ball under control and Chris Maxwell makes a comfortable save.

But A Minute Later, Gillingham went from almost scoring for 2-0, to almost conceding for 1-1, Because Keshi Anderson has possession of the ball for Blackpool and plays a one / two with Jerry Yates, And Keshi Anderson almost manages to pick out Bez Lubala with a reverse pass down Gillingham’s Right Side Of There Penalty Area, But Jack Bonham was off his goal-line quickly to gather the loose ball, and whilst we are talking about Jordan Graham, Vadaine Oliver and Dominic Samuel as Gillingham’s Front Three, Blackpool’s Front Three Of Bez Lubala, Jerry Yates and CJ Hamilton are players Gillingham need to pay close attention to if we are to pick up our first home league win of the season.

Thirty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool are looking to score the all important equaliser, Connor Ogilvie has managed to header a dangerous in-swinging cross partially clear and away from danger and Keshi Anderson gets on to the loose ball, And Keshi Anderson tee’s up Bez Lubala, who cuts inside and see’s his fiercely driven effort towards goal blocked by Ryan Jackson and the ball ricochets off Ryan Jackson and the ball hits Bez Lubala on the arm and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick for handball, Ryan Jackson is then penalised for a foul on Bez Lubala and Blackpool have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, And we can consider ourselves fortunate that the free kick was not capitalised on and Ryan Jackson prevented Bez Lubala from getting on to the end of a long ball down-field, and Ryan Jackson manages to shield the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Thirty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had a unbelievable opportunity to go 2-0 up, Jacob Mellis has possession of the ball and Jacob Mellis is really standing out for Gillingham in this match so far with his own individual performance, And Jacob Mellis manages to pick out Dominic Samuel with a pass in a left / central area inside Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Dominic Samuel manages to evade the attempted challenge from Marvin Ekpiteta, and just as Dominic Samuel was one on one with Chris Maxwell, Dominic Samuel has mis-kicked the ball at the crucial moment and Blackpool survive, Because 2-0 to The Gills would put Gillingham in a very strong position to pick up all three points, And that was a golden opportunity for Dominic Samuel to score his and Gillingham’s Second Goal Of The Game.

Thirty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Ollie Turton has tried to pick out Bez Lubala with a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post which is over-hit and the ball runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, and the main reason as to why Bez Lubala could not get on the end of that cross from Ollie Turton was the exceptional defending by Jack Tucker, who just did not give Bez Lubala any opportunity to get on the end of Ollie Turton’s Cross.

And Jack Bonham saving that shot from Jerry Yates was just the start of a attacking onslaught by Blackpool, Because the visitor’s are looking to score a vital equaliser just before half time, Zech Medley was in the right place at the right time to header Ollie Turton’s dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post away from danger, And Scott Robertson manages to keep the ball in play and kick the ball against CJ Hamilton and win Gillingham A Goal-Kick, Ethan Robson was then penalised for his challenge on Jacob Mellis on the halfway line in The Forty Second Minute, And Gillingham were awarded a free kick, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Jack Tucker’s Long Ball Down-Field was to long and ran all the way through to Chris Maxwell in The Blackpool Goal, A Very Routine Save For Chris Maxwell, But the windy conditions are going to make things slightly more difficult for both goalkeepers throughout this all important League One Match.

Forty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Zech Medley makes a vital clearance to clear the ball away from danger, And In The Forty Fourth Minute Of The Match, Bez Lubala is penalised for his challenge on Jacob Mellis, And Gillingham have been awarded another free kick, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Jack Tucker has kicked the ball long down-field, and although Vadaine Oliver has won the aerial challenge up against Marvin Ekpiteta, Vadaine Oliver has been penalised for a foul and Blackpool have been awarded a defensive free kick.

And the final noteworthy moment of the first half see’s Keshi Anderson penalised for his challenge on Josh Eccles, and the free kicks awarded to both teams at the end of the first half has just slowed the pace and tempo of the game down, and after three additional minutes of stoppage time (No doubt three additional minutes were awarded for Dominic Samuel’s Goal, and the injury to Scott Robertson) Referee Lee Swabey blows his whistle for half time, and the half time score at Priestfield Stadium for the third League One Match Of The 2020 / 2021 Season Is Gillingham 1-0 Blackpool.

HALF TIME:

I wrote the following status update on Twitter,,,,,, HT: GILLINGHAM 1-0 BLACKPOOL - Dominic Samuel's goal is the difference between both teams at half time, Robertson whips in a corner towards near post, Ogilvie's header hits the crossbar, Tucker headers the ball back across the face of goal and there was Samuel to open the scoring, Jack Bonham does really well to save a deflection off Zech Medley to prevent Medley from scoring A Own Goal, CJ Hamilton has failed to hit the target for Blackpool and Jerry Yates driven effort towards goal is saved and then gathered by Jack Bonham at the second attempt. Gillingham have the lead going into half time and that is what matters the most, Gillingham really can do with a second goal, Because I can see Blackpool eventually getting themselves on the score-sheet, Thankfully, Robertson Was OK to continue playing after picking up a knock.

But will Scott Robertson be OK to play for Gillingham in the second half ??? - And should there be a enforced substitution, Then you have to say that Alex MacDonald and Henry Woods are both favourite to come on as substitute for Gillingham In The Second Half, As for other options that Gillingham can use from the bench, Trae Coyle and John Akinde are both there to provide Gillingham with attacking options, Should Gillingham need to make a attacking change, Because Dominic Samuel perhaps will play for a hour, and ideally, We want to see Gillingham go 2-0 up at some point in The Second Half, and then Gillingham are in a position where we can substitute Dominic Samuel and keep Dominic Samuel rested for the matches we have got coming up in October.

Both teams then came out on to the pitch for The Start Of The Second Half, And Blackpool and Gillingham have both opted to stick to The Starting Line Up’s Named At The Start Of The Match, The Good News at least means that Scott Robertson is OK to continue playing for Gillingham, But like Dominic Samuel, Scott Robertson is perhaps a player Gillingham need to pay close attention to, and should Gillingham double there advantage and go 2-0 up, then Steve Evans has the luxury to substitute both players, hopefully, Gillingham can pick up three vital points against Blackpool with a important Second Half Display - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF (HIGHLIGHTS)

The first noteworthy moment of The Second Half see’s Blackpool look to score the equaliser straight away, But Gillingham looked liked they were in the ascendancy, Because Jordan Graham was running forwards in possession of the ball down the left side of the pitch, But Grant Ward has bundled Jordan Graham down to the deck and no foul for Gillingham was given, and play continue’s Because Grant Ward has possession of the ball in Blackpool’s Own Final Third, and Grant Ward takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball inside to Ethan Robson in a more central position on the pitch, And Ethan Robson takes a touch to control the ball and another touch to kick a diagonal cross-field cross pass towards Demetri Mitchell, And Demetri Mitchell does brilliantly to header the ball down the line, and Bez Lubala manages to get to the ball ahead of Ryan Jackson and retain possession of the ball and Bez Lubala tries to play a reverse pass down the line towards Demetri Mitchell, But Demetri Mitchell doesn’t react to the pass and the ball runs all the way through to Jack Tucker, And Jack Tucker really should kick this ball long down-field, But Jack Tucker kicks the ball straight into Demetri Mitchell and the ball loops up into the air and ricochets towards Jerry Yates, And Jerry Yates gets the ball under control with a excellent first touch, And Jerry Yates threads the ball through to CJ Hamilton with his second touch with a threaded through-ball, And Connor Ogilvie has not done exceptionally well to come across and clear the ball away from danger, But CJ Hamilton was also penalised for a foul on Connor Ogilvie and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick.

But that was poor from Jack Tucker, really poor, and Connor Ogilvie did brilliant to come across and clear Gillingham’s Defensive Lines, I think it is important to note that Jack Tucker is still young and still very inexperienced, But despite that inexperience, Jack Tucker has played more senior first team matches then Zech Medley, Last Season, Jack Tucker had Barry Fuller and Max Ehmer to learn off because both players were pivotal to Gillingham’s Defensive Record throughout The 2019 / 2020 Season, and whilst Ryan Jackson does provide experience at Right Back, This is Zech Medley’s First Experience of playing competitive first team football and both centre back’s are going to have to learn and learn very quickly as the season progresses.

But despite that let off from Vadaine Oliver’s ricochet not hitting the back of the net, Gillingham do in-fact double there lead after fifty minutes of the match, Zech Medley manages to turn away from CJ Hamilton inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area - A Bit Risky I Know - And Zech Medley kicks the ball long down-field and Grant Ward wins the initial aerial challenge and Ollie Turton wins the fifty / fifty challenge with Jacob Mellis to knock the ball down the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left - And Jordan Graham manages to keep the ball in play before passing the ball back towards Connor Ogilvie, And Connor Ogilvie kicks the ball long down-field first time and Marvin Ekpiteta wins the initial aerial challenge, and the second ball drops kindly to Vadaine Oliver, who nutmegs Michael Nottingham and despite Marvin Ekpiteta closing down Vadaine Oliver, Vadaine Oliver manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Dominic Samuel in A Right / Central Area Of The Pitch just outside Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Dominic Samuel gets the ball under control, takes on Demetri Mitchell, And Dominic Samuel has fired a low accurate effort towards the far left corner of the net and there is absolutely nothing that Chris Maxwell can do about that, and Gillingham have doubled there lead to 2-0 - GILLINGHAM 2-0 BLACKPOOL.

If the first goal from Dominic Samuel was a goal poachers finish, then the second goal is a goal of genuine quality, and Dominic Samuel firing the ball across the face of goal into the bottom left corner of the net is a sensational goal, credit must go to Vadaine Oliver, who played a pivotal role for Dominic Samuel’s second goal of the game, I said at half time that at 2-0, Gillingham would be in a strong position to pick up all three points, But Gillingham are also in a position where we can perhaps start to think about substituting Scott Robertson and Dominic Samuel, perhaps not straight away, but later on in the match, Now if Gillingham were to get a third goal, then we are defiantly in a situation where Gillingham can start to think about substituting players who need to come off, Because Gillingham put in a lot of effort against Stoke City in our League Cup Third Round Tie On Wednesday Night.

Fifty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had the chance to go 3-0 up, Marvin Ekpiteta plays a horrendous pass towards Ethan Robson, And Jacob Mellis plays a first time pass forwards to Vadaine Oliver, Who is clattered to the floor by James Husband, and no foul is awarded in Gillingham’s Favour, And Jacob Mellis gets to the loose ball first and Jacob Mellis see’s his driven effort towards goal blocked by James Husband, And Dominic Samuel and Demetri Mitchell compete for the fifty / fifty ball, and Demetri Mitchell and James Husband are both penalised for there challenge on Jacob Mellis, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, And whilst Jacob Mellis is OK to continue playing, there are concerns regarding Vadaine Oliver, who was clattered down to the deck, and Vadaine Oliver does get back up to his feat eventually and Vadaine Oliver needs to limp over to the sidelines to continue getting treatment, John Akinde and Trae Coyle are both on the substitutes bench, Should Gillingham need to make a change in attack, but whilst the treatment is on-going, Gillingham can still extend the score-line to 3-0 from this free kick.

And from the resulting free kick, Jordan Graham curls a low cross into the heart of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Jerry Yates has headed the ball behind and out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, I have to say that I am surprised that Jordan Graham did not whip this free kick goal-wards and try and get on the score-sheet himself, at least Gillingham have won themselves a corner kick, so the free kick isn’t entirely wasted, But I did think Jordan Graham should have gone for goal from that close range, and from the resulting corner kick, Gillingham came close to scoring and 3-0 to The Gills would make it very difficult for Blackpool to get anything out of this match, Scott Robertson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross from the corner kick and Marvin Ekpiteta manages to header the ball partially clear and away from danger towards the edge of Blackpool’s Penalty Area, And Jordan Graham plays a first time volleyed pass sideways towards Jacob Mellis, who manages to get the ball under control, and Jacob Mellis passes the ball out-wide to Scott Robertson down The Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, And Scott Robertson gets the ball under control before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross and James Husband’s looping header inadvertently tee’s up Vadaine Oliver at the back-stick, And Vadaine Oliver’s Header was directed goal-wards and Chris Maxwell has to make a very important save to keep Blackpool in this match.

Whether Vadaine Oliver was looking to header the ball downwards towards Dominic Samuel, or header the ball into the back of the net himself, I am not entirely sure, but the good news at least is the fact that Vadaine Oliver is back on the pitch and still playing for Gillingham, But that’s now three players in Scott Robertson, Dominic Samuel and Vadaine Oliver that Gillingham need to monitor throughout the rest of this match, all three players have picked up knocks and this is also Dominic Samuel’s first starting appearance for The Gills, So I am anticipating Dominic Samuel being substituted for Gillingham very soon, With one of John Akinde or Trae Coyle likely to come on in Dominic Samuel’s Place.

Sullay Kaikai is then booked for his challenge on Ryan Jackson In The Seventy Fourth Minute Of The Match, But In The Seventy Fifth Minute, Blackpool created a very good goal-scoring opportunity to try and half the deficit to 2-1, Grant Ward has possession of the ball for Blackpool on the halfway line, And Grant Ward passes the ball back towards Marvin Ekpiteta, And Marvin Ekpiteta takes a touch to control the ball before passing a short pass forwards to Ethan Robson, and Ethan Robson is looking around for passing options before clipping a long ball down-field towards Gary Madine and Zech Medley is in the right place at the right time to kick the ball clear and away from danger and Ollie Turton headers the ball down the line towards CJ Hamilton, And CJ Hamilton manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball back towards Ethan Robson, And Ethan Robson takes a touch to control the ball before managing to pick out Demetri Mitchell with a cross-field cross pass down Blackpool’s Left Side Of The Pitch - Gillingham’s Right - And Demetri Mitchell manages to take on Ryan Jackson before passing the ball centrally towards Sullay Kaikai right on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Sullay Kaikai takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to curl the ball goal-wards with a decent low strike towards goal and Jack Bonham manages to parry the ball wide and away from goal, and the follow up effort from CJ Hamilton is blocked and the ball is deflected out of play for A Blackpool Corner Kick.

Already, Sullay Kaikai has come on and caused Gillingham problems defensively, and that was a decent save from Jack Bonham, Because Jack Bonham was slightly unsighted because Gary Madine had ran into Jack Bonham’s eye sight line and his view was also blocked slightly by Jack Tucker, and Connor Ogilvie put in a fantastic block to prevent CJ Hamilton from scoring the re-bound, and from the resulting corner kick, Ethan Robson’s in-swinging cross towards the back-stick is over-hit and the ball runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Gillingham have a momentarily attacking opportunity when Jordan Graham’s cross is over-hit, and the ball runs out of play for A Blackpool Goal-Kick, However, In The Eighty Sixth Minute, And Ryan Jackson is penalised for his foul on Demetri Mitchell, and from the resulting free kick, Blackpool came close to scoring, as James Husband is in possession of the ball for Blackpool and James Husband clips a long diagonal cross-field cross into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Zech Medley manages to header the ball clear and away from danger, But Ollie Turton wins the aerial battle up against Jordan Graham and CJ Hamilton is on to the loose ball on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And CJ Hamilton works his way out-wide, and despite being double marked by Jordan Graham and Connor Ogilvie, CJ Hamilton manages to dig out a dangerous in-swinging cross and Josh Eccles glancing header can only header the ball partially clear and away from danger and Dominic Samuel had fouled Demetri Mitchell on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, But play continue’s as Ethan Robson hits a first time curling effort towards goal and Jack Bonham saves and then gathers the loose ball at the second attempt.

Gills just need to prevent Blackpool from scoring to stops the visitor’s from setting up a grand-stand finish, But Blackpool are on the offensive and Robbie McKenzie is penalised for his challenge on Sullay Kaikai in The Eighty Ninth Minute, But the next passage of play see’s Blackpool create one of there better goal-scoring opportunities, Marvin Ekpiteta has possession of the ball just in Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, And Marvin Ekpiteta manages to pick out Gary Madine with a clipped pass down the left side of the pitch inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area - Gillingham’s Right - And Gary Madine is twisting and turning and working his way out-side towards the byline, and Gary Madine has whipped in a fantastic in-swinging cross and Connor Ogilvie just about does enough to prevent Ollie Turton from getting on the end of that cross at the back-stick, but the ball drops to Sullay Kaikai inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Sullay Kaikai’s snapshot volleyed effort flashes just wide of the far left post with Jack Bonham well and truly beaten - AND THAT WAS THE CHANCE FOR BLACKPOOL TO SCORE!!!!!! - Because if that effort from Sullay Kaikai was on target, then Blackpool would have scored for certain.

And after that effort on goal from Sullay Kaikai, Gillingham make there third and final substitution in The Ninetieth Minute, Because Alex MacDonald comes on to replace Dominic Samuel, and even then, The Fourth Official messed up Gillingham’s Final Substitution and got it wrong again, I applauded Dominic Samuel for that brace in his second debut for Gillingham Football Club, And Alex MacDonald comes on to give Gillingham additional defensive cover, as Gillingham look to protect this two goal lead.

But what is even more surprising is the fact that there are - EIGHT ADDITIONAL MINUTES OF ADDED TIME!!!!!!! - Where on earth has The Fourth Official found eight additional minutes, and just as we approach added time, Connor Ogilvie is penalised for fouling CJ Hamilton and Blackpool have been awarded a free kick twenty five yards out from goal, and from the resulting free kick, Blackpool came close to scoring again, Demetri Mitchell’s curling effort towards goal clears Gillingham’s Wall and Demetri Mitchell almost manages to pick out the bottom right corner of the net with that free kick and Jack Bonham makes a remarkable save, and Jack Bonham is quick to get up and react to Gary Madine’s follow up effort, and Jack Bonham has made a second save in quick succession and Connor Ogilvie boots the ball into the back of The Brian Moore Stand at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, Grant Ward whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Jack Bonham is off his goal-line to make a excellent catch which relieves the pressure building on to Gillingham’s Goal - Great to have Jack Bonham back in-between the sticks - although, it has to be mentioned that Joe Walsh is more then capable as Gillingham’s Back Up Goalkeeper.

OTHER MATCH INCIDENTS WHICH WERE NOT SHOWN ON EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS

SECOND HALF

Forty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had a half chance to double there lead, And had this chance gone in for The Gills then Gillingham would have doubled there lead in very fortuitous circumstances, Vadaine Oliver was chasing after a long kick down-field which was running through to Blackpool Goalkeeper Chris Maxwell, and Marvin Ekpiteta has passed the ball short back to Chris Maxwell, who’s attempted clearance down-field ricochets off Vadaine Oliver and the ball goes out of play for A Blackpool Goal-Kick, Good work ethic from Vadaine Oliver, who would have fully deserved his goal had the ball ricocheted into the back of the net, But what on earth are Blackpool doing defensively ???

Blackpool are then penalised for a foul, As Jerry Yates was penalised for his challenge on Jack Tucker, And In The Fifty Second Minute Of The Match, Blackpool make there first substitution of the game, As James Husband comes on to replace Michael Nottingham, Who has put in a dreadful display for Blackpool against Gillingham, Conceded the corner kick which eventually lead to Dominic Samuel opening the scoring in The Fourth Minute, And Michael Nottingham did not exactly cover himself in glory with his defending for the second goal either.

And that all important second goal from Dominic Samuel has given Gillingham a much needed confidence boost, Because Jordan Graham see’s his dangerous in-swinging cross take a huge deflection off Ollie Turton, and the ball diverts out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Jordan Graham’s dangerous in-swinging cross is whipped in towards the back-stick and Jack Tucker almost manages to get on the end of that corner kick from Jordan Graham, Blackpool manage to momentarily clear there lines and Josh Eccles passes the ball out-wide to Zech Medley, And Zech Medley’s diagonal cross-field cross pass is aimed towards Dominic Samuel, But Demetri Mitchell manages to header the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw, Connor Ogilvie was lining up a long throw, but Connor Ogilvie throws the ball short to Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham manages to pass the ball out-wide towards Connor Ogilvie, who works his way towards the byline and Connor Ogilvie whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post which is routinely saved by Chris Maxwell in The Blackpool Goal.

Fifty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham win themselves a throw on in Blackpool’s Final Third Down The Gordon Road Stand / Rainham End Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw towards Vadaine Oliver and Vadaine Oliver is penalised for a foul on James Husband, And Blackpool have been awarded a free kick in there own defensive final third, And In The Fifty Seventh Minute Of The Match, Blackpool had a half chance to try and get a consolation goal which would bring the visitor’s back into this match, However, Ollie Turton’s cross towards Jerry Yates and Bez Lubala is over-hit, And Dominic Samuel has possession of the ball in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Dominic Samuel wins Gillingham a defensive throw on by kicking the ball against Bez Lubala which just prevents any momentum gained for Blackpool to cause Gillingham problems defensively - Dominic Samuel is playing on the right side of Gillingham’s Front Three, So Dominic Samuel needs to put in the defensive work to help out Ryan Jackson at Right Back.

Sixty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool make there second substitution of the game, As Sullay Kaikai comes on to replace Bez Lubala, And I have got to say that Sullay Kaikai is a quality player and someone who is pacey, tricky and skilful, and Sullay Kaikai has only started twice for Blackpool this season, with this sub appearance being Sullay Kaikai’s first substitute appearance of the season, whether Sullay Kaikai was injured for Blackpool in pre-season, I cannot say for sure, But Sullay Kaikai will cause Gillingham problems defensively, and he is a player that Gillingham need to keep a close eye on throughout the remaining minutes in this match.

The next passage of play after Blackpool’s Second Substitution Of The Match, see’s Ethan Robson escape punishment for a foul on Josh Eccles, And I personally thought that Gillingham should have been awarded a free kick for that challenge from Ethan Robson, And In The Sixty Fifth Minute Of The Match, Scott Robertson kicks a long ball down the right flank and pressure from Vadaine Oliver forces Demetri Mitchell to kick the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On Down The Rainham End / Gordon Road Stand Side Of The Pitch, Now should the 2-0 score-line remain the same at full time, Then Dominic Samuel probably is going to win Gillingham’s Man Of The Match Award, But Vadaine Oliver should be praised for his own individual performance throughout this match against Blackpool, Because Vadaine Oliver has been superb up-front for Gillingham, and the only thing missing from Vadaine Oliver’s own performance against Blackpool is a goal for himself, And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw and Chris Maxwell in goal for Blackpool was able to gather the ball with ease.

But we went from Vadaine Oliver putting pressure on Demetri Mitchell and Ryan Jackson’s long throw being saved by Chris Maxwell, In The Sixty Fifth Minute, To Gillingham almost conceding a sloppy consolation goal a minute later, Because Josh Eccles pass back to Jack Bonham was woefully under-hit, And Jack Bonham had to get to the loose ball ahead of Jerry Yates and kick the ball clear and out of play for A Blackpool Throw On, Now despite The 2-0 score-line to Gillingham, Blackpool are still a decent side and they are going to create chances, there is no need for Gillingham to create goal-scoring opportunities for the opposition - And with Sixty Six Minutes On The Clock, I am looking at the bench and I can see Trae Coyle or John Akinde coming on for Dominic Samuel, who has scored two goals for Gillingham on his second debut, and I think it is important to substitute Dominic Samuel and ensure that he is ready for the matches that Gillingham have got coming up in October.

Sixty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Blackpool Defender Demetri Mitchell has possession of the ball down Blackpool’s Left Side Of The Pitch In Gillingham’s Final Third, And Demetri Mitchell has fired in a low cross across the face of goal and Sullay Kaikai almost gets on to the end of that low cross from Demetri Mitchell, but the chance was still there for the visitor’s to create another goal-scoring opportunity, But Jordan Graham does really well to kick the ball against Ollie Turton, and win Gillingham A Goal-Kick, which just relieves some of the pressure building on to Gillingham’s Goal.

Sixty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Josh Eccles is penalised for his challenge on Keshi Anderson, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ethan Robson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Connor Ogilvie headers the ball partially clear and away from danger, And Ollie Turton manages to get on the loose ball down the right side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Ollie Turton whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Vadaine Oliver manages to header the ball clear and away from goal and CJ Hamilton is penalised for his challenge on Jordan Graham, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in there own defensive final third - It is going to have to be backs against the wall defending from Gillingham - As Blackpool are looking to score the goal they need to get themselves back into this match, 2-1 with twenty minutes to go gives Blackpool a chance to score the equaliser for 2-2, But all the while the score-line is 2-0, It gives Gillingham a more greater chance of picking up all three points.

Vadaine Oliver is then penalised for a foul on James Husband, and from the resulting free kick, James Husband kicks the ball long down-field from the halfway line towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Ethan Robson is penalised for a foul on Josh Eccles and Gillingham are awarded a free kick in there own half, and the fouls, free kicks and stoppages in play are suiting Gillingham down to the ground, Because this does not give Blackpool any opportunity to gain momentum, Blackpool However make there third and final substitution of the match, As Gary Madine comes on to replace Keshi Anderson In The Seventy Second Minute, Gary Madine just gives Blackpool more of a attacking option in the final third, And I am surprised that Gary Madine did not come on for Blackpool much earlier then The Seventy Second Minute to be honest.

Seventy Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Gary Madine manages to get in and behind Gillingham’s Back Line, and Gary Madine see’s his low cross across the face of goal blocked and deflected out of play for A Blackpool Corner Kick, With Zech Medley making the all important interception, But before the resulting corner kick could be taken, Scott Robertson is down injured with cramp, and unlike the injury in the first half, Scott Robertson was not going to get up and recover from this injury, and you just wonder if Steve Evans should have substituted Scott Robertson earlier, especially as Gillingham have already picked up a few injuries in midfield with Stuart O’Keefe, Matty Willock and Kyle Dempsey out injured on the sidelines, And after getting some treatment, Scott Robertson was unable to continue playing, And Robbie McKenzie comes on to replace Scott Robertson to try and help Gillingham see out the rest of this match, with the score-line still 2-0 in Gillingham’s Favour.

And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Grant Ward whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Robbie McKenzie manages to partially clear the ball away from danger in his first involvement in this match, And Dominic Samuel is fouled by Ethan Robson and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick which relieves pressure building on to our own goal, Dominic Samuel shows his experience winning that free kick, And In The Eighty First Minute, Ethan Robson is booked for a reckless challenge on Josh Eccles, and Gillingham have been awarded another free kick, and these stoppages in play are preventing Blackpool from gaining any momentum, but these are stoppages in play because of Blackpool’s own doing here.

Connor Ogilvie was then in the right place at the right time to make two important clearances for Gillingham, the second clearance was booted out of play for A Blackpool Throw On, And In The Eighty Third Minute Of The Match, Marvin Ekpiteta was booked for his challenge on Jacob Mellis on the halfway line and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, personally, I thought play on should have been awarded because Vadaine Oliver had possession of the ball from Jacob Mellis’s Pass and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, which unfortunately see’s Vadaine Oliver flagged for offside from Jack Tucker’s clipped pass down the line.

And after that offside decision, Gillingham make there second substitution of the match, With John Akinde coming on for Vadaine Oliver, And I applauded Vadaine Oliver’s Performance, brilliant assist for Dominic Samuel’s Second Goal Of The Game, And the only thing missing from Vadaine Oliver’s own individual performance was a goal for himself, It has to be mentioned that The Linesman had put up Dominic Samuel’s Number up before correcting his error and then putting up Vadaine Oliver’s Number Up On The Board Instead.

Eighty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Jordan Graham is penalised for his foul on Oliver Turton, And Blackpool have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Ethan Robson clips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and the ball ricochets off Ryan Jackson inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Zech Medley and Connor Ogilvie between the two of them manage to clear the ball away from danger and Gillingham survive, A goal now for Blackpool will bring Blackpool back into this match and it’s important for Gillingham to preserve there two goal lead.

Gillingham are busy defensively to try and see this game out in the closing stages, Jack Bonham is in the right place at the right time, As James Husband tries to pick out one of Jerry Yates or Gary Madine with a long kick down-field which runs all the way through to Jack Bonham In The Gillingham Goal, And In the Ninety Fifth Minute, Grant Ward manages to pick out Gary Madine with a clipped ball inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Gary Madine has managed to get in and behind Gillingham’s Back Four, and Gary Madine has managed to stick the ball into the back of the net with a excellent finish, thankfully, From A Gillingham point of view, Gary Madine was flagged for offside.

And the final noteworthy moment of the match see’s Grant Ward being put under pressure from Alex MacDonald and running away from goal down The Medway Stand Side Of the Pitch, And Grant Ward passes the ball back towards Marvin Ekpiteta, And Referee Lee Swabey blows his whistle for full time - there was either five or six minutes played of stoppage time, and not the eight minutes we saw shown in the top left corner of the screen on I Follow - And Gillingham have managed to win 2-0 against Blackpool and pick up three very valuable points, and this is a superb win for The Gills - FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 2-0 BLACKPOOL.

POST MATCH THOUGHTS

I wrote the following status update on to Twitter after the full time whistle had been blown,,,,,,,,,, FT: GILLINGHAM 2-0 BLACKPOOL - A Brace from Dominic Samuel see's Gillingham win there first home league game of The 20/21 Season against a very good Blackpool Side, Jack Bonham has earned that clean sheet for Gills today, especially with that double save at the end of the match. Back to back league wins against Wigan Athletic and Blackpool see Gillingham pick up six points out of a possible nine from our opening three league games, and keeping a clean sheet after conceding twice against Hull and Wigan gives our defence a much needed confidence boost. Hopefully, Scott Robertson's Injury isn't a bad one, especially as Matty Willock Kyle Dempsey and Stuart O'Keefe are all out injured and four midfielders out injured leaves Gillingham lacking central midfielders for a hectic fixture list in October. Great Win For The Gills Today.

I had re-tweeted status updates from Jordan Graham, Ryan Jackson, Vadaine Oliver, Josh Eccles, Kyle Dempsey, Zech Medley, and Jack Tucker, Faversham Town had drawn 0-0 against Hastings United, Folkestone Invicta won 4-1 against Wingate & Finchley, With Former Gillingham Defender Aaron Simpson getting himself on the score-sheet for Folkestone Invicta, Gillingham Town won 5-2 against Swanage Town & Herston, And I also re-tweeted stats from The Gillingham V Blackpool Game regarding Zech Medley from Arsenal Loan Watch.

Now, back to my thoughts on Gillingham’s 2-0 win against Blackpool, I thought this was Gillingham’s most professional league performance of the season, Hull City fully deserved there 2-0 win against Gillingham on the opening day of the season, And Gillingham’s 3-2 win against Wigan Athletic was a very end to end game, But Gillingham put in a very professional performance against Blackpool, Dominic Samuel scored two excellent goals, and whilst Gillingham were on the back-foot for the vast majority of the second half and Jack Bonham had to make quite a few saves to preserve The 2-0 score-line, Blackpool failed to score and Gillingham keeping a clean sheet will give our defenders a much needed confidence boost, I think had Blackpool scored and they scored early enough in The Second Half, That would have given the visitor’s a chance to level the game up at 2-2, then we could be talking about a completely different match entirely, But Gillingham were excellent defensively, and you have got to praise Jack Tucker and Zech Medley, both young centre back’s were superb, along with Ryan Jackson and Connor Ogilvie at full back, this was a much better defensive performance from The Gills.

That win for Gillingham moves Gillingham up to Seventh In The League One Table, and what is perhaps more important about this 2-0 win against Blackpool is the fact that Gillingham now go into a one week break off the back of a hard fought 2-0 win against a decent Blackpool Side, and make no mistake, not only was the three points needed, but the break is especially needed, Because Gillingham have got eight matches in October and those matches are as follows,,,,, Shrewsbury Town Away, Ipswich Town Away, (Football League Trophy), Oxford United Home, MK Dons Away, Portsmouth Home, Fleetwood Town Home, Ipswich Town Away and Sunderland Home, The two away games against Ipswich Town and the home game against Portsmouth are being played on A Tuesday Night, and Fleetwood Town, Portsmouth and Oxford United all reached The League One Playoffs Last Season, Ipswich Town and Sunderland you expect to see as contenders for promotion this season, and MK Dons and Shrewsbury Town Away are not guaranteed wins to say the least, I think it was vital to go into this week’s break with that win against Blackpool, especially with the matches coming up for Gillingham in October.

I have got to praise Vadaine Oliver for his fourth assist of the season already for The Gills and Vadaine Oliver’s overall performance for Gillingham was exceptional and the only thing missing from Vadaine Oliver was a goal for himself against Blackpool, Dominic Samuel will no doubt be Gillingham’s Man Of the Match for scoring a brace against Blackpool, But other players also deserve there plaudits, especially Jack Bonham, Ryan Jackson,Jack Tucker, Zech Medley and Connor Ogilvie for keeping Gillingham’s first clean sheet in League One - Great to see Jack Bonham available for selection after missing The Stoke City Match with a back strain - Scott Robertson and Josh Eccles were superb in central midfield, and I just hope that Scott Robertson being substituted was because of precautionary measures, and Jacob Melliis put in a very impressive display in the advanced midfielder role for The Gills as well.

I had re-tweeted quite a few tweets from Gillingham’s Twitter Account, The photo gallery and clips of the goals from Kent Pro Images, and I mentioned the following to Gabriel,,,, Out of the three league games played this season, The 2-0 win against Blackpool was probably our most professional win of the season to date so far. Dominic Samuel scoring a brace on his second debut for The Gills, another assist for Vadaine Oliver, Great win for The Gills Today, If there was one negative about this performance and result against Blackpool is the fact that we as supporters could not be inside Priestfield Stadium to enjoy The 2-0 win, yes, it was windy and it would have been cold inside the ground, and watching football matches on I Follow is a great alternative and better then nothing, But you want to be inside Priestfield Stadium to celebrate wins like this one against Blackpool.

One thing that every Gillingham Supporter noticed after the full time whistle was some of the pathetic comments from “Some Blackpool Supporters” Comments like,,,,, Frustrating to say the least. Gillingham players going down like Bolton doesn't make for a flowing game and our final ball was non existent. Still plenty of positives and we will learn from this. Feel sorry for Gills fans that have to watch that shite this season. and comments about how Blackpool had 69% possession and how Gillingham offered no real attacking threat and how Gillingham play pathetic defensive football, These comments were sour grapes and do not take into consideration that at 2-0, Gillingham do not need to attack and score more goals, the onus is on the opposition to score, and Blackpool created plenty of goal-scoring opportunities, but they did not stick the ball into the back of the net, and that is the only stat that matters the most.

However, there were comments from “More Sensible Blackpool Supporters” who mentioned that Blackpool have had 69% possession against Gillingham and 63% possession against Plymouth Argyle, and in both matches, Blackpool have lost without scoring a goal, and there are concerns from Blackpool Supporters that Neil Critchley will need to find another way to play besides just dominating possession, Because other clubs in League One will notice this trend from the two results against Gillingham and Plymouth Argyle and realise that if you stick men behind the ball, Blackpool struggle to break teams down and Blackpool need to find a way to win these type of matches, also, Blackpool need to find a way to win away from home, Because Blackpool have got a very disappointing away form, which means that Blackpool will put pressure on every home league game at Bloomfield Road - Something, that we as Gillingham Supporters recognise all too well, Because Gillingham went the entire 2009 / 2010 Season without picking up a away win, and that was the season Gillingham were relegated into League Two, So Blackpool dominating possession and not scoring in two away games is something to be concerned about.

I also noticed that the comments from “The More Sensible Blackpool Supporters’ Mentioned Michael Nottingham’s errors for both goals, Why didn’t Kaikai and Madine come on much earlier for Blackpool, and there was transfer talk and Blackpool needing to sign a few players to strengthen the squad, as well as having Plan B and Plan C in the locker, should Blackpool’s preferred way of playing doesn’t see Blackpool pick up any points, or, score more goals.

All in all, this was a important win for Gillingham, first home league win of the season, first clean sheet in the league for this season, Dominic Samuel scores a brace on his debut, And Gillingham have picked up six points out of a possible nine already, and all three matches against Hull City, Wigan Athletic and Blackpool were tough and very competitive matches, six points out of nine just gives Gillingham something to build on heading into eight very difficult matches in October, and this week’s break will just re-charge Gillingham’s Batteries for the tough tests that are yet to come around the corner, great performance, great result, great to see Jack Bonham back in goal and great to see Dominic Samuel score twice on his second debut, now it would be great to see Gillingham build on this win against Blackpool by picking up all three points in our next League One Fixture against Shrewsbury Town - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#Gillingham #Blackpool #LeagueOne #PriestfieldStadium

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