Styles leaves Gills boss 'knackered'

Last updated : 16 August 2004 By Headley

Don't rub 'em, count 'em!

Styles has been somewhat of a lucky charm for Gillingham Football Club down the years. He reffed our playoff semi-final with Stoke City, then the final itself against Wigan, during our promotion season of 1999-2000 - and was a good omen yet again this past week as the Gills battled past Leeds by two goals to one.

You'd have thought Andy Hessenthaler would have wanted to buy the chap a beer after the game, but in truth Hess could have been forgiven for giving the whistler a wide berth.

The Gills were leading 2-1 with minutes to go when a scuffle involving Hess and Leeds' centre half Paul Butler created a bit of a scrum in front of the Gordon Road Stand. Hess ended up on the floor in pain and many Gills fans would have thought the gaffer was injured by a Preston player, but in fact it was the man in black!

Ref Styles had muscled his way into the melee to split up the players and, in doing so, inadvertently planted his knee into Hessenthaler's unmentionables.

Speaking after the match (probably sounding a bit like Alan Ball), Hessenthaler said, ‘The scuffle with Paul was a bit of nothing really. Why do I always get involved with the big blokes?

‘Stylesy has been good for us in the past but tonight he just caught me in the private parts when he came in to break everything up.

‘It was only an accident but if I had been allowed to I would have booked him!’