|
Classic Match: Giantkillers!
Charlton arrived at Priestfield on a rich vein of form - and included eight of the team who so convincingly defeated Chelsea 4-2 over the Christmas period. Scott Parker was ruled out through injury, and strike pairing Paolo Di Canio and Jason Euell were on the substitutes bench. Their lineup, with the lively front two of Carlton Cole and the in-form Jonatan Johansson, looked a strong side.
The Gills were forced to field the only 11 fit first-teamers available, as Andy Hessenthaler, Barry Ashby, Kevin James, Rod Wallace, David Perpetuini, Mark Saunders, Jason Brown and Vince Bartram were all unavailable due to injury. On top of that, boss Andy Hessenthaler was unable to field on-loan keeper Nico Vaesen as Birmingham City understandably didn't want their keeper to be cup-tied for later in the season. This meant Frenchman Bertrand Bossu was thrown into the fray for his home debut after making just two appearances for the Gills earlier in the season.
Thankfully, the back four remained unchanged with Nosworthy, Hope, Cox and Hills continuing in defence. In midfield, young gun Danny Spiller was handed another chance in the side, as was Nicky Southall, whose form in recent weeks was a matter of much concern amongst Gills fans. They were joined by midfield stalwart and Gills skipper Paul Smith. Up front, Mama Sidibe spearheaded the Gills attack, with Paul Shaw and Tommy Johnson running the channels either side in an adventurous formation. It worked like a dream.
The start of the game saw hopes of a dream result turn quickly into a nightmare. Nyron Nosworthy snuffed out an early Charlton attack, but dithered on the ball and was dispossessed by Carlton Cole. The ball was worked neatly for Paul Konchesky whose driven cross hit Ian Cox and nestled apologetically in the net. Just 35 seconds had elapsed and the Gills were a goal behind. However, the Priestfield crowd roared their support for the home side and the Gills took the game by the scruff of the neck and proceeded to batter Charlton for the remainder of the half.
From the moment Gillingham kicked off following Charlton's goal, the home side were in control. Danny Spiller bossed the midfield in a manner reminiscent of his manager - ably assisted by Paul Smith and Nicky Southall, who deserves great credit as he produced undoubtedly his best performance in a Gills shirt since his return from Bolton Wanderers. Smith and Southall were excellent, but the outstanding performer in the first half was Danny Spiller, who put the Premiership club's stars to shame with his all-action display.
The Gills hit Charlton with everything and left the Premiership side in tatters after a three-goal blitz in 17 sensational minutes. In the 17th minute a Danny Spiller cross was poorly dealt with by Jonathan Fortune and Tommy Johnson picked up the loose ball, wriggled his way past Radostin Kishishev and fired low and hard under Dean Kiely to equalise. Priestfield erupted as thoughts of another Gills FA Cup giantkilling were rekindled. Two minutes later, the shock result was most definitely on...and the Priestfield roof came off.
|
Johnson's movement was causing Charlton all sorts of problems and minutes later the lively striker nearly scored his second when he weaved his way into the area and fired into the side netting from an acute angle. The pace of the game was amazing - and Gillingham were in total control. Southall, Smith and Spiller won virtually everything in midfield, forcing Charlton to attempt long balls to Johansson and Cole. The Gills back four coped with the threat with such ease that John Hills and Nyron Nosworthy spent more time attacking the Charlton penalty area than they did defending their own. Only a routine save from a Cole header gave Bossu any work in the Gills goal during the first half.
|
The sound of "ole!" could be heard as the Gills midfield toyed with their more illustrious counterparts and the halftime whistle went to a huge cheer as Gillingham had bounced back from the worst possible start to hold a convincing stranglehold over one of THE form sides in the Premiership.
The second half began much better than the first for the Gills. Indeed, they picked up from where they left off in the first half as they pushed Charlton back and dominated possession. Dean Kiely had to be at his best to deny the Gills as, seemingly not content with a two-goal lead, they looked for even more goals.
Great interplay between Johnson and Nyron Nosworthy created space for the fullback, who surged into the area and slammed in a cross-cum-shot that Kiely saved at full stretch. Shortly after, Kiely was in action again as a Mama Sidibe volley from close range was well blocked by the Charlton keeper.
Gillingham seemed determined to batter Charlton for the remainder of the game - and John Hills again produced a great run and cross from the left wing. Perry's attempted clearance fell straight to the feet of Johnson, whose beautifully-struck left-foot volley was brilliantly saved by Kiely. After arguably being at fault for Gillingham's first and third goals, Kiely bounced back after halftime and undoubtedly saved Charlton from a real hiding with his second-half display.
As the game approached its climax, Alan Curbishley threw on Jason Euell and Paolo Di Canio to form a four-man attack, but the Gills midfield and defence held firm. Di Canio twisted and turned on the edge of the Gills area and hit a post with a bobbling effort, but his influence was effectively checked by the Gills back four as Charlton pushed forward in search of a goal.
Then came the moment that Gills fans, and Bertrand Bossu, will remember for a long time indeed. Claus Jensen guided a perfectly-placed shot towards the bottom corner of the net, but Bossu, making his home debut, pulled off a fantastic full-length diving save. The French stopper then somehow managed to recover and produce a second breathtaking save, this time from Johansson. The Finnish striker fell to the floor, but still managed to set the ball up for Graham Stuart, whose hammered effort looked bound for the far corner, but Bossu flew to his right to tip the shot away. Three world-class saves in the space of five seconds from Gillingham's fourth choice keeper brought chants of "Bossuuuuuuuu!" from all four sides of the ground in homage to their new hero.
As the game entered stoppage time a carnival atmosphere had arrived at Priestfield as the ground bounced up and down to songs of celebration and victory. Carlton Cole produced another great save from Bossu, but this time the Frenchman was beaten as the striker, on loan from Chelsea, pulled down the rebound and rolled it under Bossu for 3-2. It proved too late for Charlton, as the Gills defence held out comfortably for a hugely deserved victory and a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Quite simply, the Gills were magnificent, with every single player performing superbly as they totally outplayed Charlton in every department. Andy Hessenthaler was quoted as saying he now wants Manchester United at home. Sadly we got Burnley away - and that was where our Cup run ended, after a 3-1 defeat at Turf Moor.
If you have a classic match report you'd like to share with us, email us at editor@gills365.co.uk