[ 12 Apr 16 ] GILLS v Walsall Match Thread

[Garawa]

The Gills have the best home record with 43 points (Wigan have 2 points but from 2 more games played). Walsall have the best away record with 39 points.

The Gills are unbeaten in 4 at Priestfield against Walsall and last won back in September 2007. The Gills edge the wins by 45 to 42.

Only 22 of the 109 meetings have ended level but the last minute winner in the reverse fixture ended a run of 6 successive draws against them (3 of which were 0-0).

Walsall lost their last 2 league games without scoring. Those games ended a run of 3 successive wins, their only wins in 11 (the same total as the Gills).

Walsall ended last season with an 8-2 defeat before losing just once in 18 away games this season. They have since lost their last 2.

From Walsall's last 16 league games, 15 of the 20 points they have earned came in their away games.

Before today Walsall had been behind for 207 minutes in away games (an average of 10.4 minutes per game), the least of any League 1 side.

7:48 Kick-Off

8:11
The Gills are awarded a penalty for a handball in the area.

8:12
Luke Norris misses the penalty.

8:15
Walsall hit the bar.

8:34 Half-time: 0-0

8:49
The second half kicks off.

9:12
GOAL! Gillingham 0-1 Walsall.
Walsall have only lost twice in 39 games after scoring first and not at all this season (won 15 and drawn 7).

9:21
GOAL! Gillingham 0-2 Walsall.

9:39
GOAL! Gillingham 1-2 Walsall: Norris

9:40 FULL-TIME: 1-2

Position: 6th
Attendance: 6,246 (204)
Referee: Stuart Attwell

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

A massive game for both clubs with this being a game in hand.Burton are struggling at the moment,so a win for either side on Tuesday would put them 5 points behind Burton.Walsall also have an extra game in hand after this as well.I think we have to win if we want to take advantage of Burton`s wobble.Walsall are having a bit of one as well with two straight defeats.We have 5 clean sheets out of 6 games,but the goals have dried up a bit,so it will be interesting to see if we start Dack & Cody and go back to our diamond formation which saw us scoring many goals.We obviously need to get some wins.We sit 5th at the moment so a win would put us 3rd and move us further away from that dreaded 7th place.

[fan_of_mulligan]

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

------------------------------------Nelson---------------------------------------
---------------Oshilaja------------El-Abd---------------Ehmer-------------------
Jackson--------------Crofts------------------Wright--------------------Garmston
-------------------------------------Dack--------------------------------------------
---------------------Donnelly-----------------Norris--------------------------------

Subs: G.Morris (GK), Egan, B.Dickenson, A.Morris, Osadebe, Williams, McDonald

The two changes I can see from the team that started against Sheffield United on Saturday are Bradley Dack for Jake Hessenthaler and Bradley Garmston in for Brennan Dickenson, Jake Hessenthaler losing a tooth on Saturday means that he is unable to play tonight and I thought Brennan Dickenson struggled on Saturday and I can see Bradley Garmston starting tonight, if Bradley Dack starts I am not sure he will play the full ninety minutes, but Gillingham haven't scored in the last two games and we need goals, Bradley Dack is Gillingham's Top Goal-Scorer and Top Goal Creator this season, therefore he has to start.

Here's hoping that Gillingham can win tonight, pick up three massive points and move back to third spot in League One - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!

[baronnight]

Dickenson had a bad game because they had 2 good players on their right wing who worked well together, he couldn't cover them both and had little help.

[Rimshot]

No surprise at the result, we are simply not good enough to beat the top sides. If we do retain a play off place I'm afraid it's just postponing the inevitable. League one beckons for another season.

[gillsfan1066]

Need to start saying nice things about Burton this weekend, and pray to the good Lord that Port Vale are already done for the season. Bad loss tonight, but not the end of the world ....................just yet, were still 3 points ahead and in sixth place.

[lidbid46]

But Gillsfan it was really poor. All the things we were doing well before Christmas have disappeared and tonight Walsall made us look second rate once we had wasted our penalty. Add that to the previous home game and one has to question whether play offs would achieve anything in the long run. We are a long way from where we were and this run in has shown that other clubs now have our measure. I have no idea what our game plan was and once we gifted them a goal we had no plan b and didn't seem to have any drive or determination. I lost count of how many missed passes we played, many of them across our area to players that were marked and isolated. I really couldn't understand what we were attempting to do. Once Walsall starTed playing little one twos around our area we had no answer apart from last ditch tackles and hoofs to no one in blue. It felt very disjointed and desperate to me tonight.

[Garawa]

Winner takes all game to a degree and we blew it. Walsall easily the best side we have had a Priestfield and although they hit the bar in the first half, we should have been 2-0 up at half time after we missed penalty and the 'keeper made a stunning save to tip Dack's curling effort that was heading for the very top right corner of the net behind for a corner (I have no idea how he got there)! It's all well and good saying we aren't good enough to beat the top sides but at that point we were dealing with them comfortably. The extra man in midfield was making it difficult for them to find space and Sawyers couldn't get passes going so they kept going long and our 3 at the back were wining every header. Adam El-Abd (my man of the match) bossed the space although Egan had a good game when he came on to replace him.

That was the 56th minute. For me it changed 11 minutes later when we went 4 at the back after Hessy replaced Oshilaja. Suddenly the loss of the extra midfielder gave them, in particularly Sawyers and Lalkovic, acres of space they could carve through and they were ahead just 1 minute later! THAT was the problem in my book, the change in formation however we created little after those first few chances in the first half and poor Norris had to deal with long balls over the top for most of the game with 3 defenders around him! Norris is only effective when we have creative and attacking players elsewhere which we have missed. It's fine having 5 in midfield but when we have this lack of creativity we have been bypassing it which is why we haven't scored much but it's solidity has meant we having conceded much either (1 goal conceded in the equivalent of 7 games). The only option I can see is to play McGlashan and Dickenson as wingers in a 3-4-1-2 and have Morris and Wright in the middle with either dropping back instead. Dack, Norris and Cody need to be at the defence constantly like before as they can't mark all 3.

Crofts was awful last nigh, Dack not surprisingly was a fair bit off of match sharpness and Jackson didn't look as threatening but Cody had a great game. Norris keeps getting stick but he has scored ALL of our goals in the last 5 games. We could have been 5 behind second place with a game still to play against them but now are in the final play off spot just 3 points ahead Barnsley. Very disappointing. Miss out on play-offs and we could find ourselves in difficulty next season.

[Kent_UckyFriedGills]

Another big game,and another disappointing result against a side competing with us.I think the defeat ends any slim hopes we had of gaining 2nd place.Norris`s penalty miss must have affected us as we seemed flat after it,and the atmosphere quieter than usual.If that goes in then it`s a different game,the crowd are loud and Walsall heads may have dropped.El-Abd went off and the system changed,which not long after Walsall scored two goals.Our first goals conceded in over 400 minutes.I know the goals didn`t come from a defensive mistake,but it shows how solid we are when El-Abd is on the pitch.The second half performance was poor,a shame Norris`s excellent consolation came too late.I felt really down about the result last night,but look at it better today as we have a great chance to finish in the play off`s still,and another home game on Saturday against a mid-table side to put it right.Barnsley winning last night does put pressure on us,but we have to forget last night and be ready for Saturday now.A lot of Teams would love to be 6th right now.

Norris has been getting a lot of stick,but he is the only one scoring.Anyone can miss a penalty as we saw with Aguero last night.