Gillingham v Scunthorpe United

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Football League One

Gillingham :
Brown, Clohessy (Rose 26), Cox, Johnson, Jackman, Black, Cochrane, Crofts, Spiller (Shields 70), Grant, Harris
Subs not used:
Crichton, Hope, Pouton

Scunthorpe United :
Musselwhite, Stanton, Crosby, Foster, Williams, Taylor (Ehui 82), Hinds, Baraclough, Sparrow, Torpey, Keogh
Subs not used:
Goodwin, Byrne, Evans, Timlin

SULSESC REPORT

by Chris Vaughan at Priestfield Stadium

SATURDAY, February 25. A day of days. A day for myths to be confounded, a theory propounded, and the chairman dumbfounded; not to mention friendships re-founded.

Myth no. 1: There are no decent pubs in Gillingham. Well, there are now. Thanks to new Pubfinder General Nick Haines, we now have two venues selling decent ale.

Myth no. 2: We never win at Gillingham (or at least, not when playing Gillingham themselves). Wrong. A deserved and much needed 3-1 victory gave United all three points.

Theory: according to Mr. Sumner, Steve Torpey’s equaliser at home to Swansea the previous Saturday will prove to be the turning point in United’s season. So far, so good.

Chairman: Despite the attraction of cheap sandwiches in the Frog & Toad before the game, chairman Tremayne opted for the surprise choice of…a jar of cockles. Unfortunately for the chairman, despite much cajoling, prodding, poking and prying (and assistance from the rest of us) this particular jar of cockles steadfastly refused to be parted from its lid. Reference to the bar staff led to the intervention of the Biggest Bloke in the Pub, who happily assisted in getting the chairman’s cockles out.

Friendships: The Frog & Toad, discovered by Nick, turned out to be a relatively quiet little pub about 10 minutes from the station and much more handily placed than East Brompton where we’ve had to get to in previous years to find good beer. Strangely, just as Mr. Haines’ unofficial appointment as new Pubfinder General was being discussed, in walked the former PG and SULSESC darts team opener, Jan Ordon for his first Scunny game for, well, years I suspect. Trailing in his wake came sometime Sheffield student Solomon, an only slightly more regular attendee these days.

Walking to the ground, the blustery weather suggested we might be in for an interesting 90 minutes, but the improvements since our last visit now shelter the pitch well and we had no wind trouble. Although the away end is a temporary structure, the rest of the Priestfield is now looking more a complete stadium instead of a collection of different parts stuck together.

And then we won. Despite Gillingham going ahead against the run of play, Matty Sparrow bent a lovely shot in at the far post after a neat lay-off from Andy Keogh to level the scores just before half-time.

Trying hard throughout, but without much success, Steve Torpey headed a cross against the post; for a change it rebounded kindly to Hinds who shot along the ground for the second.

The third came from a long ball out to the right wing; Cleveland chased it down with a defender breathing down his neck and put in an inch-perfect low cross for Keogh to score.

We played well; Gillingham were not very good. In the second half, apart from one heart-stopping goalmouth scramble, there was little threat to Mussy’s goal. A good team performance with everyone playing his part.

A visit to another of Mr. Haines’ discoveries had been arranged prior to the match; the Barge, a little further away towards the Medway. Before the Barge, though, a short detour to the Ship found an old pub perhaps unsympathetically modernised, but the Barge…

Difficult to tell whether an original pub or former house(s), but all wood beams and candles (no electric light) provided a great atmosphere for an extra pint or two whilst watching Chase the Egg.

Let’s hope Gillingham don’t go down. Now that we’ve dispelled the old myth, It would be a shame if we couldn’t put Pubfinder General Haines’ hard work to good use again next season.