FOM BLOG: CHATHAM TOWN 0-3 GILLINGHAM XI - 2022 / 2023 - PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
My Thoughts On Chatham Town 0-3 Gillingham XI - Friday 22nd July 2022 Pre-Season Friendly
When Gillingham played against Crystal Palace on Tuesday The 19th July, Gillingham played against Crystal Palace in very hot and humid conditions, But the weather was night and day when comparing the weather for Gillingham V Crystal Palace to the downpour for Chatham Town V Gillingham, And I had arrived at The Bauvill Stadium at 6.30PM, Quickly made my way towards the turnstiles, paid £8 entry fee to get inside the ground, before taking shelter from the rain in Chatham Town’s Bar, and thankfully, the rain stopped forty minutes later, I do think the downpour is needed, just not when we are watching Chatham Town V Gillingham.
Understandably, with Chatham Town not knowing what team Gillingham would be sending over for this Friday Evening’s Pre-Season Friendly, there was no match-day programme, But I was trying and failing to get a printed team-sheet for Chatham Town V Gillingham, Folkestone Invicta V Gillingham and Dover Athletic V Gillingham had team-sheets, heck, even Gillingham’s two home games against Portsmouth and Crystal Palace saw no team-sheets put online for either home pre-season friendly, however, I think we really could have done with a team-sheet for Chatham Town V Gillingham, given that Gillingham had sent a very young side to Chatham Town, and there are a few players we recognise starting for Gillingham, But quite a few of the players playing for Gillingham’s XI are first year scholar’s who I have not seen play for Gillingham before.
I queued up to buy A Bacon Cheese-Burger From The Refreshment Kiosk, got speaking with Justin prior to kick off, with much of our conversation being about the tickets for AFC Wimbledon and just the disruption and ticketing fiasco which has mostly been caused by AFC Wimbledon for sending the tickets out so late, I had paid for A E-Ticket Online, But I have learned new information on Monday that A E-Ticket bounces automatically back to collection, So I am going to need to go to The Ticket Office On Friday to collect my ticket for AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham, And whilst AFC Wimbledon do get the bulk of the blame for sending the match tickets over so late, Gillingham only opening The Ticket Office On Friday’s does not help matters at all for supporters who want to pick up there match tickets during the middle of the week.
Diane sent me a message asking for me to get a team sheet - I was unable to get a team sheet - before I sat down next to Diane In The Main Stand At Chatham Town, and I told Diane about AFC Wimbledon’s Bag Policy, Supporters cannot take bags of any kind with them inside the stadium, Diane cannot take her handbag with her, I cannot take the usual bag I take with me to carry notepads and match-day programmes, a few other regulars I know take a backpack with them and they cannot take that with them inside the ground, This is the same bag policy as Wembley Stadium, And I can understand that rule at Wembley Stadium, With Wembley Stadium having a 90,000 capacity, likely to be sold out for England Matches, League Cup and FA Cup Finals, And Championship, League One and League Two Playoff Finals, But do AFC Wimbledon need to have the same bag policy, I don’t think so, I do think this bag policy rule is over-zealous, and with the train strike, supporters are going to make there own way to the ground, and what happens to supporters who are making there way to the game from work with there work bag for the opening game of the season, this rule doesn’t really take supporters circumstances into consideration.
Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows……. Smith, Webster, Giles, Carter, Dempsey, Gale, Moore, Murray, Garrett, Sithole, Macarthur. Substitutes: Holtam, Woodliffe, Taiwu-Pratt, Bayliss, Kuhr, Skipper, De Wilde, Hutcheon. - The players I can name in full in the starting line up are Tobey Smith, Alex Giles, Freddie Carter, Will Dempsey, Sam Gale, Elliott Moore, Kai Garratt, Ronald Sithole and Matty Macarthur, And Tobey Smith is in goal because Taite Holtam is likely to be on the bench for Southend United V Gillingham On The Saturday.
Chatham Town had named there starting line up and substitutes bench, and former Gillingham Players Danny Kedwell and Dean Beckwith are not in the match-day squad, and one thing Me and Diane both mentioned prior to kick off was Chatham Town are going to win the physical battle, and when it comes to defending corner’s, free kick’s and long throws, Chatham Town are going to be more physical then Gillingham, given how young this Gillingham XI Side is, But our young players need to be playing more matches like Deal Town, Ramsgate, Chatham Town and Bearsted, and if Gillingham cannot implement A U21 Team at this moment in time, then at the very least organise friendlies against Kent Non League Side who are Ryman Division One South, Southern Counties Eastern Football League or lower, so that our young players are playing against more experienced players, Because The Youth Alliance League just does not give our young players enough games during the season.
Both teams were then out on to the pitch ready to kick off this Friday Evening Pre-Season Friendly, Me And Diane were not going to Southend United V Gillingham On The Saturday, So this match gave us the chance to look at the younger players play for The Gills, and see if anyone can force there way into the first team this season, hopefully, we see the young players put in a encouraging performance, and Gillingham can win this match against Chatham Town - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!
And the first noteworthy moment of the match see’s Oloyede run with pace down the dugout side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Will Dempsey has done enough to not only prevent Oloyede getting through on goal, but to also win Gillingham a goal-kick as well, This is a very inexperienced back five for Gillingham, and Freddie Carter is the one player who looks like he is pushing close to be involved with the first team, the others need more time to develop throughout the season.
Two Minutes Into The Match, And Will Dempsey is fouled and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Matt Macarthur has whipped a up and under free kick from twenty five yards out into the top left corner of the net and there is nothing that Chatham Town Goalkeeper Ellis could do about that, remarkable goal, out-standing strike, and that free kick from Matt Macarthur has given Gillingham the lead - CHATHAM TOWN 0-1 GILLINGHAM XI
Just re-watching that goal from Matt Macarthur again, It really is a outstanding strike and Matt Macarthur impressed when he played for Gillingham against Folkestone Invicta and he has been in and around the first team squad for first team pre-season friendlies, and Matt Macarthur has scored this excellent free kick against Chatham Town to give Gillingham a early lead after three minutes.
Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had the chance to double there lead to 2-0, Kai Garratt has possession of the ball for Gillingham down the left side of the pitch in Chatham Town’s Final Third, And Kai Garratt goes past his marker, continue’s his driving run inside Chatham Town’s Penalty Area, And Kai Garratt’s driven shot across the face of goal goes just wide of the far right post with Ellis well and truly beaten in goal for Chatham Town, And Kai Garratt is another player who is standing out along with Matt Macarthur as a player that Gillingham should pay close attention to throughout the season.
But Chatham Town manage to win a corner kick moments later when Oloyede’s cross is charged down at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and set plays do concern me given how young and inexperienced this Gillingham Side Is, Thankfully, Chatham Town completely waste the resulting corner by messing up the short corner kick routine and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - There is a huge size difference between the players on both sides, not surprising considering that Gillingham have got a squad of players between the ages of sixteen and twenty in our XI Squad, where as Chatham Town have got players with plenty of first team appearances in various divisions of non league football.
Gillingham were looking to cause Chatham Town more problems defensively when Ronald Sithole almost got on to the end of a threaded through-pass which Chatham Town were able to clear away from danger and Chatham Town have seen a few crosses just not quite reach there intended targets, and that’s how Chatham Town are going to cause Gillingham problems, whipping in early crosses, looking to win the physical battle and look to win the second ball.
However, Twenty Minutes Into The Match, Gillingham manage to extend the score-line further in our favour to 2-0, Kai Garratt has possession of the ball on the centre circle and Kai Garratt runs forwards in possession of the ball before losing possession of the ball, And Kai Garratt charges down a attempted clearance and Ronald Sithole is on to the loose ball for Gillingham, And Ronald Sithole gets the ball under control before passing the ball centrally to Matt Macarthur on the edge of Chatham Town’s Penalty Area, And Matt Macarthur takes a touch to control the ball, work his way into a shooting position, And Matt Macarthur’s low placed effort towards goal finds the bottom left corner of the net with a very precise finish and Chatham Town Goalkeeper Ellis could not keep that effort out and Gillingham are now winning 2-0 against Chatham Town - CHATHAM TOWN 0-2 GILLINGHAM XI
This is a different type of goal that Matt Macarthur has scored for Gillingham and Matt Macarthur has scored both of Gillingham’s Goals scored against Chatham Town, and Me and Diane were impressed with the young midfielders performance in this match so far, of course, we have to take the level of opposition into consideration, But Matt Macarthur’s Name has been mentioned by quite a few Gillingham Supporters in pre-season, and he could be a player who gets starting appearances for Gillingham In The Football League Trophy This Season.
And a minute after Gillingham had scored for 2-0, Gills had the chance to extend the score-line further to 3-0, when Sam Gale almost managed to pick out Ronald Sithole with a threaded through-ball which was saved by Ellis in goal for Chatham Town, And a few minutes later, Chatham Town were looking to half the deficit when a pass down the line by Number Two for Chatham Town saw a huge shout for a penalty for the hosts waved away by The Referee and Linesman, Very fifty / fifty if Chatham Town should have been awarded a penalty and looked liked Bradshaw was clipped inside the penalty area there - Without a team sheet and squad numbers, it was very difficult to find out who was playing for Chatham Town.
Twenty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had a great chance to extend the score-line further to 3-0, Ronald Sithole runs down the right flank and whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Kai Garratt’s header goes just wide of the far left post with Ellis well and truly beaten, and that was the chance for Gillingham to go 3-0 up, And down the other end of the pitch, Number Seven For Chatham Town whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Freddie Carter headers the ball behind at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, a dangerous in-swinging cross is headed clear and away from danger by Murray, and the second in-swinging cross is headed partially clear by Will Dempsey, And Oloyede’s driven effort towards goal only just about clears Gillingham’s Crossbar with Tobey Smith beaten in goal for Gillingham, Both sides have had chances to get themselves on the score-sheet, 3-0 would have put Gillingham in a very strong position to win this pre-season friendly, 1-2, and Chatham Town would be back in the match again.
Thirty Seven Minutes Into The Match, Chatham Town had a free kick twenty five yards from goal in a very central position on the pitch, and the resulting free kick was blocked by Gillingham’s Defensive Wall and Matt Macarthur completed the clearance for Gillingham and Chatham Town are just starting to get themselves back into this match and testing Gillingham more defensively, And being tested defensively continued when Chatham Town were awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and a dangerous in-swinging cross into the heart of Gillingham’s Penalty Area saw a headed up and under effort go towards goal and Tobey Smith makes a important save to protect Gillingham’s 2-0 lead, had that header been a bullet header on target from close range, I think Chatham Town would have scored, and 1-2 would have given Chatham Town a confidence boost just as we are approaching the end of the first half.
Forty One Minutes Into The Match, And Matt Macarthur breaks Chatham Town’s Offside Trap down The Dugout Side Of The Pitch, And Matt Macarthur waits for support, passes the ball through to Murray on the over-lap, And Murray for Gillingham has fired a low shot across the face of goal which flashes just wide of the far left post with Ellis diving at full stretch and Kai Garratt arrived at the far post to try and turn Murray’s shot goal-wards, and Gillingham almost scored for 3-0.
But the final noteworthy moment of the first half went to Chatham Town, who almost halved the deficit just before half time, Oloyede runs with pace down the left side of the pitch before firing a low dangerous cross which is blocked by Freddie Carter and I think it is Bradshaw who fired the ball over the crossbar from inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and that was the chance for Chatham Town to score for 1-2, and after what appeared to be a long period of stoppage time, The Referee blew his whistle for half time, It was 8.35PM by the time the half time whistle was blown, which made me think that the match started later then 7.45PM.
HALF TIME: CHATHAM TOWN 0-2 GILLINGHAM XI
I mentioned to Diane that I was going to stand behind the goal for the second half, our view of the pitch from the main stand was obscured slightly because Chatham Town are planning to build a new main stand which is elevated higher then pitch level, and the standing area will be lower then the seated section, think of the main stand at Maidstone United, or some of the newer stands that have been built recently which are elevated higher then pitch level, but that type of stand probably costs millions of pounds to build, The New Stand At Dover Athletic is also another stand that is elevated above pitch level.
I also mentioned to Diane that this isn’t The Chatham Town Side who got promoted from The Southern Counties Eastern Football League with 100 points, Chatham Town look like they are missing quite a few players from there squad and Gillingham’s XI Side have lost to Deal Town and Ramsgate in pre-season, and whilst I am pleased with the performance and the score-line so far, I do think Chatham Town are missing a few players, Because Danny Kedwell isn’t playing in this fixture.
I then made my way down to the far end of the ground where Gillingham will be kicking towards in the second half, And I spoke with Colin, who was taking a few photo’s for Kent Pro Images, and it has been a good performance from Gillingham so far, but last season’s friendly saw Gillingham go 2-0 up and lost 3-2 against Chatham Town, And Gillingham almost did the same-thing away against Welling United before John Akinde scored a stoppage time equaliser for 3-3, I mentioned that I was not going to Southend United V Gillingham, just to far to travel for a pre-season friendly, and I can use the money saved for that friendly to go towards AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham On Saturday.
It be interesting to find out what the attendance for Chatham Town V Gillingham XI Is because it looks like a decent turnout considering that Gillingham have sent A XI Side down to Chatham Town, it also helps that you can pay on the day with cash on the turnstiles, and supporters can buy food and drink with ease, compared to just how poor everything is being run at Priestfield Stadium, with The Ticket Office only open on Friday’s, the stadium is cashless, No Club Shop, No Match-Day Programme Sellers, No 50/50 Match-Day Lottery, No Half Time Penalty Shoot-Out, And there have been complaints about the food and drink sold inside the stadium, these are problems that Gillingham have got to resolve and resolve quickly as well.
Gillingham had made six substitutions at half time with - Kuhr, De Wilde, Hutcheon, Skipper, Taiwu-Pratt and Bayliss all coming on, and Carter, Moore, Dempsey, Murray, Garrett and Macarthur all getting substituted, I am guessing that the likes of Freddie Carter, Matty Mcarthur, and Kai Garratt will all be in the match-day squad for Southend United V Gillingham the day after and Mark Moss has made these six substitutions to not only protect some players who might be in the first team squad for Southend United V Gillingham, But also give a runout to some of the younger first year scholar’s who are getting given an opportunity to play for Gillingham against Chatham Town.
And it’s Gillingham that make the promising start to the second half with Ronald Sithole chasing after a long ball down-field which forces Chatham Town to kick the ball into touch at the expense of conceding a throw on, and from the resulting throw, Gillingham were looking to get in and behind Chatham Town’s Defence, And Ronald Sithole’s pass through to Hutcheon is slightly over-hit, and the ball goes out of play for A Chatham Town Goal-Kick.
And Gillingham had another chance to open the scoring, again, Ronald Sithole was at the front of Gillingham’s Attacking Threat, And Sithole, Hutcheon and Bayliss all combined to move the ball quickly centrally outside Chatham Town’s Penalty Area, And Hutcheon passes the ball through to Kuhr inside Chatham Town’s Penalty Area down the right side, And Kuhr’s shot across the face of goal narrowly goes wide of the angle of crossbar and post, on target, and Kuhr would have added to the score-line, and Gillingham would have gone 3-0 up.
But In The Fiftieth Minute, Gillingham do extend the score-line further in there favour, Ronald Sithole runs down the left side of the pitch in possession of the ball before passing the ball through to Bayliss on the over-lap, And Bayliss passes the ball centrally inside to Hutcheon, who retains possession of the ball before turning and trying to get a shot off on target, and Chatham Town manage to clear there defensive lines, And Skipper is on to the loose ball, takes a touch and plays a short pass forwards towards Kuhr, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to The Gillingham Right Back who had stretched the pitch high and wide, and whoever was playing right back managed to thread a pass through to Kuhr, who was through on goal by the byline, And Kuhr pulled the ball back towards Ronald Sithole, who fired the ball into the roof of the net from close range to give Gillingham a 3-0 lead - CHATHAM TOWN 0-3 GILLINGHAM
This was very much a team goal for Gillingham, And Ronald Sithole has caused Chatham Town’s Defence plenty of problems with his pace all evening, and Sithole’s individual performance has been capped off with a goal and a deserved goal as well, and with that goal, I think Gillingham have greatly strengthened there chances of winning this Friday Evening’s Pre-Season Friendly.
And just two minutes later, Gillingham had the chance to go 4-0 up, Skipper had threaded a through-ball through to Bayliss, who was one on one with Chatham Town’s Substitute Goalkeeper, But Chatham Town’s Sub Goalkeeper makes a fantastic one handed save to prevent Bayliss from scoring for 4-0, before gathering the loose ball at the second attempt, that goal would have made absolutely certain that there was no way back into this match for Chatham Town, However, Fifty Six Minutes Into The Match, Chatham Town had the chance to score a consolation goal when A Striker for Chatham Town was through on goal after a defensive error, And Tobey Smith makes a fantastic save to keep the ball out of the net, but the follow up header somehow went narrowly wide of the far post, And Chatham Town have missed a sitter and the hosts should have scored for 1-3 down, great save by Tobey Smith initially and the defence did not help him out at all for the re-bound - A Let Off For Gillingham.
And Tobey Smith was required to make another save as Chatham Town saw a low cross ricochet inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Tobey Smith managed to save the loose ball, but Gillingham have just switched off defensively for the past few minutes and Chatham Town could have scored both of these chances to be 2-3 down and be back in this match, And In The Fifth Eighth Minute Of The Match, Ronald Sithole’s low effort towards goal from twenty yards out flashed just wide of the far left post with The Chatham Town Goalkeeper well and truly beaten, And that was the chance for Gillingham to score to go 4-0 up, And Ronald Sithole would have also scored his second goal of the game just like Matt Macarthur.
Sixty One Minutes Into The Match, And Bayliss’s effort towards goal was saved by The Chatham Town Goalkeeper, Ronald Sithole had another effort on goal saved by Chatham Town’s Goalkeeper, Before the hosts had to substitute one of there players because of injury, and this stoppage in play allowed both teams to pass on any instructions, and for Gillingham, it is more likely to continue doing what we have been doing besides that mini spell in the second half where Chatham Town had opportunities to score twice, and when play resumed, Ronald Sithole was almost in on goal, however, The Linesman Down The Main Stand Side Of The Pitch, had his flag raised for offside.
Seventy Three Minutes Into the Match, And Tobey Smith has to make another excellent save, and Gillingham manage to clear there defensive lines before Chatham Town can get on to the re-bound, And Tobey Smith again is tested, this time having to jump and try and claim a high and hanging cross before gathering the ball at the second attempt, Both Tobey Smith and Taite Holtam are young goalkeepers and with Ashley Maynard-Brewer out for half the season with a dislocated shoulder injury, Gillingham need to sign another goalkeeper to either be first choice, or sign someone to be back up goalkeeper to Jake Turner, and given that Gillingham still need to sign four out-field players, I think the latter is more likely to happen then the former.
Seventy Six Minutes Into The Match, And Josh Woodliffe comes on for Sam Gale as Gillingham make another substitution, Sam Gale could be a player who forces his way into Gillingham’s First Team as a back up central midfielder in the two holding midfielder positions, I do think Neil Harris will be looking to sign another defensive midfielder, especially as we cannot expect Shaun Williams to start for Gillingham in every single game, and we only have got three first team midfielders to cover the two central midfielder positions on the pitch.
Bayliss’s cross / shot for Gillingham in Chatham Town’s Final Third deflected out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, and the resulting corner kick was cleared away from danger by Chatham Town, And The hosts manage to win themselves a free kick within shooting territory, and from the resulting free kick, a driven effort on goal is saved by Tobey Smith, but only just, And Tobey Smith was quick to kick the ball long down-field towards Ronald Sithole, but the ball goes out of play for A Chatham Town Throw On.
Chatham Town were awarded another free kick late on, a decision that I personally didn’t think was a foul, and from the resulting free kick, a high long ball down-field was gathered with ease by Tobey Smith, a few throw on’s start to break up the pace and tempo of the game, along with substitutions from both sides, But Gillingham did win a corner kick late on, And Josh Woodliffe’s in-swinging cross is headed clear and away from danger by Number Five And Two For Chatham Town respectively, as it took two defensive headed clearances for Chatham Town to get the ball clear and away from goal, And Gillingham were looking to add to the score-line, when a low cross across the face of goal went all the way across the six yard area and went out of play for A Chatham Town Goal-Kick.
Chatham Town opted to play the ball short from the resulting goal-kick, before booting the ball long down-field, and that long ball down-field went all the way through to Tobey Smith In Goal For Gillingham, Chatham Town make another substitution late on in the match, And Chatham Town had nine substitutes on the bench for this pre-season friendly for Gillingham, and when play resumed, Ronald Sithole was fouled and Gillingham were awarded a free kick, and although the free kick didn’t result in a meaningful goal-scoring opportunity, Gillingham managed to win a corner kick late on in the match, A Dangerous in-swinging cross was only half cleared and I think it was Bayliss, who worked his way into a shooting position before firing a fiercely driven effort towards goal which only just about cleared Chatham Town’s Crossbar - And that was the chance for Gillingham to go 4-0 up, right at the very end of the match.
And in the closing stages of the match, Tobey Smith had to save a long pass down-field, before Chatham Town booted the ball long down-field as we approach stoppage time at the end of the second half, And Tobey Smith manages to gather that long ball down-field with a little bit of difficulty - and that was the final noteworthy moment of the match, And Gillingham’s Youngsters managed to win 3-0 against Chatham Town.
FULL TIME: CHATHAM TOWN 0-3 GILLINGHAM XI
I spoke with Colin at the end of the match and spoke about how I have paid for A E-Ticket For AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham for the following Saturday, Colin spoke about the problems he encountered using A E-Ticket Last Season, I know AFC Wimbledon have sent the tickets out very late, but it doesn’t help matters at all that Gillingham only have the Ticket Office open on A Friday, why not open The Ticket Office Monday and let everyone get there tickets for AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham - and of course since then, I am going to have to make a trip down to The Ticket Office to get my match ticket for AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham, Because The E-Ticket bounced back to collectability.
Colin asked if I was going to Southend United V Gillingham On Saturday, and I mentioned that I am giving that game a miss, and Colin spoke about his travel plans for AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham, I had booked on The Kings Ferry Coach, the train strike doesn’t help, but there is also a lot of residential parking all the way around New Plough Lane as well, which means the option of driving via car is not an option, and the bag policy at AFC Wimbledon will catch a few people out as well.
I said c ya to Colin, before noticing that someone had left there coat on the floor, so I picked the coat up and handed the coat to a member of Chatham Town Staff, before meeting up with Diane, And we spoke about the second half performance, Ronald Sithole scoring for 3-0, Chatham Town missed a open goal which have brought the score-line back to 3-1, And Gillingham had chances to add to the score-line, even with the huge number of substitutions at half time, and those substitutions suggested that Carter, Moore, Garrett and Macarthur will be on the bench for Southend United V Gillingham the day after, along with Goalkeeper Taite Holtham, who did not play for Gillingham against Chatham Town On Friday Night, which suggests that Taite Holtham will be on the bench for Southend United V Gillingham.
Neither of us will be going to Southend United V Gillingham At Roots Hall, But Diane mentioned that there was a very good chance that she was going to give Bearsted V Gillingham a miss on Tuesday Night, I mentioned that Ben was going to that game, and I can always get a lift from Ben at Maidstone West Train Station, and there might be one or two first team players in the squad on Tuesday Night, but the vast majority of the squad will be young players, and it will be a side similar to Chatham Town V Gillingham XI.
We then made our back towards Diane’s Car in the car park, And I sent out the following tweet,,,, CHATHAM TOWN 0-3 GILLINGHAM - Feel free to ask me any questions you have about tonight's match. - I then looked up the attendance for Chatham Town V Gillingham which was 805, which was a very decent attendance considering that this was A Gillingham XI Side that was playing against Chatham Town, but the player who stood out for both of us was Matt Macarthur, fantastic free kick for the first goal, very good finish for the second goal, and Matt Macarthur has been a player who has stood out for Gillingham in pre-season, and he is a player we need to keep a eye on and see how he develops over the next few months or so, But when Gillingham play in The Football League Trophy, give the likes of Bailey Akehurst, Freddie Carter, Joseph Gbode and Matt Macarthur a runout in that competition, I want Gillingham to go on a cup run in The Football League Trophy, but use this competition to give our young players some game-time.
Diane then dropped me back home, and I thanked Diane for the lift and in just over a week’s time, The League Two Season starts with AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham, maybe we will see Gillingham announce a few new signings prior to that match and we go into the opening league game of the season with more belief and optimism, I again thanked Diane for the lift before going indoors.
I got a few questions about the game that I was going through on social media, and Simon asked me how did the players perform, and did anyone stand out, I responded with the following,,,,, Matty Macarthur scored a fantastic free kick for the opening goal, before adding his and Gillingham's second goal in the first half, Sithole scored Gillingham's third goal, Garratt liked to get on the ball and take players on. Attendance was 805 for Chatham Town V Gillingham XI. - Carter Moore Dempsey Murray Garrett and Macarthur were all subbed off at half time, and I would guess that some of the players mentioned here, will be in the match-day squad for Southend United V Gillingham tomorrow. Unfortunately, no programme or team-sheet for the game tonight.
I saw a few comments from supporters praising Matty Macarthur, and I responded with the following,,,,,,, Macarthur has played for Gillingham against Folkestone Invicta, Dover Athletic, Portsmouth and Crystal Palace in pre-season, And Harris does want to integrate the youth set up more closely to Gillingham's First Team. Great free kick for the first goal, good finish for the second.
There was a video clip of Matty Macarthur’s Free Kick On Twitter which I re-tweeted, and I saw a match report from someone else at the game, which I read with interest, and I saw more high praise comments towards Matt Macarthur and I responded to one of the high praise comments with the following,,,,, Impressed when he came on against Folkestone in the first pre-season friendly, has played for Gillingham against Dover, Portsmouth and Crystal Palace, and scored twice for Gillingham against Chatham Town, I think Harris will keep Macarthur in and around the first team this season.
But I have to also praise Ronald Sithole for his performance second half, used his pace to cause Chatham Town so many problems, scored Gillingham’s goal for 3-0, could have scored again with another goal-scoring opportunity in the second half, and Ronald Sithole could be a player who could play on the right, left or through the middle for Gillingham, his pace will cause problems for defenders, and he could be another player who gets opportunities to play for Gillingham’s First Team In The Football League Trophy as well.
Gillingham won 3-0, kept a clean sheet, gave game-time to so many players in the youth set up, and six players were substituted at half time because Neil Harris will need to use a few players in the first team friendly for Southend United V Gillingham at Roots Hall, the players who came on got the opportunity to play for Gillingham in-front of a large turnout at The Bauvill Stadium, and 805 is a very good attendance as well considering Gillingham sent a young side down to Chatham Town On Friday Evening.
Bearsted away is next, and it be interesting to see what team Gillingham send down to Bearsted On Tuesday Night, one thing is for sure, getting to Bearsted is going to be very very difficult, because Bearsted’s Stadium is in the middle of no-where, And finally, Chatham Town did split there squads, a more senior first team squad played a pre-season friendly fixture on Saturday, whilst a younger side played against A Gillingham XI Side On Friday Night, end of the day, pre-season friendlies meant a very good home attendances, and a 805 attendance will boost Chatham Town financially as well, just unfortunate that Gillingham have only played two pre-season friendlies that can be considered first team friendlies against Kent Non League Opposition, But the amount of managerial changes in Kent Non League Football this off season has been incredible, I never known anything like it, and Welling United, Tonbridge Angels, Herne Bay and Whitstable Town are all upgrading there facilities and cannot play any friendlies at home.
All in all, a win, a clean sheet, game-time for most of the young players in the youth set up, and Matt Macarthur is a player that Gillingham Supporters need to keep a eye on, But more importantly, our young players need to be playing in pre-season friendlies like this one, I don’t think the youth alliance league does enough to develop young players for the first team, where as playing against Local Non League Sides with experienced players, and playing in-front of supporters is more meaningful for player development, But Matt Macarthur really did impress for Gillingham against Chatham Town, and he was the player everyone was talking about after this pre-season friendly, and finally, to end this blog on a high— COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!
