One lad went down to the roseneath early and says it has changed hands, gone downhill and not worth a visit so we stay put. At about 2.30 suitably refreshed we started the 20 minute walk to the ground.
The away end has improved since we last went and it's much higher so you can actually see the match. Our away half of the stand was nearly full (around 1,300 I would guess) and despite no roof we out sang the 6 toed statues from start to finish.
The game was fairly dull, we played against 12 men as the referee penalised us for everything and let them do anything. Knight was upended and it was a penalty, if not Knight should have been off for diving.
We were very strong at the back and Hinshelwood has benefited from playing in midfield as he played the ball out well.
Knight was having his best game for ages, Virgo was still giving it 100% and it was nice to have chippy back. With 15 minutes or so left McGhee decided on changes, but as he was just about to make the substitutions the El-Abd was crocked and he was crawling round in agony. S
o on came McPhee and Oatway with Nicolas surprisingly going off. Hinshelwood went to right back and Virgo to centre back. For a few minutes after that we looked a bit rocky, Gillingham almost scored after a Cullip slip but Harding put in a match saving block. It made up for another disappointing display.
With 10 minutes or so left, McPhee was clear on the left. He held up the ball well, put in a superb cross and Knight was suddenly on the floor appealing and the referee agreed and it was a penalty. Mr Cool scored with his usual stuttering run and once the keeper had dived the wrong way rolled the ball in the opposite corner.
After that we defended well and got a deserved 3 points
Kuipers - 6 did nothing wrong but I cant recall Gillingham having a shot during the game
El-Abd - 7 good solid display
Harding - 5 gave away the ball too often and caught out of position regularly, but did one brilliant block
Cullip - 9 superb match
Hinshelwood - 8 showed his best position today
Currie - 7 best ball player we have had for a long long time
Nicolas - 6 another battling display
Carpenter - 6 good solid return
Hammond - 6 solid, but should have scored
Virgo - 6 his usual 110% commitment
Knight - 9 my MOTM and he deserved his goal
Mark R