Gills KO towards the North stand, but soon the home front 3 showed decent interplay. Stewart had to be alert to kick clear. Cherries' "fluid" formation meant some players seemed unsure of roles & responsibilities, so that Gills began to take control with a better structure. Our kids up front were not pressing defenders when not in possession - always defend from the opponents' 18-yard line - although Pitman & a defender clashed heavily & needed attention. But Hollands was getting stuck in, even if the team kept gifting the ball to Gills. Then Pitman fed Golbourne on the right, into Vokes who mis-kicked; Cummings picked it up crossed & Golbourne's shot was tipped over. Better. Henry headed the corner over, then he lost possession from a good pass - lack of concentration. Gills shot wide.
Some good home passing was let down by a poor cross-field. Then Pitman & Henry put in Golbourne whose shot was charged down. Henry showed silky skills & dummies, with the daisy-cutter just wide. However, Gills looked good down the right, & hit the outside of Stewart's left-hand post when there was time to aim & score. Henry broke through again: just over, but he looked the best bet with Vokes & Pitman making runs to leave space. Nevertheless Gills still looked better organised & it was beginning to tell as Young upended a forward in the 'D'. Fortunately no yellow, & the free was deflected for a corner. The Reading 3 were all showing decent skill, & then given more opportunity for this when the side shuffled into 4-4-2 around 25 minutes. Cummings went to left-back with the other 3 moving right; Henry to the right & Golbourne over to the left. Soon Boscombe had a free - pinball in the area & corners right & left before a goal kick. 32 minutes & still no goal! Then Henry played a wall pass with Vokes, shimmied & dummied, hit left-footed low to the keeper's left. The palm-out came to an unmarked Hitman! who slotted it with assurance. Yes! 1-0, 34. Gills retorted with their own wall-pass & a clip over both Stewart & the angle. But Cherries had more confidence up front. Gills free, inside-left 22 yards out led to a corner from which a great break up field looked useful until Cummings screwed up. Henry allowed Golbourne to cross, with a corner conceded. The resulting scramble saw the ball bounce into the goalie's hands & it went straight down the other end. An open game; big applause at HT 1-0.
From the restart, Vokes headed back a long cross but not quite to Henry. Cooper covered well again. Pitman won a header, putting him in the clear, but shot wide instead of taking it on. Golbourne crossed; Pitman had a head clash. Down the other end, Gills' free saw Stewart catch on the line. A good move down our right saw a cross into the home area & a scramble with the shot just wide. This was not a classic, but players had to run to keep warm. Hollands found the inside-left channel & hit the far post, with the ball ricocheting back into the keeper's arms. Gills upped the tempo with a series of long shots. Challenges by both sides were now quite frisky. Henry tangled by the far corner flag (W & N stands); his yellow saw Cherry Bear in a state of agitation. A Gills back header saw Stewart scramble & Jason Pearce clear off the line. This was frenetic & 'tasty'; a cool head was needed. Hollands won a free in the 'D' but Pitman's attempt was saved low down. Alex Pearce fed Vokes whose shot was tipped round. Pitman had a wild shot from the corner. Both sides were injecting pace, resulting in Henry heading away needlessly for a corner. All a bit rushed. Vokes's header set up Pitman at inside left; his shot across the keeper hit the post & came out. Vokes & Henry failed to link; Henry stood bemoaning the lost opportunity to show off his skills but Vokes raced to the touch-line to retrieve the ball. Then Alex Pearce & Henry didn't communicate. Pitman was in the wars again. Stewart was catching a lot of poor balls; Alex & Jason at the back did not allow the visiting forwards to pierce the defence, & Young was simply commanding. Hollands was yellowed for a late sliding tackle as it all became frenetic.
Bradbury replaced Vokes, & Karaçan came on for Henry, on 87. A corner flag tangle saw the ball come over to Karaçan who shot over. This is when the ref. lost it. 4 minutes overtime were called, just before Golbourne was yellowed for a trip/kick. Then in front of the Gills fans in the E stand, Karaçan was felled; elbow? A melee ensued, & stretchers came on. However, after 4 minutes he was helped off & Bartley took his place on 90+4. The delay helped players cool down; even so the last 2-3 minutes were frantic &, with the whistle in the ref's mouth, we had one of the longest 10 seconds I can recall. FT 1-0. Relief all round. First home league win for nearly 9 months! Yes, Gills were low in quality, so let's not allow ourselves to be carried away. But it's a start.
|
AFCB: Stewart, Young, J Pearce, A Pearce, Cummings, Golbourne, Henry, Hollands, Cooper, Pitman, Vokes
Subs: Pryce, Bartley (for Karacan, 90), Gradel, Karacan (for Henry, 87), Bradbury (for Vokes, 87)