Relief At Last

So, could this season get any worse? Lose tonight and there would be every chance of dropping another place in the division, to 18th, and the bottom four positions move closer, ratcheting up the pressure. Win and to all intents and purposes we would have enough of a gap to ensure the final nine games of this desperate season could be about planning for next season. My only thought before the start was, for crying out loud just win the bloody game and give us all some relief. And they did.

We had been given prior indications that Famewo, even perhaps Blackett-Taylor, might be available once more. In the event there was no sign of the former, either to start or on the bench, but the latter did indeed return and was in from the start, one of four changes from Saturday. In front of MacGillivray would be Clare, Lavelle and Purrington, with Pearce and Gunter both dropped to the bench, with Matthews also returning as one wing-back, Blackett-Taylor the other, with thankfully no repeat of the Clare experiment. Lee was given a rest too, with Gilbey returning for a start alongside Dobson and Fraser, while Washington was deemed ready to start up front alongside Stockley, with Leko joining Lee on the bench.

When in the first minute a long throw into our box caused mayhem, with MacGillivray struggling to claim the loose ball, you feared it was going to be another tough evening, against opponents who were presumably well aware of our vulnerability at set pieces. But Gillingham didn’t really put the ball into our box often enough to capitalise. Instead through the first half they tended to sit back, perhaps expecting that a chance and a goal would come their way but conceding the initiative. And that proved costly for them as Blackett-Taylor ran them ragged down the left (and as often as not cutting inside from that position) while Gilbey both got into and created good positions for himself.

Our first real chance came around the 20 minute mark as Blackett-Taylor and Fraser combined with Washington, the ball squared for Clare to run onto it and shoot, only for the effort to be blocked. Soon after Gillingham did have another moment as a corner was cleared but sent back in, finding two of their guys getting in each other’s way and preventing a clear header on goal. But that was followed by Gilbey’s first opportunity. A pass from Dobson and he took it inside, the space opened up, giving him a clear sight of goal. But his left-foot shoot was screwed wide. And just after the half-hour, having just seen yellow for a rugby tackle to prevent a Gillingham counter-attack, Gilbey got on the end of a cross but his header went wide.

No matter, it was soon third time lucky. Blackett-Taylor was again allowed to run inside and seemed to confuse their defence by shaping to shoot from distance only to take it on further, then sending in the shot. A decent effort but their keeper had it well covered, only to spill the ball. Stockley was first to the rebound only for the keeper to block his effort, but it ran to Gilbey. It really wasn’t a tap-in as there were bodies now in the way, but he cleverly gave the ball some curl and air to send it into the unguarded net.

At the break we were well worth the lead, the questions being whether Gillingham would prove as passive in the second half, whether we could keep our nerve if the pressure came on and keep a clean sheet, or whether we might get a second and be able to relax a little. The last didn’t happen, and Gillingham both changed formation through the second half and predictably raised their game. But most important we didn’t give them anything easy, despite being pressed back as a number of players short of recent match-time ran out of steam and the strong desire to hold what we had took over.

We did have moments in the second half, especially runs through their defence by CBT and Gilbey, but didn’t fashion a real clear-cut opportunity to put the game to bed. Instead first Fraser – who put in a much improved display, linking up well with others – stretched for the ball on the hour mark and seemed to cramp up, being replaced by Lee, who slotted in to contest that space with his brother. Surprisingly CBT lasted considerably longer, although his race had been run well before he was taken off with a few minutes of normal time remaining, with Pearce coming on and Purrington moving to the left side. Washington lasted the full game.

Gillingham did have one fierce cross driven through our box, but really it took until just after Pearce had come on at the death for them to carve out their one real chance. A ball into the box was headed down and their guy had the opening, only to fail to keep the ball down, blazing it over the bar. And that, despite six extra minutes, was the final event of note, save for CBT managing a leap out of the tunnel to celebrate.

For once of late we can consider the positives. We competed all over the pitch and in the first half at least played some decent stuff, creating a number of half-chances and taking the lead, even in rather fortuitous circumstances. The difference was not surprisingly in the returning players. Stockley and Washington provided a potent threat and Blackett-Taylor was a weapon they couldn’t handle. Gilbey got into good scoring positions, while Fraser, perhaps just by virtue of getting to know better those around him, had his best game to date in a Charlton shirt. At the other end, Lavelle looked more assertive, Clare and Dobson put in good shifts, while MacGillivray, after that first minute moment of doubt, claimed a couple of crosses. That the performance progressively deteriorated in terms of control was not surprising.

We were up against more limited opposition tonight than of late and it showed. Perhaps as Curbs alluded to they missed a trick by not pressuring us enough in the early stages of the game, as if they’d taken the lead it would no doubt have been a very different evening. That they didn’t is their problem, not ours. We can look forward to the Burton game, perhaps with the thought of how we might be able to perform with the pressure eased.