A game of two halves, but a match full of promise for fans of the Gills.
Great atmosphere and sense of positive expectation among the Gills supporters pre-match. Duly enhanced by the team who, prior to leaving the pitch at end of warm up, were put in to a close circle by Paul Raynor who orchestrated a fast rhythmic hand clap from the players and what seemed like a practiced fan-out to face the Gills fans - hope they do that every game. A minute or so after that Paul Scally emerged at the front of the Gills contingent and received genuinely warm applause as he walked past clapping the fans. Well done one and all.
After all that it was no surprise that the Gills started the game with great energy and flew out of the traps. Gills were easily the better team for the first 40 minutes and we played some great pressing football with some really effective passing and running. The three Premiership loanees showed their class and on that performance will surely prove great pick-ups by the club. So often in the past we`ve not managed to get the best out of loanees - this trio are quality and play for the team. Ndjoli really looks the business; terrific pace and movement, great eye for a pass and looked very dangerous all through the first half. Jakubiak looks like a sniper and he also puts himself about. Jones was superb. Just seemed to do all the little things right, be in the right place and defend with an assuredness belying his age.
Tiredness took it`s toll later in the game but, for the first 40 minutes we ran Rovers ragged. The speed and tenacity of Charles-Cook was a real tonic and, as Eager Exile pointed out, Cisse looks a real handful in midfield. He was vocal in rallying team-mates and I suspect he`ll become popular with fans. He made several quality headed clearances from our defensive area and also adds much to our aerial attack from set pieces. Had we managed to take a 2-0 lead in the first half I don`t think that Donny would have come back. We deserved to be in the lead at HT but - it wasn`t to be. The Donny goal was beautifully glided in by their goal scorer. We had a superb view of the way the Rovers man executed his scoring flick - it was sublime and I don`t see that Bonham could have done much about it.
Second half was a different story. You know how a goal scored a minute before going in a HT often lifts a club - well it certainly did for Donny. Add to that a tiring team in blue and there was an inevitability about the change in momentum. Our defenders stood up to the challenge pretty well and Max and Jones were a lot busier in the second half than they were in the first. I thought we did OK. Barry Fuller was his usual never say die self and complimented his blue collar work rate with some well read quality interceptions of Donny passes. Sometimes we maybe forget that he has more than one string to his bow. Hodson had a mixed game. Made a few errors in early part of the game but grew in confidence throughout the ninety. Same with O`Keefe, who looks like a very welcome addition to our midfield.
When Ndjoli and Jakubiak went off on the hour mark we lost some shape and also, tbh, our offensive threat, as by that time Charles-Cook was also knackered. The subs, Marshall and List , went wide left and right. List was put in that wide left midfield position, a zone in which we rarely see the best of him IMO. Marshall made a couple of threatening runs from wide right but after just a few minutes we seemed to struggle to feed either our wide right or left sides. Cue another substitution. Mandron, surely, to replace RCC or Hanlon, who had played well, but looked tired and lacking a bit of incision. .... Nope, it was RCC off and Mark Byrne on, placed in quite a forward position - perhaps to add some linkage. Didn`t really work and, tbh, Byrne`s addition was not that effective. In the dying minutes Byrne found himself running into the box with the ball but for some reason, instead of continuing with what was a clearly promising situation, stalled his run and needlessly passed the ball out of the box to a Gills player who was beaten on the ball and Donny counter-attacked. Bit too negative by Byrne IMO. I`m wondering whether he might find it difficult to command a regular midfield start once we are up to strength.
So, a point a piece - the right result over ninety minutes of an entertaining game which was played in hot conditions with some very neat football from both teams. Given that our fitness will improve (notwithstanding that some of our guys seemed to run and run and run during a hot and busy first half - what do you think, Kettners ?) and we will have extra alternatives from the bench before long - Willock will surely be a starter, there`s good reason for optimism. Our three Premiership loanees look excellent value and there were lots of good signs on show. We`ve now got several players who seem capable of delivering the sort of excitement and entertainment that positively fuel the after-game conversations as we walk back to the car ! Only one game in, but i`m feeling really enthused after it !!!!
