Latest / Blood, Sweat & Gills / Voice Notes: Gillingham 1-1 Port Vale
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- Simon Head: Welcome to Gilles 365 voice notes. Please leave your message after the tone. Just about to set off for tonight's Skybet League 2 fixture between the Gilles and Port Vail. Yeah, and this represents a good opportunity to get back on the horse after Saturday's disappointing performance and defeat in the North West at the hands of Atcrington Stanley. Port Vail have picked up in recent weeks, winning three of their last four, but they've all come at home on the road. They are dreadful. No points and just one goal from four games. If ever there was a time to put the Tuesday night curse to bed, this could be it. Just about to leave for tonight's home game against Paul Bale. Well, it's live on Sky and we're playing a team with quite a pooling away record this season. What on earth could go wrong? Team Utes in for tonight and there's some changes which are both expected and perhaps unexpected. Good to see that McManus returns to the side at left wing back. He was around on Saturday but was a spare player. This allows Brophy to move forward to the number 10 position where we desperately need creativity and a little bit of poise and guile on the ball which was missing on Saturday where the midfield didn't create at all. It looked really pedestrian and one-dimensional. Change in the three centre backs. Dobbs is left out the side. He hasn't been great recently, but that's to be expected for such a young and inexperienced player who's still learning his trade. Smith retains his spot, which I think is debatable because he was responsible directly for two of the three goals that were conceded. covered himself in glory with those goals. Didn't mark up properly, didn't jump, but he retains his spot. Daley comes in for Dobbs. Daley obviously left-sided, which will give the central defense some balance. But what I would say is I haven't really seen enough of Daley to say at the moment he's a definite upgrade on Dobbs. Midfield, again it's all change. Double pivot, Coleman and Little. Now the second one I'm a little bit surprised at given that he's just returned from injury. Didn't have the best of games. Little for me on Saturday. A player who very much divides opinion. Reminds me of a rather energetic Spaniel to be perfectly honest at times. Runs around a lot. But for me... He just tries too hard. He wants to be the main man all the time. He wants to take every free kick, every corner. He just needs to learn that less is more and let your colleagues do what they have to do and don't be such a control freak. But hopefully he'll have a better game tonight and show more importantly, a bit more discipline than he did on Saturday where he was incredibly fortunate not to be sent off. That leaves us with up front. Silla has been left out and we have Tom Eaves, the big fella, playing alongside Hale. That I think is a good move. On Saturday the ball came back virtually all the time when it going past forward. Interestingly, Silla I don't think appears on the bench at all and neither does Mackenzie who obviously has been dropped or rested or was injured from the midfield. So I think We all wanted change, didn't we, from Saturday? That change has been delivered. Whether it's the changes that we want is up to the debate. It's to be a tough game tonight. Port Vail, horrendous away record, but have improved substantially since the start of the season. It's a dreaded Sky TV curse as well, isn't it? And a Tuesday night. You know, we don't like Tuesday nights, do we? So... It's a game where I think on paper we ought to win but to be perfectly honest after Saturday I wouldn't say no to a point. One all for me. In the ground now, waiting for the boys to come out to warm up and there's been four changes made by Gareth Fanesworth this season which I'm not against after that poor performance at the weekend but we do look a little bit light on the bench. Out of the 11 from Saturday come Logan Dobbs, Harry Waldoch, Robbie McKenzie and Lamin Silla. Two of them, Silla and McKenzie, not even in the 18. In their place come Jack Daley, Conor McManus, Ethan Coleman and Tom Eaves. So yeah, same system it looks like but it does get James Brophy back in the 10 which I'm very excited about. That front three. should cause Vail problems but yeah, little bit light on the bench but that means a place and another opportunity for the likes of Michael Luxton and Sullivan Booth. If we get this right tonight, we're going to back us to win 2-0. Not long got in the ground for Tuesday night's home fixture against Portvale. Before the game we're going to remember the memory of Doug Loft who was a fantastic servant for both clubs, probably better known for his stint at Portvale but captained us for a few years' so... I'm sure that's going to be emotional just before kick-off and thoughts with his family and friends. 39 is absolutely no age whatsoever. On to the game itself. We come off the back of it after a disappointing defeat at the weekend. However, after other defeats that we've had throughout the season, we've tended to have bounced back really well. So, hoping we can do the same again this evening. Tend to have a bit of a hoodoo on Tuesday nights playing on Sky. but hopefully we'll be able to break that curse rather than be generous jewels against the Port Vowel side that haven't done well on their travels. Regarding the team, four changes. Tommy was in the starting line-up. Looking forward to the attacking options we've got on there. Maybe it was the right time for players like Dobbs and Waldock to take a step out of the line-up, having played a lot of senior football, which they're not used to, a few little mistakes creeping in, so I don't think that's a bad thing. them being put on the bench and going with some more experience. So yeah, I'm going to predict a slight win to us tonight, but he's hoping for the three points regardless of the performance. So different for me tonight, in hospitality, but I've just seen the lineup and yeah, good to some changes. think that's right. Great to see McManus in maybe moving that brophy into the 10 roll. Obviously some injuries as well with Mackenzie not in the squad. But yeah, think the team looks pretty good. I'm quietly confident we'll get a result tonight. I'm yet to see us lose when I'm in person this season. So there you go, there's me jinxing it. Yeah, feeling quite good. Hopefully the tribute to Doug Lough go well as well pre-game. yeah, optimistic. I'll give a run down. how I feel about the game at the end. Yeah, look forward to The hospitality has been good. So yeah, should be a game. Looking forward to it. It's halftime here at the Breezeville with the Gilles 1-0 up. It's been a watchful game. It's quite entertaining. We're playing a hell of a lot better than we did on Saturday, albeit from a very low bar. I think we played with Shade, a keenly contested first half. Healthy for us. at the town end so couldn't really see what was going on but all I would say is there weren't too many complaints from the Port Vale players which for me means it was a pretty fair show. Hale tucks the penalty away but he looks a very good marching from the spot doesn't he? looks very cool, calm and assured taking penalties. I think it's noticeable with one thing playing in a more advanced position rather than a left wing back but There's more creativity tonight. McManus and Davey provide some natural balance with their left foot down the left-hand side of our defense. There's, looks like, some sort of partnership between Eads and Kale. Big man, little man. But, you there's so many changes tonight. There have been occasions where there's been some loose balls. But, to be perfectly honest, Port Vale haven't really hurt us. I don't think they tested right and so far it's been light years away from what such a dire performance on Saturday. 1-0 to the Gills, for a big play like this and I think the game is ours. Half time here and it's 1-0 to the Gills and for the first 30-35 minutes it looked like it was just petering out into a standard League 2 game where not a lot happened and it was going to go and level up the break. just before the goal from the penalty spot, we started to the pressure a little bit with a few corners, few deliveries that caused a few issues. Prior to that, Smith-Peder from a little delivery had forced the keeper into a good save. Olly Wright in nets for us hasn't really had too much to do. There's a dip in Bolle, that was quite comfortable for him. They looked relatively dangerous early on in Portvale. They looked lively going forward, but I'd say the majority of... the half there wasn't really a lot to shout about. But yeah, towards the end we pushed on and we've gone a goal up, maybe against a run of play, but not going to complain about that whatsoever. For me, stand-up play the first half has been back all, think it's been really solid so far, dominating everything that comes his way, looking really short on the ball as well. Just hoping second half now, we just see it out. I don't think it's going to grow as a spectacle in Old Romsey, but... As long as we get the three points, that's all that matters. Half time here at the Priestfield and we currently lead by a goal to Neil, not a game for the purists. Very much a League 2 affair for the first 25 minutes or so. Fragmented, both teams trying hard enough with very little quality. After that though I felt we grew into things and started to at least gain more territory, albeit without creating a clear-cut chance. But when the chance did come along, courtesy of a penalty, awarded after what looked like a foul on Ethan Coleman. Ronan Hale was never going to miss. Arrowed one into the corner in the far end. We lead at the break. Big 45 minutes in store. Can we kill off the Tuesday night curse? Just said that we just weathered a storm and now at the blue Port Vailer level. And again, it's a goal that we can probably do better with. It looks like we've had multiple chances to get it clear and we haven't, and the Nailad stabbed it in from a couple of yards. having lead at the break we've been pegged back with 24 to play. Full time and a really disappointing draw definitely feels like two points drops at home. We didn't test their keeper at all we probably should have gone 2-0 up early on in second half with Tommy's on the stretch not being able to convert after a poorly executed free kick with Hale somehow managing to get a shot off despite taking loads of chances. and then the chance falls, can't remember who it was, Brophy or Little who blazed it over the bar. Other than that, we had no chances at all second half. I think subs changed it. Portvale brought on three at half time, including Dempsey who seemed to run the show for them. And they looked a lot stronger having made the subs, whereas we appear to regret having made ours. It's not a house by having a youthful looking bench, but yeah, we... We didn't look like scoring in all honesty after their goal. So yeah, really disappointed all round. For me, Sunday needs to look to be, Sunday, Saturday needs to be looking to win that now. But yeah, just more negatives and positives after that. Just walking back to the car now after the final whistle. One all draw. sense of frustration really there. I thought first half we shaded it, went in one up at the break, but second half we had an opportunity to extend our lead, a little blast over the bar when you should have at least hit the target and that was it really. After that we didn't really offer anything as an attacking force. Port Vail equalised, scrapped the goal yet again. And then after they'd equalised, they probably looked like the only side who were going to score. They really asked all the questions and we didn't ask any, I'm afraid. And as the game went on, I thought we got progressively worse. We got nervous. We looked edgy. We looked leggy again. And I think the lack of feasible options on the bench to change things, played into it. I think it was crying out for changes, but Ainsworth is looking at the bench and trying to work out what he had on the bench, how that would positively impact the game. I to say I found the substitution of Hale rather surprising. At home, when you're looking to win a game, unless he's injured, why would you take off your best sender forward? and we then finished the game with a kind of rather bizarre formation which involved us having no recognised sender forwards whatsoever but after the defeat at Akrington Stanley and the bad performance you can turn around tonight and say that there's been a reaction we've got a point could have been a lot worse it didn't really do enough to win the game but it's a point and Paul Vail to be fair to them looked a reasonably decent outfit. So we're going to Saturday hopefully with a few more bodies available, a few more of our better players available and hopefully we can win then four points and two home games, not a bad return. frustrating second half at a prece field saw us in effect drop two points having been in a good position at the break but we actually come out and started the second half really well big chance for Tom Eaves at the time we didn't know it but that proved to be fairly costly in the end the goal when it came was certainly avoidable and that's the theme that we need to quickly eradicate giving away soft goals by the end We had no recognised centre forward on the pitch due to the absence of Lamine Siller and Will Goodwin. So it meant that Gareth McLeary was playing as a false nine and in truth, we didn't create anything from the moment Portvale got level. In the end, we take the point. Results elsewhere meant we're still in the playoffs. So not a disaster as we sit seventh, but yeah, certainly stuff to improve on when Saturday comes around against Grimsby Town. another frustrating one. Wasn't it tonight, really? I'm not sure what to say. I think the positive again, people say, well, we should be winning at home, blah, blah. But we didn't lose. Pick that point. You know. It just was a bitty game. think Port Vail, to be fair, changed their tactics second half and we struggled. I thought Figueroa who's got the goal made a big difference to them. We gave them something to play off for us. First off, they had nothing really, pretty toothless. And that gave them a bit of a kick up the bum. I thought we did okay. thought Smith, shaky first 15, grew into the game and got better. Beckel's collar went the other way. I they was pretty solid. It's just that midfield, isn't it? Lacking a player who can pick the ball up on a half turn and play through the lines. I just don't have that. And then we're not getting the balls into Brophy and Hale in those kind 10 rolls as easily. And it's just harder work. So I'm not sure what the answer is. I don't know what, yeah. It could be we're going to have frustrating game, sadly. The goal was really annoying that we conceded. We just didn't deal with it. I think from my vantage point, we probably had two, maybe three attempts or opportunities, I should say, to clear the ball. We didn't. We kind of was too busy worrying about muscling defenders. Just didn't clear it. And their blokes stuck it away. So yeah, it feels like a missed opportunity. But we didn't lose. If we capitalised and went on Saturday, I think it's a good outcome over two games but at the moment equally with the glass half empty. you look back that's last two home games you could argue with drop four points. Yeah it's a tricky one isn't it. So I think it's all about Saturday hopefully we can get the win. It's a shame that again it's lost some injuries potentially affected the squad choices so lack of options off the bench were. Not great. Just felt McCleary off of nothing when he came on sadly. But what other options do we really have up front? So yeah, frustrating. Take the point. Don't lose. And let's go again on Saturday, I think, and see what that brings us. So I don't agree with the booing at the end of I that was very harsh. It wasn't an awful performance. We didn't lose. I really don't agree with the booing. I feel that was... was really harsh on the team so yeah sorry fans sorry to those fans who might have done it but i think that was poor poor from you on Saturday