Gillingham Town 6 v 0 Ilfracombe Town – 12/10/13
The Gills went into this game missing several key players, namely Gary Bowles, James Hatcher, Harry Baker and Ben Thomson. Ashley Clarke was carrying an injury and started on the bench. On the plus side new signing Steve Smith was able to start up front alongside Phil Ormrod.
Right from the start the gap between the two teams League positions was obvious. The Gills were patient in their play and kept possession whilst probing the Ilfracombe defence, whilst Ilfracombe tended to go for the long ball.
They had a good chance to take the lead in the 2ndminute when Aaron Rodriguez was through on goal but his shot was blocked by the body of Kurtis Parkin in goal for Ilfracombe.
Despite having by far the most possession and dominating the game the Gills were struggling to convert this into good chances and Ilfracombe were looking dangerous on the break. In fact they had a good chance to open the scoring on the 12 minute mark when Stan Paxton had only Gills’ keeper Jamie Beale to beat but he rushed his shot which was weak and went straight into Jamie’s arms. It was Ilfracombe who had the next good chance too, when on the quarter hour mark a glancing header went wide of goal.
This was the last threat we saw on the Gills goal and in the very next minute Aidan Chainey saw his shot blocked by the legs of Parkin and a couple of minutes later a Jon Vance effort had Parkin beaten but bounced off the top of the bar.
Just before the half hour mark Aaron Rodriguez fed the ball into Steve Smith, who looked certain to score his first goal for the Club, but his shot went about a yard wide of the post. 2 minutes later roles were reversed when Steve headed a ball down into the path of Aaron who outpaced his marker and then slotted the ball out of the reach of Parkin and just inside the post to give the Gills a deserved 1-0 lead.
This how the score stayed till half time as, once again, the Gills dominated the game completely but failed to turn this dominance into clear chances.
The second half saw the Gills continue to dominate and the first good chance came in the first minute when Phil Ormrod was through on goal, but he got his effort to chip Parkin all wrong and the ball went over the bar. 4 minutes later Phil Ormrod turned provider when he put a low ball across the edge of the 6 yard box which was collected by Jack Vallis and Jack seemed to have his legs taken away just as he was about to shoot but the Referee dismissed the Gills’ appeals for a penalty
The Gills were now in total control of the game and with 57 minutes played they got their second goal. Aaron Rodriguez was brought down just outside the area and Jon Vance took the free kick which he expertly guided over the wall and out of the reach of Parkin to make it 2-0.
2 minutes later the Gills got a third goal when Ryan Murray drew Parkin out of his goal and then laid the ball off to Phil Ormrod who had a simple tap in to make it 3-0.
It was 4-0 after 74 minutes when Danny Thompson went on a mazy run into the area and his shot spun up off a defender to Steve Smith, whose close range effort went into the back of the net to give him a goal on his debut for the Club. In the very next minute Steve should have doubled his tally when fed the ball in front of goal but he mistimed his effort and completely miscued the ball.
In the 77th minute Phil Ormrod got his second goal and the Gills fifth when he headed a Danny Thompson cross into the goal off the underside of the bar.
The rout was completed with a 6thgoal with 10 minutes left to play when Phil Ormrod scored his hat trick with what was the goal of the day. He collected the ball about 10 yards outside the area and simply blasted it at the goal and saw it fly past the flailing Parkin into the back of the net.
There was still time for Danny Thompson to see his shot saved by Parkin but the score remained at 6-0 when the final whistle went.
This was a really solid and slick performance from the Gills who showed they have a strong squad by completing the victory without their strongest team. Of special significance was the clean sheet, the fifth in six games, especially when two key defenders were missing.
Man of the Match was Phil Ormrod.
Gills line-up: Beale, Murray, N Thomson, Vallis, Thompson, Compton, Chainey, Vance (Smeeton 80), Ormrod, Smith, Rodriguez. Unused subs: Clarke, Foster.
Terry Lucas
