Bitton 1 v 1 Gillingham Town – Sat 13/09/14
This was yet another tough fixture for the Gills as Bitton sat in second place in the league having won their last four league games.
The game started off with Bitton knocking the ball about well and having a lot of possession, but the Gills’ defence looked solid and Bitton lacked the ability to turn their possession into clear chances. The Gills looked dangerous on the break too, especially with Benjani Ben Salem holding the ball up well and winning more than his fair share of headers.
As a result the first chance of the game didn’t come till the 26thminute when Benjani Ben Salem earned the Gills a free kick just outside the right hand edge of the area. Kieran David took the kick and it was met by the head of Steve Smith but his glancing header went just wide of the post.
Just past the half hour mark Bittion’s Aysa Corrick created a chance for himself but his close range shot was at a tight angle and Scott Armstrong positioned himself well to catch the effort.
Just before the half ended Dave Pollinger had a good chance to open the scoring for Bitton but he put his effort from the edge of the six yard box well over the bar. In additional time Scott Armstrong was forced into making a good save and, although he couldn’t hold on to the ball, Kieran Davis was on hand to clear the danger.
So the first half was a bit of a stalemate with Bitton dominating the game without really threatening the Gills’ goal.
The second half got underway and it took the Gills just over a minute to open the scoring. A long kick by Scott Armstrong found Nick Thomson down the right wing and his ball along the edge of the area was struck goalwards by Ashley Clarke and his looping shot went into the top left corner of the goal.
With 52 minutes played the Gills had a golden opportunity to double their lead. Kieran Davis played a ball across the face of goal which was collected by Steve Smith but his shot was blocked by the legs of Bitton keeper John Rendell.
Bitton were still struggling to break down the Gills’ defence and were being reduced to shooting from distance, with one effort flying just past the post, though Scott Armstrong seemed to have it covered.
Just before the hour mark Steve Smith had to come off due to injury and he was replaced by Ryan Gay. Shortly afterwards Kieran Davis was in a race with a defender to meet a bouncing ball and, although he won the race, he couldn’t get a clean contact with the ball and his weak shot was collected easily by Rendell.
With just less than 20 minutes left the Gills were awarded a free kick just outside of the penalty area. The kick was taken by Benjani Ben Salem but his shot struck the wall. However, the ball spun up and rebounded to Benjani who tried a really audacious flying volley which smacked against the inside of the left post and somehow rebounded out of the goal.
As the game moved into the final 20 minutes Bitton were getting more and more possession with wave after wave of attacks but some resolute defending by the Gills kept them at bay. Another shot from distance was well struck by Aysa Corrick but was lacking in accuracy as it flew over the bar.
The pressure had to tell in the end though and with just under quarter of an hour remaining Bitton got an equaliser. A free kick was put to the back post where Rob Smith blasted a shot at goal from a tight angle giving Scott Armstrong no chance and drawing Bitton level at 1-1.
Bitton really went for the win now and, once again, the Gills’ defence had to dig in to foil the numerous attacks. When Bitton finally found a way through the defence Aysa Corrick found Scott Armstrong was equal to his blasted shot from a tight angle.
Despite repeatedly trying Bitton couldn’t find a way through to goal and the game ended with a creditable 1-1 draw. The Gills had to defend heroically in this game, but the forwards also played their part either holding the ball up or playing on the break and, once again, this was a performance they can be proud of.
Man of the Match had to be a defender and it was Dariush Noonan who edged it.
Next game for the Gills is another tough one against unbeaten Brislington at home next Saturday (20th)
Gills’ line up: Armstrong, Thomson, Noonan, Compton, Barber, Hewlett, Cox, Clarke, Smith (Gay 57), Ben Salem, Davis (Pawley 84),
Terry Lucas
