Corsham Town 1 v 2 Gillingham Town – Sat 07/02/15
The last, and only, time the Gills visited Corsham was last season when they got dumped out of the FA Cup, so it was with a feeling of dread that they went there again in this Les Phillips Cup game.
Dan Cox and Jordan Tewkesbury were the only absences for Manager Kev Davis to worry about and with the return of Will Pike from County duty and the signing of new keeper Sam Filkins he had more than ample cover for these roles. However, with the Reserves and A Team both having games he was short on numbers and only had two subs on the bench.
The game itself was played on a defrosting and slippery surface, meaning it was difficult for either team to play any quality football, but it was Corsham who seemed to adapt better to the surface in the early part of the game. Indeed, it was them who had the first good chance when Levi Cox took a well struck shot from outside the area that debutant Sam Filkins did well to tip onto the bar.
Then, against the run of play, the Gills went into the lead with a classic sucker punch break out of defence. Ashley Clarke played a ball from midfield over the top of the defence and it was a race between Will Agbo and Corsham keeper Ryan McArthur as to who could reach the ball first. Will won and cleverly knocked the ball round McArthur before slotting the ball into an open goal.
The goal lifted the Gills players, so they began to get into the game more but they were still short of their capability. Despite this they were unlucky not to get a penalty in the 26th minute when Steve Smith appeared to be brought down from behind by McArthur, but the Referee waved play on.
Sam Filkins was being kept busy and just past the half hour mark he pulled off another great save, this time tipping a close range shot round the post, but there was nothing he could do 6 minutes later when Corsham scored an equaliser. Continued pressure resulted in the ball being lofted up into a crowded Gills’ area and Jason Henley headed home from close range to draw the home team level.
Corsham’s confidence grew and they had a good chance to take the lead in the last minute of the half when Keiron Gleed was through on goal with just Filkins to beat, but he didn’t test the keeper, skewing his shot well wide of goal. The Gills went close again too when, in injury time, a Will Agbo corner was met by the head of Nick Hewlett from about the penalty spot and his header was flicked on towards goal by Steve Smith, drawing a great one handed save from McArthur.
So the first half ended 1-1 with Corsham looking the better team, but the Gills certainly not out of it as they were looking like they could score more goals.
Right from the kick off of the second half the Gills looked a much better team, retaining possession better and, therefore, looking more dangerous. In fact their first chance came in just the 49th minute when Will Agbo’s shot from the edge of the area was spilled by McArthur, but he managed to collect the ball again just before Steve Smith pounced on the opportunity.
It was another mistake by McArthur, this time a poor clearance, that led to the Gills getting the ball in the net again just past the hour mark. The poor kick was collected by Will Pike and he rounded the hapless keeper before squaring the ball for Steve Smith to tap it into an unguarded goal, but the Asst Referee decreed he was in an offside position.
Moments later Steve Smith went close again when, despite being challenged by two defenders on a run towards goal, he managed to get a shot away that dropped just wide of the mark. A couple of minutes later a carbon copy opportunity led to Steve Smith being bundled over inside the area and the Referee pointed to the spot. Steve took the penalty himself, slotting the ball out of the reach of McArthur who had dived the right way, to give the Gills a 2-1 lead.
The Gills really were looking the better team now, especially with Corsham becoming ever more desperate to score an equaliser, and they grew in confidence retaining possession for long periods. Dariush Noonan was having a lot of success running down the left wing and Steve Smith went close again, this time with a close range header, whilst Benjani Ben Salem and Ryan Gay also had a couple of half chances before the final whistle came.
The Gills now have to wait and see who they meet in the Quarter Finals, this game being away to either Welton Rovers or Bradford Town on Sat 14thMarch.
Man of the Match was the debutant keeper Sam Filkins.
The Gills next game is home to Bitton on Saturday 14thFebruary.
Gills’ line up: Filkins, Thomson, Noonan, Compton, Pike, Hewlett, Agbo (Gay 77), Clarke, Smith, Ben Salem, Davis. Unused sub: Bevis
Terry Lucas
