Verwood Town 0 v 2 Gillingham Town – 04/12/13
This Dorset Senior Cup Quarter Final was the first time these two teams had met in a competitive game. Verwood play in the Wessex League Premier Division, which is the same level as the Gills in the National League System, and currently sit in 15thplace in their League, so this was always going to be a tough game.
The Gills had most of their squad available for this game, though Aaron Rodriguez and Phil Ormrod were out through injury and Nick Compton was unavailable.
Right from the off the Gills looked the better of the two teams with their patient, confident, passing style of play whereas the Verwood players were tending to rush their passing or try and force a pass that wasn’t really there. As a result the Gills had the major share of possession but Verwood did look dangerous on the break but tended to shoot from distance.
The first chance to open the scoring came after only 10 minutes and from a really unexpected piece of play when Steve Smith drove down the right wing to the bye line and played a ball across the face of goal. It seemed that everybody, including the Verwood keeper Chris Lynch, thought the ball was going out of play, but it then struck the front of the bar nearly embarrassing the keeper.
Despite the Gills looking the better team Verwood were getting men behind the ball and were proving difficult to break down. As a result the game turned into a bit of a stalemate with the Gills probing attacks and the Verwood defence standing firm. Because of this the next good chance didn’t come till the half hour mark when a shot from just outside the area by Harry Baker sailed just over the bar.
The first goal came moments later when Ryan Murray took the ball from the right wing along the edge of the penalty area. His left footed shot struck a defender and then fell to Steve Smith who wasn’t going to turn down the chance and drove the ball into the bottom left corner out of the reach of Lynch to make it 0-1.
The chances were coming thick and fast now and just a few moments later a Ben Thomson cross was headed towards goal by Ryan Murray from just outside the six yard box but Lynch pulled off a great save to deny him.
That proved to be the last piece of significant action of the half so the Gills had a 0-1 lead but as long as it stayed that way it was going to be a nervy affair for the travelling fans.
If anything, the Gills looked better at the start of the second half, playing with even more composure now they had the lead. Steve Smith took a shot from inside the six yard box that looked destined to double the Gills’ lead but Lynch somehow managed to keep the ball out with a foot. On the hour mark Joe Smeeton had a rare shot at goal but his effort from just outside the area lacked power and was easily caught by Lynch.
The pressure continued and the Gills doubled their lead on the 64 minute mark when Ben Thomson fed a ball from the right wing into Will Agbo in front of goal. Will’s quick feet allowed him to lose his marker and he drilled the ball into the corner of the goal from just inside the area to make it 0-2.
The second goal took the pressure off the Gills a bit and they were now playing with composure and confidence. In the very next minute a volleyed shot by Danny Thompson dropped just the wrong side of the post and this was quickly followed by a great ball by Aidan Chainey that found Steve Smith but a last minute tackle by a defender prevented him scoring his second.
Gills’ keeper Jamie Beale found himself tested for the first time in the 73rdminute when he had to tip a shot over the bar but this was an isolated incident. 3 minutes later it looked like Jack Vallis was going to get his name on the score sheet again when he rose above everybody to head a corner towards goal but Lynch was in the right place at the right time to keep the ball out of the goal.
With 82 minutes played Verwood had Lynch to thank again when he just got his fingertips to a Ben Thomson shot that was on target. With 2 minutes left some neat passing by the Gills inside the area resulted in Aidan Chainey putting the ball into the back of the net, but he was denied his first ever goal for the Gills by the Assistant’s flag for offside.
Verwood’s best chance at scoring came in the very last minute when a corner was headed towards the bottom left of goal, but Jamie Beale managed to block the effort with his legs.
So the Gills finished up winning 0-2 in a game which they were always in control of and never really looked like losing. This victory means they are included in the semi-finals of this year’s Dorset Senior Cup along with Hamworthy Utd, Weymouth and Poole Town.
Man of the Match was Jon Vance.
The next game for the Gills is at Hardings Lane on Saturday when they have a top of the table clash with Bristol Manor Farm.
Gills line-up: Beale, Murray, Smeeton (Clarke 81), Vallis, Vance, N Thomson, Agbo (Cox 72), Baker (Chainey 55), B Thomson, Smith, Thompson. Unused sub: Foster,
Terry Lucas
