It may have taken Gillingham the length of the “teens”, but Christmas Sunday’s 1-0 home win over Rochdale gave the Gills their seventh consecutive home wins in all competitions.
For the second time in just under a month a hard fought was won very late on with the same unlikely goal scoring hero.
On December 7th, Connor Ogilvie’s late, late strike saw off Sunderland, and on this day history pretty much repeated itself as Rochdale’s parked pink bus was finally breached as the Gills left back headed home almost unopposed at the back post after Mark Marshall’s cross had been deflected beyond the flapping arms of Dale keeper Robert Sanchez.
Yet again it was the very least that the Gills deserved and under Steve Evans, the Gills are becoming so difficult to beat particularly at home base that they have slowly but surely climbed the table into the top half to challenge for the Play Off places.
Albeit the schedule gets tougher in January with games against Portsmouth, Peterborough United and Oxford United all ahead on the fixture list.
Early on it was clear that Rochdale were determined to go home having stifled the home side. And for a while it worked as it took the Gills half an hour to create a chance at Sanchez’s goal and that came on 31 minutes when Mikael Mandron hit the right post with a header from Olly Lee’s cross.
That was it in the opening half but there was no booing or cat calls aimed at the Gills as the Priestfield faithful almost learned the patience over night. On the flipside the opening forty-five minutes was probably the quietest that Jack Bonham has enjoyed in his Gillingham career.
The second half however saw an upsurge in quality and the Gills had early corners that tested Sanchez whilst at the other end Bonham earned his spurs with a terrific save to deny denying Kwadho Baah.
Rochdale perhaps had come to the party as well and for all their efforts, the Gills couldn’t find a way through. Brandon Hanlan went close, substitute Mark Marshall could only shoot straight at the keeper and even when Lee was flattened in the box, Referee Rock waved away the protests.
However as the game went into the last fifteen minutes, the home side moved into an extra gear that was to eventually win the game.
Stuart O’Keefe had a shot blocked before Hanlan crashed a shot off the underside of the bar before Sanchez sprawled to his left to make a great save to deny Hanlan again before the breakthrough eventually arrived six minutes from time.
Marshall’s cross from the right flicked off a defender as Sanchez went reaching for the ball leaving Ogilvie to head home at the back post and send Priestfield wild.
And yet, Rochdale could still have levelled in bizarre fashion in stoppage time as Bonham went “fishing” for a deep cross only to collide with Ogilvie and Calvin Andrew and the striker’s header bounced wide with all three players in a heap.
Dale’s afternoon was complete in the sixth minute of stoppage time as Williams was booked twice in twenty crazy seconds as he first tried put Jakubiak into the stand with a “late” tackle before flattening the same player as the game ended with a brawl in front of the benches
GILLINGHAM – Bonham, Fuller, Ehmer, Tucker, Ogilvie, O’Keefe, Jones, Lee (Marshall 61), O’Connor (Jakubiak 61), Hanlon, Mandron (Charles Cook 91)
Subs not used– Hodson, Ndjoli, Pringle, Walsh
ROCHDALE AFC – Sanchez, Magloire, O’Connell. McShane (Gillam HT), Keohane (Matheson 66), Rathbone, Williams, Camps, Dooley, Wilbraham (Andrew), Baah
Subs not used – Tavares, Pyke, Lynch, Ryan,
REFEREE – Mr Rock
ASSISTANTS – Mr Gill & Mr Whitaker
FOURTH OFFICIAL – Mr Da Costa
ATTENDANCE: 4,761
Pictures supplied by Gillingham Football Club