Gillingham 1 Yeovil 0
Simeon Jackson chips home
Gillingham's winner from the penalty spot against
Yeovil
Picture Barry Goodwin
Simeon Jackson’s early penalty handed
Gillingham a deserved three points against Yeovil on Tuesday
night.
Gillingham made an electric start to
the game and it was no surprise to see them going a goal ahead
early on.
Jackson, who was back in the starting
eleven for the League 1 match, netted from the spot with nine
minutes gone after Febian Brandy had been bundled over by Stefen
Stam.
It was Jackson’s fifth penalty
conversion of the season and 12th goal in total.
Gillingham had numerous chances but as
they failed to take advantage Yeovil remained in the game. Their
efforts weren’t helped, however, with the sending off of Jean-Paul
Kalala late on.
There were tense moments as Yeovil
threatened late on to nick a point but in the end Gillingham
surivived to claim the win.
Gills boss Mark Stimson said: "It
could have been a few more had it not been for the Yeovil keeper
who I thought was absolutely outstanding. He pulled off at least
two or three certain goals.
"Full credit to the players, they
started off really sharp, they wanted to pass the ball and get it
wide and Simeon Jackson put the penalty away with pure class.
"Fair play to him because he’s missed
the last couple but he stood up and took responsibility and put us
on the way to a very important victory."
Yeovil keeper Alex McCarthy was
keeping his side in the game as he denied Brandy in the opening
moments and made two saves to thwart a fired-up Jackson.
Andy Barcham then saw his shot parried
away before the Brandy crashed an effort against the crossbar after
22 minutes.
Gillingham continued their relentless
assault on the Yeovil goal and Barcham curled a shot from inside
the area just wide. The home side’s dominance prompted Yeovil into
an early substitution as they sought to stem the tide before it
became too late.
McCarthy came to his side’s aid again
on the half-hour with a double save, firstly parrying Brandy’s low
shot and then blocking the follow up from Chris Palmer.
Yeovil’s first sniff at goal came
moments later but substitute Sam Williams sent the effort into the
Rainham End.
The visitors came back into the game
towards the end of the half, giving Gillingham reason to worry, as
Stimson’s side held just a slender lead.
There were less chances at the start
of the second half, and the woodwork denied the Gills again after
an hour, when skipper Barry Fuller hit the post with a curling
free-kick.
Gills keeper Simon Royce was called
into action on 74 minutes and had to make a fine one-handed save to
tip William’s header over the bar.
Two yellow cards in seven minutes for
Yeovil’s Kalala ended his evening early, with the second challenge
coming late on Kevin Maher with 11 minutes left.
Gills: Royce, Fuller,
Palmer, Gowling, Fry, Bentley, Maher, Weston, Barcham, Brandy (Oli
90mins), Jackson. Subs not used: Lewis, Julian, Nutter, Rooney,
Payne, McCammon.
Yeovil: McCarthy,
Alcock, Stam, Caulker, Welsh (Bowditch 60mins), Mason, Murray
(Williams 26mins), Kalala, Hutchins, MacDonald, Obika (Obika
78mins). Subs not used: Forbes, O'Callaghan, Martin, Smith.
Attendance: 4,450
Tuesday, November 24 2009
Rating: 3/5 (3 votes cast!)