Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Gillingham 0
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Danny Kedwell has a first half effort cleared
off the line Pic: Barry Goodwin
by Luke Cawdell
A second half penalty proved costly for
Gillingham as they crashed out of the Carling Cup in the first
round.
Brighton scored their winning goal from the
penalty spot on 66 minutes with Ashley Barnes converting for the
Championship team, after Andy Frampton had felled Will Buckley in
the box.
Gillingham, who lined up with an unchanged
team from the one which beat Cheltenham 1-0 in the league on
Saturday, showed they could match their higher league opponents in
the opening stages.
The hosts, who also opened their season with a
win, were looking nervy at the back and one misplaced pass put
Chris Whelpdale in the clear. Keeper Casper Ankergren made the save
and the follow-up from Danny Kedwell was cleared off the line.
Brighton warmed up as the first half wore on
and at least three chances fell at the feet of striker Craig Noone,
but he was unable to get a shot on target, despite having the home
side’s best chances.
Kedwell put a header over the bar for the
Gills as the chances began to dry up.
Gus Poyet’s side had pace in abundance and
they were giving Barry Fuller a busy workout down the left. Fuller
ended up in the book for one late challenge and moments later got
the faintest touches on another tackle, as the 1,328 fans following
the Gills behind the goal held their breath.
Noone ended the first half with another miss.
He received the ball at the far post, unmarked, but smashed the
effort into the side netting.
The half had ended with Brighton well on top
and they came close early in the second half, with Noone finding
the target with a low shot that Ross Flitney got down well to
save.
From a corner the Gills caused a scare when
Danny Spiller’s cross was cleared only as far as Lewis Montrose,
whose header back in was hooked clear by Marcus Painter.
Boss Andy Hessenthaler looked to shake things
up on the hour by bringing Curtis Weston on in place of Charlie
Lee.
The Gills were behind on 66 minutes when
Frampton’s foul on Buckley led referee Brendan Malone to point to
the spot and Barnes converted.
Mr Malone took his yellow card count to seven
in the final moments when a foul from Stefan Payne on Romain
Vincelot saw most of the players from both teams confront each
other.
The game lost its way in the final stages,
with fouls from both sides and the referee making some curious
decisions.
Gills: Flitney, Fuller (Fish
80mins), Martin, Frampton, Lawrence, J Payne, Spiller (S Payne
72mins), Montrose, Lee (Weston 58mins), Whelpdale, Kedwell. Subs:
Gazzaniga, King, Richards, Rance.
Brighton: Ankergren, Greer,
Dunk, Barnes, Noone, Calderon, Dicker, Vincelot, Painter, Bridcutt,
Buckley. Subs: Brezovan, Navarro, Sparrow, Agdestein, Taricco,
Cook, Bergkamp.
Attendance: 16,295.
Tuesday, August 09 2011
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