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Friday, May 25 2012

Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler saw two good goals cancel out his team's impressive showing at Swindon Town

Andy Hessenthaler

The contrasting emotions of Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler and the Swindon dugout after the hosts went ahead on Tuesday            Picture: Barry Goodwin

Andy Hessenthaler bemoaned the “wonder strike” which sent his team to defeat on Tuesday night.

Gillingham competed well against Swindon at the County Ground but were undone by Matt Ritchie’s 80th-minute goal. Another fine effort, from Jonathan Smith, rubber-stamped the three points for the home side.

“It’s very disappointing to have lost and I thought the performance was terrific,” said Gills manager Hessenthaler.  

“I couldn’t really have asked any more from the boys. In the first half their keeper made a great save from Whelpdale’s header, to tip it onto the bar. It dropped down and they did their job and defended properly to stop Jo Kuffour from scoring.

“Whelpdale also had a good strike in a good area in the first half but there wasn’t much in it. Second half we looked bright and took the game to them.

“Rooney, with the best bit of play in the game, hit the post. If that goes in then all-of-a-sudden they are chasing the game and it makes them a bit frustrated.

“In the end, ultimately, it was a wonder strike from the lad Ritchie. He is a handful and we knew if he comes inside he has a hell of a shot. Perhaps we should have done better with the clearance, but he did what he did, and it was a great strike.

“Sometimes they go in, sometimes they go over, but that wonder strike has cost us the game.”

The Gills had good chances, with Whelpdale hitting the bar with a header, before Rooney struck the post with a shot. At 1-0 down substitute Danny Kedwell, who was back from injury, missed an open goal from just a few yards out.

“He said it came across so quick from big Frank and he said he didn’t see it,” said Hessenthaler. “He got it tied up around his feet and that summed it up for us really. Sometimes you need a little luck.

“It was a good performance, not the right result, but more positives than negatives I felt.”

What do you think went wrong at Swindon? Comment below.

Tuesday, October 25 2011

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  • Reg (Rons brother) wrote:

    Just under 48hrs until another crushing defeat for the Gills.....then cue more excuses from Hess and the "family" back room team....Times up Hess after Saturdays defeat dont talk just walk away.....

    27 Oct 2011 7:51 PM

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  • Andy the *umpty wrote:

    Andy scott hasn't been in his job anywhere near as long as Hessenthaler.You're desperatly trying to make a case for a man than is failing to deliver.

    27 Oct 2011 2:56 PM

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  • Andy wrote:

    think it's a close league, and as stated 2-3 games could c us in the top 3! Then most would say the gills are doing well. People comment when we play against andy scotts sides in seasons gone and this season at Rotherham and say he's a good manager, but they have fallen big time! Will he get the sack straight away, prob not as a month of football changes the picture of the league.
    I'm a Hess fan some of you ain't, but it's a tight league and apart from Crawley the top half at the min could end up anyhow.

    27 Oct 2011 2:47 PM

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  • jobsfortheboys wrote:

    One of the most depressing things about Gills is that certain people seem guarenteed to keep their positions no matter what.Hessenthaler being the prime example.Not on merit but on a jobsfortheboys basis.This is no way to run a football club,but it will never change as long as Scally is at the club.Not in my opinion anyway.

    27 Oct 2011 2:11 PM

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  • david shaw knows best wrote:

    nasty comments aimed at ron who is just giving his opinion, which is spot on as usual.under this manager its always going to be win one, lose one impossible for him to generate enough variation in his tactics to make the team hard to play against its same old same old predictable nonsense from the dwarf.hess should have gone in the summer.

    27 Oct 2011 1:42 PM

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  • mr grimsdale wrote:

    TITLE FOR THE PICTURE ABOVE.
    DON'T LAUGH AT ME COS I'M A FOOL.

    27 Oct 2011 11:49 AM

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  • the truth wrote:

    LISTED BELOW ARE HESSY'S ACHIEVEMENTS.











    ;

    27 Oct 2011 11:40 AM

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  • the truth wrote:

    What has Hess achieved since his return, apart from turning us into a team of clogging injury prone expert at going out of cup competitions at the first attemp expert at conceding last minute goals shower.The man has been a total failure.

    27 Oct 2011 11:37 AM

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  • Ken wrote:

    What a load of hypocrits some of you apologists for Hessy are. You accuse ron of being bitter twisted evil and nasty then do exactly the same to him.
    I don't know what you have been watching at priestfield since Hessenthaler came back but i have not been particulary impressed by what i've witnessed, for the most part it's been pretty awful.

    27 Oct 2011 11:26 AM

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  • i think ron is genetic waste wrote:

    im new here to these boards. but reading comments by some are a little sad. this ron or maybe we should just call him genetic waste should be embarrassed with some things he says. especially hess should of been sacked at morcambe a year ago! that would be around 3 months in to his stint as manager. good job u are a lowlife dog tu rd with no decent future in life. i think people would prefer to spend time with a festering corpse than spend time interacting with you. keep working hard hess and the team and i think we will be where we need to be come may. good luck up the gills.

    27 Oct 2011 8:48 AM

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  • CompletelyAndUtterlyAnon wrote:

    Didn't hear you after the Torquay and Oxford games Ron, cat got your fingers?

    Pathetic, continous drivel that we could only expect from a delinquent such as yourself.

    27 Oct 2011 8:38 AM

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  • Eric Cartman wrote:

    The non league striker cost us again, cant and wont score many goals in open play, just as well we have the loan signings. What happens after Xmas though?

    27 Oct 2011 2:27 AM

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  • Eric Cartman wrote:

    The non league striker cost us again, cant and wont score many goals in open play, just as well we have the loan signings. What happens after Xmas though?

    27 Oct 2011 2:26 AM

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  • I HOPE RON croaks it ASAP wrote:

    ron, i have more respect for a dog excrement than i do for you

    you are bitter and twisted and evil and nasty. you complete and utter tommy tanker. please kick the bucket soon

    26 Oct 2011 11:27 PM

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  • i hate ron wrote:

    just thinking if we had beat swindon we would be sitting 3rd. if is a big word but what would u have said then old ronny boy? 3 games goes quick in football so if we get 6-7 points from the next 3 games we could b in the top three. will u comment again ron.

    26 Oct 2011 8:11 PM

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  • boostfc wrote:

    cant beleive you piikeys,
    i thought you were the best side ive seen at the c.g since creepy in the cup, last year if you played like you did, you would have hammered us
    kuffour/rooney was superb, wouldnt mind them here, to come off from the bench

    26 Oct 2011 7:41 PM

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  • Ron wrote:

    Out of the door Hessenthaler, out of the door!

    Your time is up. You should've been sacked a Year ago. After Morecambe you've got to be gone. You'll NEVER win promotion with this club as a manager from this league, you aren't good enough. Mark Stimson was good enough to do it in his first season within this league, but you could never match that.

    Barnet are the only Football League club apart from ourselves that would ever employ you. You've only been employed here due to friendship with the chairman, its got nothing what so ever to do with results. Over the past two seasons you've failed badly & you should be man enough to come out & admit that now. You've let the supporters of this club down.

    We don't have the team or the management for promotion - theres NO chance of promotion. 9th place in the league at the moment sees us outperforming ourselves, for in truth we're a team that'll finish 16th. We're already 10 points behind the top team. Last season this managers team finished behind Accrington Stanley, yep Accrington Stanley whom we had 15 times the amount of budget of. This so called manager has wasted all funds.

    Last season Ian Hendon run the team, this season it's up to the Non League players. Hessenthaler you are no manager at this level. In the picture you look a beaten man, & that is what you are. Go now before you lose to another pub team in the FA Cup Round One next Month.

    The supporters money has been wasted, promotion chances already gone, a manager with no tactics & a chairman who will never sack his best mate!

    AT ANY OTHER LEAGUE CLUB THIS PATHETIC "MANAGER" WOULD'VE BEEN SACKED LAST SEASON! - FACT!

    HESSENTHALER OUT!

    26 Oct 2011 7:24 PM

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  • elseyrocket wrote:

    Kedwells miss was on a par with Dave Shearers after Dave Smith had skinned Swindons back line and provided a great cross in the play off final at selhurst park. Shocking miss.

    26 Oct 2011 6:15 PM

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  • Mike wrote:

    Oh n one problem with Hess is what the picture showed, head down, defeated, demotivated, lost belief! Very disappointing! He's supposed to be our leader!

    26 Oct 2011 2:38 PM

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  • Mike wrote:

    Not going to get involved with the talk about Hess' future as its just waste of breath, as scally doesn't read this or pay any attention to the fans. So he'll go when he goes, either by walking or pushed!

    One thing I really disagree with is that the wonder goal DIDN'T cost us the game..... What did then you are all thinking?

    KEDWELL, missing a 2 yard open goal under no pressure cost us the game! Worst attempt/miss I have ever ever seen, and there is no excuses for a pro footballer to have missed it, just shows to me he will bottle it at the big games when we need that goal! He needs to improve and earn our support!

    26 Oct 2011 2:35 PM

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  • bady messen taler wrote:

    its all very well playing well and not getting a result but we're playing badly in other games and not getting results its time we trained harder and harder for the next match and then gills will win more than one game on the trots.

    26 Oct 2011 1:14 PM

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  • Nick wrote:

    As a Swindon supporter at the gasme last night that was the worst we have played this season and a draw would have probably been a fair result but having said that we have steam rollerd teams this season and lost and last night although we didnt play well we got the breakthoughs. I did think your team tired in the last 20 minutes though and Paulo said at the start of the season our intense pre season will tell as the season progresses and i think with the winter months coming up this is now going to kick in.
    You hit the post and bar and we defended well though but i thought Nouble and Kuffour didnt offer much threat but thought Rooney had a particulalry good game.

    we will all get games where we dont play well and win or get a draw. Thought you have a decent side but i think if we had played to our normal level i think you would have seen a different Swindon. Glad you beat Oxford though.

    26 Oct 2011 12:57 PM

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  • lenny wrote:

    I was at the game last night and like every-one was gutted about the result.

    Overall, I thought we huffed and puffed with lots of effort but no penetration, there were very few shots on target and our counter-attacking was far too slow.

    As previously commented, even after they scored, we still had chances to get a goal and after a few minutes of attacking, we resorted to panic defending and hoofing the ball anywhere but a Gills player.

    I will always support the Gills but at present I do-not see much of an improvement. Has the idea of an assistant manager completely gone away?
    Because we badly need someone to bounce ideas off to support Hessy. I do-not believe we have reached the stage where we need a new manager but it appears more fans are swaying that way.

    UTG

    26 Oct 2011 12:40 PM

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  • Steve wrote:

    Most teams are beating each other this season, we'll probably beat Swindon at home when we play them. We havnt got a devine right to be top of the league, when have Gillingham ever been this big club that just beats every team it plays, we had a ten year spell when everything was good and we had money but thats long gone now unfortunatly. We'll get the playoffs, thats it

    26 Oct 2011 12:30 PM

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  • the nazis didnt control what can be printed a smuch as this lot wrote:

    disappoint to see a post removed that referred to hess's previous stint as manager and only repeated facts already in print - yet again free speech is gone as far as gfc and the kn group are concerned

    26 Oct 2011 10:15 AM

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  • g.i.blues wrote:

    do most of you have a devine right to comment like you do when you don't even attend matches...i mean did any of you go last night???...guess not!

    if you can't go support or back the team, no matter how they perform, then there are a few ready made teams in a higher league that will take your plastic following!!!


    UTG!!!!!

    26 Oct 2011 9:39 AM

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  • Billy Bleach wrote:

    A quick look at Swindon's message board will tell you that the majority of their fans thought we were the best side they have seen this season. We were unlucky, it happens, get over it.

    26 Oct 2011 9:25 AM

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  • devine right wrote:

    Does this manager have a devine right to be the manager.Is he more important than the club.

    26 Oct 2011 9:04 AM

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  • vinny hasn't got two brain cells to rub together wrote:

    we're never going to succeed with neagtive misery guts like you refusing to get behind the manager or the players are we? numb nut

    26 Oct 2011 8:42 AM

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  • Vinny wrote:

    I don't give a damn what this useless clown Hessenthaler says that's 7 DEFEATS already this season including cup games.Just tell me WHEN is this muppet going to get it right, it's the same old story.
    DO US A FAVOUR AND WALK WILL YA.

    26 Oct 2011 8:12 AM

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