Gillingham 1 Barnet 3
Comments |
Luke Rooney is brought down during
Gillingham's 3-1 defeat to Barnet
Picture: Barry Goodwin
by Luke Cawdell
Gillingham failed to take advantage of their
first half dominance and paid the price in the Johnstone’s Paint
Trophy second round match.
The Gills were ahead inside five minutes
through Garry Richards but Barnet hit back with a goal in each half
to take the lead.
Barnet had the chance to add a third from the
penalty spot but Izale McLeod blasted over – only to score from
open play to seal the win moments later.
Gillingham had dominated the opening half but
went into the break with the scores level at 1-1.
Richards had put the home side ahead with just
five minutes on the clock when he got on the end of Luke Rooney’s
cross, from a free-kick, and guided the ball home.
The lead lasted just six minutes when Izale
McLeod scored from the spot. Referee Graham Scott appeared to have
penalised Andy Frampton for a tug on the shirt of Barnet’s Clovis
Kamdjo.
Argentine keeper Paulo Gazzaniga was unable to
stop the penalty on his home debut as McLeod rifled home into the
roof of the net. It was his sixth goal against the Gills in the
last three games between the sides.
From then until the break, apart from brief
Barnet forays forward, the game was dominated by the Gills’
attack.
Jo Kuffour was making his home debut and first
start alongside Stefan Payne in attack. It was only Payne’s second
start of his Gills career and first this season.
Frank Nouble and Luke Rooney were supplying
the ammunition from the wings and all of the forwards came close to
scoring.
Rooney was a constant menace to the Barnet
defence and the visitors, and their 49 fans, were grateful to
keeper Liam O’Brien for denying the livewire winger from netting in
the opening 45 minutes.
Nouble was also threatening on the right flank
but despite the shot count moving into double figures by half-time
the score remained 1-1.
Kuffour had seen a shot blocked, Rooney shot
one straight at the keeper and had another knocked wide, while
Payne had a header saved and the follow-up blocked. Weston struck a
couple wide and Nouble was unable to beat the keeper.
There were less clear-cut chances at the start
of the second half with Payne seeing a glancing header fall to
O’Brien and at the other end Sam Deering blasted an effort into the
empty Town End.
Just past the hour mark right-back Matt Fish
fired wide for the Gills from around 40 yards and moments later
Payne flashed a long range effort over the bar.
Gillingham had made an enforced substitution
when Fish went off injured and within a minute Mark Marshall, who
had been kept quiet all night, burst into the area and drove a low
shot across Gazzaniga and into the net on 72 minutes.
Barnet could have put the game beyond the
Gills as Gazzaniga pulled McLeod down in the box, after the striker
was clear on goal after a mistake at the back by Richards. This
time the striker blasted his penalty well over the bar.
Mistakes were creeping in for the Gills and
McLeod made amends with six minutes left as an exquisite ball from
Deering found McLeod and he tapped home to make it 3-1.
Gills: Gazzaniga, Fish
(Whelpdale 71mins), Jackman, Frampton (Davies 78mins), Richards,
Montrose, Weston, Rooney, S Payne, Nouble, Kuffour (Kedwell
83mins). Subs not used: Flitney, Oli.
Barnet: O’Brien, Kamdjo,
Uddin, Leach, Borrowdale, Byrne, Hughes, Marshall, Deering (Vilhete
89mins), Taylor (Owusu 86mins), McLeod (Kabba 85mins). Subs not
used: Brill, Cox.
Attendance: 1,278
What did you make of the game? Comment
below.
Tuesday, October 04 2011
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.