Morecambe 1 Gillingham 1
by Luke Cawdell
Bradley Dack netted a second-half equaliser
for Gillingham as they picked up another point on the road.
Morecambe went into the break ahead thanks
to Jack Redshaw’s 42nd-minute strike, but Dack,
pictured, levelled early in the second half.
The Gills - backed by 233 visiting fans -
were seeking to extend their impressive form away from home which
had seen them avoid defeat in their previous 11 games outside Kent
and they had plenty of second-half chances but couldn’t find a
winner.
Boss Martin Allen made four changes to his
starting line-up as Chris Whelpdale, Danny Kedwell and Andrew
Frampton all returned and Newcastle loanee Michael Richardson
made his first start.
Richardson was in the thick of the action
and came close to scoring at both ends.
With 11 minutes gone he slid in to block a
cross on the edge of Gillingham’s box and was grateful to see the
ball fly narrowly over the bar.
Morecambe’s in-form striker Redshaw put an
effort over himself moments later as he smashed an effort on the
volley.
Gillingham’s best chance of the first half
fell to Richardson, but from Antonio German’s cross he took a touch
before blazing the ball well clear of the goal.
Morecambe had the better of the
chances early on and keeper Stuart Nelson needed to be
alert to hold on to Stuart Drummond’s volley while an earlier
long-range shot from Ryan Williams was also held by the Gills
stopper.
But with three minutes of the half
remaining a cross from the right from Drummond was bundled home by
Redshaw to put his side ahead. It was the striker’s 15th goal of
the season, his fifth in his last six appearances,
and meant Gills went into the break behind for the first
time away from home in the league this season.
Charlie Allen was introduced to give the
Gills more pace in midfield for the second half and it took
just six minutes to get on level terms as Whelpdale’s cross
was cleared into the path of Dack and he struck low into the bottom
corner.
The Gills had plenty of possession but
there weren’t too many clear-cut chances. German curled one effort
narrowly over midway through the half and Matt Fish went a little
closer with a dipping shot into the empty stand behind the
goal.
Dack glanced a header wide with 10 minutes
left and Kedwell thumped a half chance over as the majority of the
second-half opportunities fell to the visitors.
Gillingham: Nelson, Fish, Martin, Legge,
Barrett, Frampton, Richardson (Allen 46mins), Dack, Whelpdale
(Robinson 66mins), Kedwell, German (Burton 74mins). Subs not used:
Forecast, Lee, Davies, Muggleton.
Morecambe: Roche, Fenton, Haining
(Threlfall 43mins), Wright, Williams (Williams 72mins), McCready,
Drummond, McDonald (Fleming 83mins), Holroyd, Redshaw, Alessandra.
Subs not used: Arestidou, Parkinson, Mwasile, Doyle.
Attendance: 1,674.
15/03/13
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