Home   Medway   Sport   Article

Gillingham v Peterborough United (Medway Priestfield Stadium, Saturday 3pm)

Regan Charles-Cook returns for Gillingham after almost a month out injured.

Charles-Cook has been missed and will bring added pace going forward for the Gills.

Brandon Hanlan is also back in the starting line-up and the changes in attack means leading scorer Tom Eaves is dropped to the bench.

Gillingham midfielder Regan Charles-Cook is back from injury Picture: Ady Kerry
Gillingham midfielder Regan Charles-Cook is back from injury Picture: Ady Kerry

Former Peterborough favourite Gabriel Zakuani is also back in the starting eleven for the Gills, replacing Alex Lacey in central defence, after missing the last two league games with a shoulder injury.

Connor Ogilvie is in for Bradley Garmston at left-back, making his first league start since rejoining on loan from Tottenham. There is no room in the squad for Elliott List.

Peterborough have made three changes to their starting XI, following defeat to Portsmouth in their last outing.

Gillingham: Holy, Fuller, Ogilvie, Ehmer, Zakuani, Reilly, Parrett, Byrne, Charles-Cook, Hanlan, Parker. Subs: Hadler, O'Neill, Garmston, Lacey, Eaves, Wilkinson, Rees.

Peterborough: Chapman, Naismith, Daniel, Woodyard, Tafazolli, Walker, Godden, Dembele, Bennett, Toney, Maddison. Subs: Tyler, O'Hara, Reed, Cooke, Ward, Yorwerth, Cummings.

BREAKING NEWS: Two games moved as Gillingham decide to replace their playing surface. Details here.

Preview;

It’s six without a win in League 1 for Gillingham and the challenge this weekend doesn’t come much tougher.

Visitors Peterborough have had their best start to a Football League season, under manager Steve Evans, winning their first five games of the current campaign.

A seven-game unbeaten run ended last weekend, losing 2-1 Portsmouth, the victors replacing them at the top of League 1.

Gillingham's manager Steve Lovell
Gillingham's manager Steve Lovell

Steve Lovell led Gills to victory against Peterborough in his first game as Gillingham manager, last October, and he could do with another unexpected result this Saturday.

The Gills have plummeted to 20th in League 1, having started the season with back to back wins, and Lovell, who has been openly critical of his side in recent weeks, is determined to turn the form around.

Head to head;

Gills wins: 14 Draws: 20 Rochdale wins: 14

League form;

Gillingham (LLLDLL): Rochdale (a) 3-0, Wimbledon (h) 0-1, Barnsley (a) 1-2, Coventry (h) 1-1, Sunderland (h) 1-4, Walsall (a) 1-2.

Peterborough (LWDWWW): Portsmouth (h) 1-2, Southend (a) 3-2, Doncaster (h) 1-1, Plymouth (a) 5-1, Charlton (a) 1-0, Luton (h) 3-1.

Last time out;

Rochdale 3 Gillingham 0

Josh Parker argues a point with manager Steve Lovell at Rochdale Picture: Ady Kerry
Josh Parker argues a point with manager Steve Lovell at Rochdale Picture: Ady Kerry

Gillingham failed to handle Rochdale dangerman Ian Henderson last weekend and paid the price.

Henderson helped himself to a hat-trick against the struggling Gills, firing home twice in the opening 18 minutes.

Tom Eaves hit the woodwork for the visitors in the second half but Henderson’s acrobatic finish made it 3-0 to Rochdale.

Reaction: Steve Lovell pointed the finger at his players following the defeat.

Click here to see more of Ady Kerry’s pictures from the weekend.

Last meeting at Priestfield;

Gillingham 1 Peterborough 1

Gillingham defender Max Ehmer scores the equaliser Picture: Andy Jones
Gillingham defender Max Ehmer scores the equaliser Picture: Andy Jones

Gillingham defender Max Ehmer scored a stoppage-time equaliser on Saturday.

Danny Lloyd had put the visitors ahead in the second half but Gills felt they should have levelled through Josh Parker.

The striker and his team-mates celebrated a goal but the officials claimed it hadn’t crossed the line.

Gillingham managed to claim a share of the spoils through Ehmer, racing onto the ball from Ryan Tafazolli's clearance and after chesting it down the defender hit it low past keeper Jonathan Bond.

More from the Gills;

We’re too nice says Gills manager Steve Lovell

The Gills managers is running out of patience

Former loan man makes Scottish Premiership move

Returning midfielder a plus for the Gills manager

Team news;

Regan Charles-Cook in action against Sunderland Picture: Ady Kerry
Regan Charles-Cook in action against Sunderland Picture: Ady Kerry

Gillingham will hope to have Regan Charles-Cook back available following a ham-string injury.

He hasn't played since limping off against Coventry just under a month ago.

Charles-Cook has been back in full training this week.

Gabriel Zakuani is also back available, following a shoulder injury, and he played for the Gills at Faversham on Tuesday night.

Billy Bingham hasn't full recovered from injury and is likely to need another week before returning.

Read what Steve Lovell had to say about the return of Charles-Cook.

From the opposition;

Steve Evans at Priestfield in 2014, then manager of Rotherham Picture: Barry Goodwin
Steve Evans at Priestfield in 2014, then manager of Rotherham Picture: Barry Goodwin

Peterborough manager Steve Evans isn’t getting too downbeat over one defeat.

A 2-1 home defeat last weekend ended their unbeaten start to the season and saw them knocked off the top of the League 1 table.

Evans, a target for the Gills following Ady Pennock's departure last year, said: “It’s only one game, we are still in good shape and now it’s all about reacting well. I am sure this group of players will.

“We have to play a bit smarter in future. Motivation should come from listening to their players sing they were top of the league. We went top a couple of weeks ago and didn’t get carried away.”

Summing things up, Evans said: “We lost because they took advantage of our errors. They didn’t make any in their own penalty area. We didn’t show any finesse or quality on the ball until it was too late.”

Evans has a bit of history with the Gills. The Scot once accused former boss Andy Hessenthaler of racially abusing him - an accusation later withdrawn - and a few years later accused fans of doing the same, leading to three arrests.

One to watch - Matt Godden;

Matt Godden celebrates a goal for Ebbsfleet United. He scored 30 in a season for the Fleet before moving to Stevenage Picture: Andy Payton
Matt Godden celebrates a goal for Ebbsfleet United. He scored 30 in a season for the Fleet before moving to Stevenage Picture: Andy Payton

Fans of Kent non-league football will know all about Matt Godden.

The striker scored 30 goals for Ebbsfleet in the 2015/16 season as they finished runners-up in National League South before losing to Maidstone in the play-off final.

He previously had a loan spell at Fleet and also Dartford, netting five goals in eight league starts at Princes Park, showing what a natural finisher he is.

A permanent move to Fleet came after rejecting a deal at Scunthorpe, where he had struggled for game time and failed to find the net. He rebuilt his career in non-league and has reaped the rewards

Godden moved back into the Football League at Stevenage and continued his scoring form, earning him a move to Peterborough in the summer.

That form has continued, hitting seven league goals already this season, more than anyone else in League 1.

Man in the middle - Lee Swabey;

Games: 7 Yellow cards: 22 Reds: 1

Referee Lee Swabey Picture: Barry Goodwin
Referee Lee Swabey Picture: Barry Goodwin

The Devonshire official handed out a red card to former Gills defender Deji Oshilaja when he was at Priestfield back in January 2017.

Oshilaja was given his marching orders against Oxford after receiving two yellow cards. The Gills lost the game 1-0.

He also took charge of Gills’ home game against Rochdale last season, handing out just one yellow card to the home side, Tom Eaves going in the book for a foul.

Assistants: Thomas Ramsey and Stuart Butler / Fourth Official: Anthony Da Costa

Fancy a punt?

Peterborough are the 5/4 favourites with William Hill to win Saturday's game. The Gills are priced at 2/1 and it's 5/2 for the draw.

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More