By Chris Dicketts
Gills Ladies collected their first silverware of the season on Thursday evening when they beat Millwall in the Kent Cup Final.
One goal was enough to settle the game and it came in the 75th minute when Captain Becky Lyon got the final touch in a goal mouth scramble.
On the balance of play the Gills were worthy winners as they had the better of the chances.
Despite some initial problems with traffic, manager Ian Varley named the same side that drew with Northampton in the League last Sunday.
The Gills got off to a disastrous start when Ashlee Hincks was forced off with a suspected broken arm inside ten seconds.
In the fifth minute Danni Farmer was fouled by Fran Ali about thirty yards out. She picked herself up and swung in a free kick that Becky Lyon headed just wide of the far post.
On nine minutes Millwall had their first attempt on goal when Shauni Griffiths hit a speculative shot from fully 40 yards against Katie Duffy's right hand post. The ball fell kindly to the feet of Katie Wyatt but she hit her shot straight at the recovering keeper.
Then in the 13th minute the Gills went straight down the other end and crashed a shot of their own off of the cross bar. Natalie Crinean created some space for herself on the edge of the Millwall area and unleashed a fierce shot that beat the keeper and smacked off the woodwork and out for a goal kick.
Then in the 14th minute Rachel Ahern played a ball over the top of the Millwall defence and Natalie Crinean latched onto it. She found Farmer who unleashed a shot that came flying back off the right hand upright as the Gills settled into the game.
In the 21st minute Amy Russ played a ball to the tireless Natalie Crinean, she put a cross into the Millwall area which Vicky Ashton-Jones latched onto, but she couldn't keep her shot on target.
Just before the half hour mark the Gills created yet another half chance when Vicky Ashton-Jones found Nat Crinean in space, unfortunately for the Gills striker her shot was straight at Chantelle Brown in the Millwall goal.
Millwall started to come back into the game as the match approached half time, but for all their dominance in possession they couldn't find a way past a resolute Gills back line.
In the 34th minute Laura East played a ball over the top of the Millwall defence that Natalie Crinean was onto in an instant, but she just couldn't get her shot away on her left foot and Millwall cleared the danger.
In the 42nd minute the central midfield pairing of Rachel Ahern and Laura East combined with the experienced midfielder hitting a shot well wide of goal.
With the referee about to blow for half time Natalie Crinean raced down the left wing and found Danni Farmer who hit her shot straight at the keeper.
Half Time 0-0
As the second half began it looked as though it was going to be as tight as it was in the first half with the Gills creating a number of half chances with Millwall always looking dangerous on the attack.
In the 47th minute the Gills were on the attack once more when Laura East played a ball out wide to Danni Farmer. She cut into the Millwall area and hit a shot that looked as though it might sneak in at the far post but a Millwall defender got back to clear the danger.
Two minutes later and Danni Farmer was the architect of the Gills next attack, when she picked out Natalie Crinean who hit her shot straight at Chantelle Brown in the Millwall goal.
In the 54th minute a long ball out of the Gills defence found Natalie Crinean in space on the left hand side of the pitch. She took the ball to the by-line before crossing to Vicky Ashton-Jones who turned and hit her shot high and wide.
In the 66th minute Millwall created the best chance of the half when Demi Rowe found Katie Fitzgerald unmarked. She turned and raced into the Gills area, where she found herself one on one with Gills keeper Katie Duffy. The Gills custodian did well to save her first shot and even better to save her second shot just seconds later.
In the 74th minute Danni Farmer picked up a loose clearance from the Millwall defence and unleashed a fantastic drive from an acute angle that was deflected wide for a corner. From the resulting corner there was a goal mouth scramble as the Lions failed to clear their lines. In the midst of a number of touches Gills Captain Becky Lyon prodded the ball goal wards and it evaded everyone, nestling into the bottom right hand corner, to give the Gills a 1-0 lead.
On 82 minutes Natalie Crinean found Vicky Ashton-Jones inside the Millwall penalty area but she hit her shot high and wide, as the Gills pushed for a second goal.
Then two minutes later, Amy Russ hit a speculative effort from a not to dissimilar position to Shauni Griffiths effort in the first half. The only difference being her shot went wide of the keeper's far post.
As the clock ticked down Millwall began to throw everything into the Gills box as quickly as they could. Yet they couldn't find a way past a resilient Ladies back line.
As the final whistle blew the Gills were victorious and took the Kent Cup back to Gillingham for the first time since the 2000/01 season.
It was a fantastic victory for the club and the players and manager were quick to dedicate the win to injury victim Ashlee Hincks.
Full Time 1-0
Gills: Duffy, Judd, Herrett, Lyon (c), Kay, Ahern, Farmer, East, Ashton-Jones, Crinean, Hincks (Russ, 1)
Subs not used: Abbott, Massey, Foster, Jackson
Millwall: Brown C, Rackham, McConville (Langton, 60), Brown D, Gilroy, Gibson, Wyatt (Seely, 55), Ali, Fitzgerald, Rowe, Griffiths
Subs not used: Canty, Scott
