Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to krbs Priestfield for this afternoon's FA Cup Second Round clash with Burton Albion. Today's match marks a milestone in the history of Gillingham Football Club for a number of reasons; firstly this is the first time ever that the club have faced Burton in league or cup competition.
Secondly today should see Mark Bentley make his 150th appearance for the Gills, an impressive display of loyalty in modern football. You could not wish to find a better ambassador for Gillingham FC and I'm sure you will join me in warmly applauding Mark's achievements. Last and by no means least, I am reliably informed that this afternoon's fixture will be the clubs 300th match in the FA Cup, so let's hope we can make it a memorable one.
National headlines have been dominated in recent days by the dramatic weather witnessed throughout the UK in varying degrees and the conditions played no small part in our recent matches with Oldham and Bristol Rovers. Tuesday night's encounter here at Priestfield suffered the same fate with gusting winds and driving rain making conditions at pitch level all but impossible at times.
For those reasons it was very refreshing to watch the relish with which the team set about our opponents in the opening stages and I think it's no exaggeration to say that, with a bit more luck in front of goal, we could have settled the match well before half time. Thanks to a series of impressive saves from Yeovil's custodian we were only able to find the net once, Simeon Jackson taking the plaudits by scoring his twelfth of the season from the penalty spot.
Jacko's finish has to be one of the coolest spot-kicks I have seen and it is testament to his character that having missed his last two penalty kicks, Simeon refused to hide and had the supreme self confidence to chip the keeper with the deftest of touches. Equally enjoyable to watch was the growing understanding developing between Simeon and his new strike partner Febian Brandy, the two seem to complement one another nicely and it is a joy to watch them run at defenders.
Finally a quick reminder, should we progress through to the next stage of the competition and draw a big club at Priestfield, your ticket stubs from this afternoon's game will give you priority booking status when the tickets go on sale, so be sure to keep them safe. Let's get Priestfield rocking again today and cheer the boys on to Round Three.
Up The Gills
Paul D.P. Scally
Chairman
