Development boss delivers his reaction as Gills progress to the Kent Senior Cup Final
Mark Patterson said he was very pleased to see his Gillingham side progress to the final of the Kent Senior Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Margate on Monday evening.The scores were locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes at MEMS Priestfield Stadium, but the hosts advanced to the Final after a 6-5 triumph on penalty kicks.
Gills had to come from behind though with Danny Galbraith scoring a brilliant goal shortly after the interval to cancel out Freddie Ladapo’s effort on 37 minutes.
Speaking afterwards Mark said: “It was a really hard game, Margate are a very good team and have good staff around them and we knew what they would bring and they didn’t disappoint.
“In the first half I thought they were better than us, they had more about them but in the second half I thought we were excellent and the only thing missing from us was possibly another goal but on the whole our work ethic and use of the ball was much better and it’s exactly what we expect.
“It was a proper game of Football, a good cup tie and to a man their attitude was first class, we are really pleased.
“We’ve entered the Kent Senior Cup, we are trying to win it and we’ve got one more game to try and achieve that. One or two of the younger players have been with the club a long time and it’s nice for them to get a chance to play in a Final.”
As for how penalty takers were picked he said: “I asked who wanted to take one and what order they wanted to go and that was it. Up until the missed one I thought they were excellent penalties and neither keeper had much chance.”
Mark was forced into a change during the first half with Devante McKain making way for Greg Cundle, and the development boss explained the problem.
“He says he’s rolled his ankle,” he said. “He tried to run it off but was struggling. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious but at the moment we just don’t know.”