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FOM BLOG: DONCASTER ROVERS 1-1 GILLINGHAM

My Thoughts On Doncaster Rovers V Gillingham

Just before leaving the house, I had uploaded The First Gillingham Supporters Blog Of The 2019 / 2020 Season, (And If You Want To Check That Blog Out Then The Link Is Here, LINK: https://fan-of-mulligan.tumblr.com/post/186739483142/fom-blog-gillingham-supporters-season-preview-for - And before leaving the house, I made sure I had the following things on me,,,,, Money, Keys, My Doncaster Rovers Ticket, My Sony Xperia XA1, Lightweight Jacket, 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola, Match-Day Programmes, Lids, Bag, Polo’s, Pad and Pens, Charger and Portable Chargers - And I double checked I had everything on me before leaving the house at 8.10AM Before making the ten minute walk from My House to the pick up point out-side The Cricketers Pub, And there were quiet a few Gillingham Supporters around standing waiting for the coach, And I got speaking with Lewis and Lewis’s Dad about the first game of the season, I thought they were traveling to this match via car, But they had decided to travel to Doncaster Rovers Via Coach, They both were planning to go to Stevenage V Gillingham Last Saturday but that match was called off because of A Waterlogged Pitch, I was never going to that match even if Stevenage V Gillingham was on, Because I was always going to go to Sheppey United V Gillingham.

Lewis spoke about The Supporters Blog, And I mentioned that I had got up at 6.20AM Because I wanted to upload The Supporters Blog Online before traveling to Doncaster Rovers, Because one of the questions was about how do you think Gillingham would line up against Doncaster Rovers, And it would have been pointless uploading the blog after Gillingham had played against Doncaster Rovers, But one thing I can see happening this season is a lot of squad rotation, Connor Ogilvie could start against Doncaster Rovers and Alfie Jones could take his spot for The Burton Albion Home Game, Gillingham have got Brandon Hanlan, Mikael Mandron, Mikael Ndjoli, Elliott List, Mark Marshall, Alex Jakubiak, Regan Charles-Cook and Matty Willock all competing for spots in The Starting Line Up In The Attacking Positions On The Pitch, While Barry Fuller and Lee Hodson are both competing for a spot in The Starting Line Up At Right Back, So there is competition for places in The Starting Line Up, And Competition For Places for players to be named on the substitutes bench as well.

Once The Kings Ferry Coach Arrived, I got on the coach and sat on the seat close towards the back, and I updated My Statuses On Facebook and Twitter and had posted the following,,,, On my way to The Keepmoat Stadium As Gillingham take on Doncaster Rovers on opening day of The 2019 / 2020 Season, Hopefully, Gillingham can get off to the perfect start of the season by picking up all three points against A Decent Doncaster Rovers Side - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!! - Gillingham Had Also Posted It’s Official, Football Is Back and Wishing A Safe Trip For All Gillingham Supporters Heading To Doncaster Rovers Today, Both were tweets that I had re-tweeted, along with the match-day tweet.

We then stopped off out-side Priestfield Stadium and Peter and Gary were making sure that everyone who booked on the coach were on the correct coaches, Because there were Two Kings Ferry Coaches going to Doncaster Rovers, And With The Supporters Coach going along with supporters traveling via car and via train, then there should be a decent turnout at The Keepmoat Stadium Today, While we were waiting for everyone to get on both coaches, I sent Nicholas A Message wondering if he is on Peter’s Coach for the trip to Doncaster Rovers, and I mentioned how packed it was on the coach and for three coaches to be traveling to Doncaster Rovers for the opening league game of the season is brilliant news.

Once everything had been sorted out regarding supporters who had booked on the coach in Sittingbourne, Rainham And At Priestfield Stadium were on the coach, we were on our way at 9AM for the trip to Doncaster Rovers for the opening league game of The 2019 / 2020 Season, I had predicted draw in A Few Gillingham Polls, And I had A Draw Written Down For The Gills Debate Prediction League And The NoirCat Prediction League, I had also re-tweeted a few tweets from Gillingham Supporters who were enthusiastic about the start to the new season.

Peter’s Coach headed towards Strood Sports Centre to pick up The Gillingham Supporters Waiting In Strood, While Our Coach needed to stop off and pick up another driver, and once The Driver was on the coach, we were on our way To Doncaster Rovers, And Gary went through all the formalities of the rules and regulations, and The Coach Prices for Adults and Children, and no alcohol on the coach - not that anyone would carry alcohol on the coach - and the travel costs were £29 for Adults, and when Gary mentioned that we were stopping off at Peterborough Services, that got a huge cheer from the lads sitting on the back of the coach, And you know it is an away day when we’re stopping off at Peterborough Services.

And You also know it is an away day when D3D4 are asking Supporters which ground are you going to, who are you going to watch, your score prediction and the year you watched your first match, and I answered with the following, Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster Rovers V Gillingham, Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Gillingham - Brandon Hanlan to get himself on the score-sheet for Gillingham, And The Year 2000, For when Gillingham lost 3-1 at home against Nottingham Forest.

Gary came around to collect the coach fare, And I paid £29 for my coach fare to Doncaster Rovers, And Gary mentioned that we are unsure on what is going on for Bury V Gillingham In Two Weeks Time, Because Accrington Stanley V Bury was postponed the night before, and I mentioned that I have not brought my ticket because of the uncertainty regarding The Bury V Gillingham Match, and Gary mentioned that we will know closer to when Bury V Gillingham is supposed to be played.

I had posted My Predicted Gillingham Starting Line Up, And I went with the following team,,,, Bonham, Hodson, Ehmer, Ogilvie, Garmston, O’Keefe, Cisse, Marshall, Charles-Cook, Ndjoli, Hanlan SUBS: Walsh (GK), Fuller, Jones, Byrne, List, Jakubiak, Mandron - Looking at the bench named, You could start Fuller, Jones, Byrne, List, Jakubiak and Mandron and there would be a legitimate case to name any of those six players in The Starting Line Up.

There was “Interesting Humour” On The Back Of The Kings Ferry Coach, And a sense of enthusiasm looking ahead to The 2019 / 2020 Season, I had predicted Gillingham to end tenth in League One, and many of the predictions in The Gillingham Supporters Blog were A Top Ten Finish For Gillingham In League One This Season, But Gillingham start this month with home league games against Burton Albion, Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers, And there is a general consensus among Gillingham Supporters that Gillingham need to get off to a decent start at home, and perhaps, Gillingham need to win all three of those home games against Burton Albion, Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers, just to ease some of the concerns about Gillingham’s Home Form In Recent Season’s.

There were so many Status Updates From Fellow Gillingham Supporters On Facebook who were travelling to Doncaster Rovers and I know that Gillingham had sold out there initial ticket allocation and more supporters will be buying tickets on the day, I actually misplaced My Doncaster Rovers Ticket because I brought my ticket quiet a while ago, But I was able to find My Doncaster Rovers Ticket in mid-week in one of the envelopes, Because I knew I didn’t throw My Doncaster Rovers Ticket away in the rubbish.

We arrived at Peterborough Services at 11.30AM for a thirty minute stop, And Peterborough Services was completely packed, And there were a few Dover Athletic Supporters At Peterborough Services and you know that The Football Season is back when Service Stations are completely packed, I wasn’t going to buy anything from McDonalds because I was a going to get something to eat when we arrived at Doncaster Rovers, But The Queue For McDonalds and KFC was very busy (which is to be expected) But I did go into The Newsagents to Buy two Cadbury Bars And A 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola For £3.80, And I got speaking with Warren and his Parents about what could potentially happen should Bury’s Match Against Gillingham gets postponed or abandoned completely, Because If we buy our tickets for Bury Away and Bury unfortunately go under, then we might not get our money back, And I mentioned that I would speak with Peter about what is going on with Bury.

I also got speaking with Matt and Stocky at The Services and they had made the trip to Doncaster Rovers via car and for my journey via coach, there have been one or two traffic delays and I mentioned that we had been told on the coach that 700 - 800 Gillingham Supporters will be making the trip to Doncaster Rovers, so the away end should be completely packed, And we go into this match with confidence that Gillingham can get something out of the game, with many Gillingham Supporters believing that we can win, and it would be a fantastic start to the season if Gillingham were to leave The Keepmoat Stadium with all three points.

I then headed back to where the coaches were parked and got speaking with Peter, who mentioned that they will be running a coach to Bury, But we are just going to have to wait and see on what is happening in-regards to Bury’s Current Situation, I am sure we won’t want to be in a scenario where Gillingham travel up to Bury in two weeks, only for The Kings Ferry Coach to turnaround and head back towards Kent, and we have had a wasted journey because Bury V Gillingham has been postponed.

I got back on Coach Two and sat in my seat towards the back of the coach, and looking on Goggle Maps, we should arrive at The Keepmoat Stadium at 13.40PM, Gary mentioned that there are a few events going on around The Keepmoat Stadium, So there might be some food outlets around the ground today, And once everyone was back on the coach, we left Peterborough Services at Mid-Day and headed towards Doncaster Rovers.

Louis and the lads on the back of the coach wanted to do a score prediction bet, and everyone chipped in £1 for the bet and named there score prediction, I put my £1 in and predicted A 1-1 Draw, as much as we would love to see Gillingham get off to the perfect start and pick up all three points, And even though John Marquis has left to sign for Portsmouth for around £2,000,000, This is still a very decent Doncaster Rovers Team, So I predicted A 1-1 Draw.

I then messaged Diane to say when we will arrive at The Keepmoat Stadium and Nicholas messaged to say he had traveled via car to Doncaster Rovers and he asked me how many coaches are going to today’s game, I mentioned that Two Kings Ferry Coaches and One GISC Coach had made the trip to Doncaster Rovers, And Doncaster Rovers Away isn’t far to travel to so the large away support is very encouraging, Where I do think our away numbers will be limited is Away To Shrewsbury Town, Blackpool, and Bolton Wanderers, Because these three matches are being played on A Tuesday Night - Bolton Wanderers Away was supposed to be played on Easter Monday, and moving this match to A Tuesday Night is disappointing to say the least.

There was a problem on our coach where The USB Chargers on the right side of the coach were not working, I was sitting on the left side of the coach, But I had My Portable Chargers With Me and I take them to away games all the time, Because you can never guarantee that there will be USB Chargers on the coach, and I know that Diane, Ann, Lewis and Nicholas always take portable chargers with them to away games as well, It means that regardless if there are USB Chargers on the coach or not, then we are covered either way.

There were then a few post that appeared on Twitter Previewing Gillingham’s Opening Match Of The Season Against Doncaster Rovers and Diane messaged me at 13.10PM to say that The Supporters Coach had already arrived and I responded back mentioning that The Kings Ferry Coaches were fifteen minutes behind and we should arrive around 13.30PM, There is a big shopping complex with McDonalds and KFC Close to the ground, and when Me and Diane had traveled via car, we have gone there a few times, But Gary also mentioned that there might be some food outlets out-side The Keepmoat Stadium.

And we arrived at Doncaster Rovers Football Club around 13.30PM, Some Gillingham Supporters were queuing up out-side The Ticket Office to collect there tickets, I had already got my ticket on me for the match, And I double checked that I had everything on me before getting off the coach, And I met up with Diane, Ann, Graham and Matt, Matt and Myself wanted to buy A Match-Day Programme and we spoke about our respective journeys to Doncaster Rovers, And I mentioned to Diane and Ann that Gary and Peter mentioned that there could be 800 Gillingham Supporters In The Away End This Afternoon.

Matt had the new shirt on and the new kit does look very good, But Matt spoke about having to change his shirt because the shirt sizes are all messed up, But other then that, the shirt is very good, We eventually found The Match-Day Programme Seller, And I brought My Match-Day Programme for £3, And looked around for The Food Outlets, We saw the bar out-side the ground, But rather then waste time looking around for the food outlet, or walk towards where McDonalds and KFC are situated, I thought it be best to get food and drink from the concourse inside the away end.

So we headed towards the entrance for away supporters, And My Bag was searched before being allowed through the turnstiles, And I was standing in The Away Concourse and I went across to The Bar, And I brought Two ML Bottles Of Coca Cola and One Cheese-Burger For £8.80, I don’t usually buy food inside football stadiums, But considering how packed it is going to be for the opening away game of the season, I don’t think there was enough time to head towards McDonalds and then head back towards The Keepmoat Stadium, Thankfully, The Cheese-Burger was decent and I mentioned to Matt, Diane and Ann, that because there is going to be a large away following, that it might be a good idea to head to where we want to stand as soon as possible.

I then got speaking with Charlie, and we spoke about the appointment of Steve Evans as Gillingham Manager and our conversations about Steve Evans towards the back end of last season, and what has happened over the summer regarding player activity (and there has been plenty of transfer activity both in and out of the football club this summer as well) But we also spoke about the four match ban that Steve Evans has got and how that can actually benefit Steve Evans in the long run, because Steve Evans will have a much better view watching the game higher up, he will have a much better understanding of our current players along with our summer signings watching the game from a higher vantage point, and maybe this ban could well see Steve Evans adopt the strategy of watching The First Half up high, and then come down into the dugout In The Second Half, Because one of the things I am sure most Gillingham Supporters don’t want to see is any antics on the touchline which leads to Steve Evans picking up bookings, sending off’s, fines and suspensions, And If Steve Evans is watching the match from a higher position at first because of a ban which turns into match preparation / and a strategic endeavour on Steve Evans Part, then this could be something strategic which works out for Gillingham - I know Sam Allardyce used to do this and watch the first half from The Directors Box and then come down into The Dugout In The Second Half.

Matt, Ann, Diane and Myself went towards the back of the away end, Matt and Myself were going to stand, But also, If you sat in the front five rows then you had to contend with the sunlight obscuring your view of the game, At least Doncaster Rovers Away isn’t going to be like Swansea City Away Where Stewards wanted to insist on Reserved Seating, And I remember supporters clashing over seats and Swansea City had to open up another block because supporters had no-where to stand or sit, and that situation could have been avoided from the get go had Swansea City just opened up the additional block in the first place, I think there will be a strong turnout from Gillingham at Doncaster Rovers, and there is plenty of room in the away end should another block be required for Gillingham Supporters, Because if Gillingham are taking 700-800 supporters to Doncaster Rovers, then that is a fantastic turnout for the opening league game of the season.

Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Came Through On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,,, Jack Bonham, Lee Hodson, Max Ehmer, Alfie Jones, Barry Fuller, Stuart O’Keefe, Ousseynou Cissé, Mikael Ndjoli, Regan Charles-Cook, Alex Jakubiak, Brandon Hanlan SUBS: Joe Walsh, Connor Ogilvie, Bradley Garmston, Mark Byrne, Elliott List, Mark Marshall and Mikael Mandron - I did not like how the team-sheet appeared on Gillingham’s Twitter Feed, Because there is no way Gillingham were lining up with a 4.4.2 diamond midfield formation, I think Gillingham will line up with Alex Jakubiak, Regan Charles-Cook and Mikael Ndjoli behind Brandon Hanlan, and there is a lot of pace and movement in that front four, while Mark Marshall, Elliott List and Mikael Mandron all provide Gillingham with attacking options from the bench should they be required.

Charlie mentioned that he cannot see Darren Oldaker getting a lot of game-time this season because of Stuart O’Keefe, Ousseynou Cissé, Mark Byrne and Matty Willock, Not to mention that Steve Evans is looking to sign more players before The Transfer Window Slams Shut at the beginning of September, We know how good and how talented Darren Oldaker is and he is a young player with a lot of technical ability, But the four players mentioned above are likely to be ahead of Darren Oldaker in the pecking order, and you do wonder if a loan spell would be beneficial for Darren Oldaker’s Development, Steve Lovell Gave Darren Oldaker A Two And A Half Year Deal in the second half of last season, so we clearly see potential and ability in the young midfielder, But you expect to see Cisse, O’Keefe, Willock and Byrne to be more involved with the first team this season.

I then re-tweeted a few Team-Sheets and Predicted Gillingham Formation Line Up’s On Twitter before posting the following,,,,, Fifteen Minutes Until Kick Off - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!! - I looked around the away end, and the two blocks we were situated in were getting more and more packed the closer we got to kick off, And I noticed that the stewards had opened up a third block so that more supporters could move around, There really could be 800+ Supporters in the back of the away end at The Keepmoat Stadium which would be a fantastic turnout, And Matt, Charlie and Myself spoke about The Keepmoat Stadium and how this stadium could be a future design for The Gills, Because there is plenty of room around the ground to expand, if and when that is required, although, I believe that Stadium MK is more along the lines of what Gillingham want to build, Because there is A Shopping Complex, A Cinema, And Food Outlets built around the stadium, although, If Gillingham were to move to Mill Hill, Then A Train Station is absolutely essential to make the stadium work.

Both Teams were then out on to the pitch ready for kick off with both teams lining up in-front of the main stand and the atmosphere raises in volume around the ground for the opening league game of The 2019 / 2020 Season, Gillingham are kicking towards The Polypipe Stand, And Doncaster Rovers are kicking towards The One Call Stand, meaning that both teams will be kicking towards the ends where there supporters are situated in The Second Half - And after a long wait over the summer, THE FOOTBALL LEAGUE SEASON IS BACK, COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

And Gillingham Get The 2019 / 2020 Season underway with Regan Charles-Cook passing the ball back to Ousseynou Cissé, who kicks the ball long down the left side of the pitch and out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Throw On In There Own Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Reece James throws the ball long down the line and Max Ehmer wins the aerial challenge to header the ball forwards to Brandon Hanlan, who retains possession of the ball and lays the ball off to Mikael Ndjoli, and Mikael Ndjoli cannot get the ball under control, But Stuart O’Keefe gets on to the loose ball and passes the ball square to Alex Jakubiak, who plays a first time pass over the top towards Brandon Hanlan, who had made a third man run behind Doncaster Rovers Back-Line down the right side of the pitch, But Brandon Hanlan was flagged for offside by The Linesman.

One Minute Into The Match, And Brad Halliday is penalised for climbing over Alex Jakubiak and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick on the halfway line, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Max Ehmer manages to pick out Barry Fuller with a cross-field pass down the left side of the pitch, But Barry Fuller’s Header Down The Line goes out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Throw On.

In The Third Minute Of The Match, Doncaster Rovers were looking to create there first goal-scoring opportunity of the match, Because Ben Whiteman kicks the ball down the left side of the pitch towards Kieran Sadlier, who runs down the wing in possession of the ball and Alfie Jones sticks with The Doncaster Rovers Midfielder and Alfie Jones nips in there and manages to intercept the ball at the expense of conceding a throw on, And From The Resulting Throw On, Brad Halliday throws the ball short to James Coppinger, who goes towards the byline in possession of the ball before checking the ball back to Brad Halliday, Who whips in a first time in-swinging cross and Max Ehmer manages to header the ball clear, and somehow, Referee John Busby does not award Gillingham A Free Kick When Regan Charles-Cook is pushed to the deck, Play then continue’s as Alex Baptiste passes the ball back to Goalkeeper Ian Lawlor, who passes the ball short to Ben Sheaf, who passes the ball forwards to Ben Whiteman, and Ben Whiteman passes the ball out-wide to Reece James down the left side of the pitch, And Reece James tries to pick out Madger Gomes with a first time through-ball, And Max Ehmer manages to get to the ball first and pass the ball forwards to Mikael Ndjoli, Who does brilliantly to retain possession of the ball before dropping the ball back to Ousseynou Cissé in midfield, And Ousseynou Cissé passes the ball out-wide to Lee Hodson Down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch, And Lee Hodson tries to pick out Stuart O’Keefe with a threaded pass down the line, But Tom Anderson comes across and kicks the ball into touch for A Gillingham Throw On.

And From The Resulting Throw On, Lee Hodson throws the ball square to Alex Jakubiak, who does brilliantly to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Barry Fuller, and the atmosphere raises in volume from the back of the away end, And Barry Fuller takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Goalkeeper Ian Lawlor manages to save and gather the ball at the second attempt, No Goal For Barry Fuller at the moment, But that goal Barry Fuller scored against Doncaster Rovers Last Season was a sensational strike, And if you want to take another look at that goal, then the link is here LINK: https://twitter.com/SportingLifeFC/status/1054036999940833281

Five Minutes Into The Match, And Lee Hodson was penalised for his challenge on Madger Gomes, And Doncaster Rovers were awarded a free kick right in-front of the dugout, Both players required treatment which led to a brief stop in play before the game could continue, Lee Hodson was OK to resume playing, And Madger Gomes eventually was back on his feat and OK to continue playing as well, And from the resulting free kick, Reece James passes the ball back to Tom Anderson, who squares the ball to Alex Baptiste, who passes the ball back to Tom Anderson, who is forced to kick the ball long down the line and Max Ehmer wins the initial aerial challenge, but the second ball drops kindly to Madger Gomes, who gets the ball under control and tries to go past Lee Hodson, But Madger Gomes cannot get past Lee Hodson and his attempted through-ball is easy for Jack Bonham to gather for Gillingham.

Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Doncaster Rovers are awarded a free kick, Ben Whiteman has possession of the ball for Doncaster Rovers In Doncaster Rovers Final Third, And Ben Whiteman passes the ball square to James Coppinger, And James Coppinger lays the ball off to Ben Sheaf, And Ben Sheaf passes the ball forwards to Kieran Sadlier who lays the ball off to Ben Whiteman, who plays a first time through-ball down the left flank towards James Coppinger, And James Coppinger has possession of the ball down the left wing for Doncaster Rovers before cutting inside into a central position and taking on Max Ehmer, and we all thought that Barry Fuller had timed his challenge to perfection on James Coppinger, And The Free Kick Decision In Doncaster Rovers Favour Infuriated The Gillingham Supporters In The Away End, Barry Fuller was given a warning from Referee John Busby.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Kieran Sadlier whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Ousseynou Cissé wins the aerial challenge inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area to header the ball up into the air and Alex Jakubiak wins the second aerial challenge and Alex Jakubiak also wins the third aerial challenge to header the ball further away from Gillingham’s Goal, And James Coppinger passes the ball short to Madger Gomes, who’s first time through-ball goes out of play for a goal-kick and Gillingham survive that attacking onslaught, It is important to note that Doncaster Rovers only just lost to Charlton Athletic on penalties in The League One Playoffs Last Season and this match is going to be a stern test for The Gills.

And when play resumed, Doncaster Rovers were on the front-foot again as Alex Baptiste intercepts the ball from Brandon Hanlan down the left side of the pitch and James Coppinger lays the ball off to Madger Gomes, who passes the ball inside to Tom Anderson, who kicks the ball long down-field and Lee Hodson, who was under pressure from Alfie May, has to kick the ball out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Corner Kick, Better to concede a corner kick then a unfortunate own goal, But Doncaster Rovers do have the opportunity to score the opening goal of the game from this set piece, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, James Coppinger whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross which Jack Bonham was able to punch partially clear and away from danger and Tom Anderson plays a hooked pass over the top towards James Coppinger down the left side of the pitch, And James Coppinger manages to get the ball under control, But Lee Hodson times his challenge to perfection and the ball runs through to Stuart O’Keefe, who kicks the ball long down-field and Mikael Ndjoli flicks the ball towards Alex Jakubiak, And Alex Jakubiak gets the ball under control before running into a central position on the pitch, And Alex Jakubiak’s Cross-Field pass towards Barry Fuller is over-hit and runs out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Throw On.

A Minute Later, And there was a half chance for Gillingham to hit Doncaster Rovers on the counter attack, Max Ehmer kicks the ball high up into the air from the halfway line and Brandon Hanlan cannot win the aerial challenge up against Alex Baptiste, But there is a mixed communication between Tom Anderson and Alex Baptiste, And Tom Anderson headers the ball partially clear and away from danger, And Regan Charles-Cook is on to the second ball, and Regan Charles-Cook runs wide in possession of the ball and over-runs the ball out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Throw On.

Thirteen Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham are awarded a free kick, Gillingham have a throw on down the right side of the pitch, And Lee Hodson throws the ball long down the line towards Brandon Hanlan, who flicks the ball on towards Mikael Ndjoli, who goes past Tom Anderson and Mikael Ndjoli was about to run down the byline in possession of the ball, but no advantage was given and Gillingham were awarded a free kick, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Gillingham created a half decent goal-scoring opportunity, Regan Charles-Cook whips in a high and hanging cross towards the back-back-stick and Max Ehmer volleys the ball well over the crossbar from a very acute angle and that would have been some goal had Max Ehmer scored from essentially the byline.

But Gillingham came close to opening the scoring in The Fifteenth Minute Of The Match, Alex Jakubiak had won Gillingham a throw on in Doncaster Rovers Final Third Down The Left Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw On, Barry Fuller throws the ball short to Alex Jakubiak, who losses out to Ben Whiteman, And The Doncaster Rovers Midfielder kicks the ball long down-field, And when Max Ehmer gets possession of the ball he takes no chances and passes the ball back to Jack Bonham, And Jack Bonham kicks the ball down the right side of the pitch and Mikael Ndjoli wins the initial aerial challenge and Tom Anderson plays a first time pass down-field towards Alfie May, who gets the better off Lee Hodson, But Ousseynou Cissé times his challenge to perfection on The Former Hythe Town Player and the ball ricochets into Regan Charles-Cook’s Path, And Regan Charles-Cook runs forwards in possession of the ball before laying the ball off to Alex Jakubiak, And Alex Jakubiak see’s his shot on target charged down by Ben Sheaf, and the ball ricochets into Regan Charles-Cook’s Path, And Regan Charles-Cook manages to cut inside into a more central position on the pitch, And Regan Charles-Cook see’s his low effort on goal cleared off the line by Tom Anderson and that was Gillingham’s Best Goal-Scoring Opportunity Of The Match, And after that effort on goal, Madger Gomes tries to turn defence into attack, But Regan Charles-Cook manages to track back and intercept the ball and Regan Charles-Cook passes the ball back to Ousseynou Cissé, who takes one touch to control the ball and another touch to whip in a high and hanging cross from a deep position in midfield, And Goalkeeper Ian Lawlor makes a comfortable save in goal for Doncaster Rovers.

Seventeen Minutes Into The Match, And Doncaster Rovers were looking to make the breakthrough, Alex Baptiste has possession of the ball for Doncaster Rovers in there own half of the pitch, And Alex Baptiste passes the ball-out-wide to Brad Halliday, who kicks the ball against Alex Jakubiak and managed to retain possession of the ball before seeing his pass down the line cut out by Ousseynou Cissé who kicks the ball long down the line at the expense of kicking the ball out of play for a goal-kick, and from here, Goalkeeper Ian Lawlor quickly passes the ball short to Tom Anderson, who passes the ball square to Alex Baptiste, And Alex Baptiste takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Tom Anderson, And Tom Anderson passes the ball forwards to Alfie May on the halfway line, And Alfie May lays the ball off to Ben Sheaf, who passes the ball short to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman plays a first time pass around the corner to James Coppinger, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball forwards to Kieran Sadlier, And Kieran Sadlier passes the ball back to James Coppinger, and James Coppinger passes the ball out-wide to Brad Halliday, And The Doncaster Rovers Right Back takes a touch to control the ball before looking to play the ball over the top towards Madger Gomes, But Barry Fuller does brilliantly to come across and shield the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Eighteen Minutes Into The Match, And we thought for a moment that Gillingham had taken the lead, Jack Bonham kicks the resulting goal-kick long down-field and Ousseynou Cissé flicks the ball on into Regan Charles-Cook’s Path, And Regan Charles-Cook takes one touch to control the ball and another to play the ball back to Stuart O’Keefe, who plays a lobbed pass over the top towards Brandon Hanlan, and Brandon Hanlan losses out to Alex Baptiste and the loose ball falls kindly to Tom Anderson, But Regan Charles-Cook manages to time his challenge to perfection and the ball runs kindly to Mikael Ndjoli, who takes one touch to control and another touch to try and accurately place the ball into the bottom left corner of the net, But Mikael Ndjoli’s Effort on goal narrowly runs wide of the far left post - and that was the chance for Gillingham to open the scoring.

Nineteen Minutes Into The Match, And Doncaster Rovers were looking to open the scoring as Ian Lawlor kicks the ball down the right side of the pitch and Brad Halliday headers the ball down the line towards Madger Gomes, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to James Coppinger, who passes the ball out-wide to Brad Halliday, who had made an over-lapping run down the right side of the pitch, And Brad Halliday passes the ball back to James Coppinger, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before skilfully going round the out-side of Alex Jakubiak, and James Coppinger whips in a fantastic in-swinging cross and Max Ehmer wins the initial aerial challenge and as the ball comes down inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, Alfie May is penalised for handball and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick - Much to our own relief.

Twenty Minutes Into the Match, And Doncaster Rovers have been awarded a free kick as Ousseynou Cissé and Alfie Jones are both penalised for there respective challenges on James Coppinger, And Doncaster Rovers have been awarded a free kick in a very good position here, And From The Resulting Free Kick, James Coppinger tees up Ben Whiteman who curls in a first time effort towards Gillingham’s Goal which fails to hit the target by some considerable distance - I was anticipating a cross from James Coppinger, and the teed up effort for Ben Whiteman thankfully did not require Jack Bonham to make a save.

But surviving that free kick means that Gillingham have achieved the first objective of the match, which was to get to twenty minutes with the score-line still goal-less and we have done more then just survive attack after attack from the home side and frustrated Doncaster Rovers, Because Gillingham have given Doncaster Rovers a few things to think about defensively, especially with the front four of Brandon Hanlan, Regan Charles-Cook, Alex Jakubiak and Mikael Ndjoli, Because the pace and movement from that front four is going to give Doncaster Rovers something to be concerned about.

But Doncaster Rovers are just starting to show sign’s why they reached The League One Playoffs During The 2018 / 2019 Season, Because the hosts are on the attack instantaneously, Brad Halliday has possession of the ball down the right side of the pitch on the halfway line, And Brad Halliday passes the ball inside to Tom Anderson who passes the ball forwards to James Coppinger, who controls the ball on the half-turn and James Coppinger manages to turn back on himself and pass the ball square to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman runs forwards in possession of the ball before opting to try his luck from twenty five yards out, And Ben Whiteman see’s his shot on target charged down by Max Ehmer at the expense of conceding a corner kick, and from the resulting corner kick, James Coppinger passes the ball short to Madger Gomes, who passes the ball back out-wide to James Coppinger, And James Coppinger plays a one / two with Ben Whiteman before working his way into a crossing position and whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the opposite side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Barry Fuller wins the initial aerial challenge and James Coppinger wins the second aerial challenge up against Ousseynou Cissé to header the ball down towards Alex Baptiste, who see’s his attempted through-ball headed clear by Lee Hodson.

And from here, Ben Whiteman kicks the ball up into the air and Barry Fuller is able to header the clear towards Stuart O’Keefe, who heads the ball further down-field and Brandon Hanlan is able to get the ball under control and play the ball around the corner towards Regan Charles-Cook, who is running down the right side of the pitch in possession of the ball, and Regan Charles-Cook continue’s his run all the way down the right side of the pitch and into Doncaster Rovers Penalty Area, And Regan Charles-Cook checks back on himself before passing the ball back to Lee Hodson, who takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards Alex Jakubiak, which is headed partially clear by Ben Whiteman, but Ben Whiteman can only header the ball back towards Mikael Ndjoli, who see’s his first time controlled volleyed effort turned around the post by Ian Lawlor when we all thought for a moment that Gillingham had taken the lead, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Regan Charles-Cook whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Tom Anderson manages to header the ball away from goal, and Ben Whiteman kicks the ball long down-field and Alfie May manages to get the ball under control before managing to pick out Kieran Sadlier with a very accurate pass down the right side of the pitch, And Kieran Sadlier manages to pass the ball inside to Brad Halliday, and Regan Charles-Cook manages to time his challenge to perfection to stop The Doncaster Rovers Counter Attack From Gillingham’s Corner Kick, And From Here, Lee Hodson kicks the ball long down-field towards Brandon Hanlan, And Alex Baptiste is penalised for his challenge on The Gillingham Striker, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Barry Fuller whips in a dangerous high and hanging cross and the ball drops down inside Doncaster Rovers Penalty Area after a ricochet and Alfie Jones manages to tee up Brandon Hanlan, who see’s his first time low effort towards goal brilliantly blocked by Brad Halliday, and the ball is diverted back towards Regan Charles-Cook, who has time to get the ball under control before whipping in a high and hanging cross towards the back-stick and Max Ehmer can only header the ball into the side netting - But that was another goal-scoring opportunity for The Gills.

Twenty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Madger Gomes tries to pick out Reece James with a over the top cross-field pass, And Reece James cannot get on the end of Madger Gomes’s pass and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, And From The Resulting Goal-Kick, Gillingham manage to open the scoring, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Brandon Hanlan climbs highest to header the ball on towards Mikael Ndkoli, who gets the better of Alex Baptiste and Reece James and then works his way towards the byline inside Doncaster Rovers Penalty Area, and Mikael Ndjoli squares the ball across the face of goal and there was Alex Jakubiak to stick the ball into the back of the net with a first time finish, At the time, we were not sure who had opened the scoring for Gillingham, Because the goal was down the opposite end of the pitch, But we were all caught up in the celebrations of Gillingham going 1-0 up and only after those celebrations died down, did we check to see that Alex Jakubiak had scored Gillingham’s First Goal Of The 2019 / 2020 Season.

Thirty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Barry Fuller is penalised for his challenge on James Coppinger and Doncaster Rovers have been awarded a free kick in a very promising position on the pitch, And From The Resulting Free Kick, James Coppinger whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and both Alfie Jones and Alex Baptiste compete for the first aerial challenge and Ousseynou Cissé manages to header the ball away from danger, but Madger Gomes gets on to the loose ball, And Madger Gomes is challenged by Alex Jakubiak and the ball goes out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Throw On.

Thirty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Tom Anderson plays a long pass over the top towards Kieran Sadlier, But Alfie Jones was able to header the ball back to Jack Bonham, And In The Thirty Seventh Minute Of The Match, Doncaster Rovers had the chance to cause Gillingham problems defensively as Madger Gomes intercepts the ball from Mikael Ndjoli and manages to keep the ball in play, And Madger Gomes runs forwards in possession of the ball before picking out Ben Sheaf with a pass on the centre circle, And Ben Sheaf passes the ball out-wide to Brad Halliday, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Ben Sheaf, And Ben Sheaf tries to pick out James Coppinger with a threaded through-ball which is over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

And when play resumes, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Alex Baptiste wins the initial aerial challenge and Max Ehmer headers the ball back into Doncaster Rovers half of the pitch and Alfie May see’s his header forwards to Kieran Sadlier cut out by Stuart O’Keefe, who gets the ball under control before playing a high ball over the top towards Regan Charles-Cook, who is flagged for offside by The Linesman down the dugout side of the pitch.

And when play resumed, Gillingham had the chance to double there lead in The Thirty Eighth Minute Of The Match, Doncaster Rovers were moving the ball about very well with a patient build up and Max Ehmer was able to time his challenge to perfection on James Coppinger, And Stuart O’Keefe is on to the loose ball, And Stuart O’Keefe passes the ball forwards to Brandon Hanlan, who has managed to retain possession of the ball and pass the ball out-wide to Mikael Ndjoli, who evades the challenge from Reece James and keeps possession of the ball and manages to pass the ball out-wide to Barry Fuller, And Barry Fuller takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Alex Jakubiak down the left side of the pitch, And Alex Jakubiak passes the ball down the line towards Regan Charles-Cook, who goes past Alex Baptiste and runs up the byline in possession of the ball and Regan Charles-Cook see’s his low effort on goal saved by Ian Lawlor and the ball ricochets off Regan Charles-Cook and Ian Lawlor is able to make a second save - The pace of Regan Charles-Cook created that goal-scoring opportunity - and pace is what Regan Charles-Cook, Brandon Hanlan, Alex Jakubiak and Mikael Ndjoli have got in abundance.

Thirty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Brandon Hanlan is flagged for offside from Max Ehmer’s long pass over the top, And when play resumed, Doncaster Rovers were on the attack, Ian Lawlor passes the ball forwards to Alex Baptiste, who passes the ball forwards to Ben Sheaf, And Ben Sheaf lays the ball off to Alex Baptiste, who passes the ball out-wide down the right side of the pitch towards Brad Halliday, and Brad Halliday passes the ball back to Alex Baptiste and Alex Baptiste passes the ball square to Ben Sheaf as Gillingham retain there defensive shape, And Ben Sheaf plays a one / two with Tom Anderson before kicking the ball long down-field and James Coppinger chests the ball under control, clips the ball over Alex Jakubiak before seeing his attempted cross charged down and deflected out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Corner Kick Off Barry Fuller, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, James Coppinger whips in a high and hanging cross towards the far post and Tom Anderson has pushed Max Ehmer to the floor as he wins the initial aerial challenge, But Tom Anderson cannot keep the ball in play from his own header and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - Even though I thought that a defensive free kick should have been awarded for the push on Max Ehmer.

And despite that corner kick not resulting in a goal-scoring opportunity, Doncaster Rovers are pushing for the equaliser before half time, Tom Anderson has possession of the ball for Doncaster Rovers in the hosts half of the pitch, And Tom Anderson manages to pick out Ben Whiteman with a threaded through-ball, And Ben Whiteman passes the ball out-wide to Brad Halliday, who almost manages to pick out Madger Gomes with a early in-swinging cross, but Reece James manages to beat Regan Charles-Cook to the second ball as Regan Charles-Cook switched off defensively and Reece James is through by the byline and Reece James see’s his low cross across the face of goal blocked by Lee Hodson at the expense of conceding a corner kick, And that was a massive let off for The Gills, simply because Doncaster Rovers almost capitalised on Regan Charles-Cook switching off at the crucial moment, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, James Coppinger whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Max Ehmer has done just enough to header the ball clear and out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Throw, And From The Resulting Throw On, Brad Halliday throws the ball short to Alfie May, who passes the ball back out-wide to Brad Halliday, who is charged down by Alex Jakubiak, and Alex Jakubiak manages to keep the ball in play, nutmeg Alfie May and just smash the ball clear and anywhere will do for Gillingham.

Forty Four Minutes Into The Match, And Ben Whiteman tries to pick out Madger Gomes with a diagonal cross-field pass and Lee Hodson had done enough to shield the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, Gillingham just need to get to half time and re-group because Doncaster Rovers are causing Gillingham a few problems defensively just as The First Half is about to draw to a close.

And In The Forty Fifth Minute Of The Match, Brad Halliday tries to pick out Madger Gomes with a clipped pass down the line, But Alfie Jones kicks the ball into touch at the expense of conceding a throw on, and from the resulting throw on, Brad Halliday throws the ball short to James Coppinger, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball square to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman passes the ball forwards first time to Alfie May, who manages to retain possession of the ball before laying the ball off to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman passes the ball short to James Coppinger, who passes the ball-out-wide to Madger Gomes down the left wing, And Madger Gomes is twisting and turning before passing the ball back to Brad Halliday, who whips in a high and hanging cross and Alfie Jones headers the ball clear and Alfie Jones then manages to intercept the ball from Kieran Sadlier.

However, at the very end of The First Half, Doncaster Rovers do manage to score the equaliser, Tom Anderson has possession of the ball for Doncaster Rovers as Gillingham have every player back defending in there own half of the pitch, And Tom Anderson passes the ball square to Alfie May, who passes the ball back towards Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman plays a first time through-ball through to James Coppinger, who manages to get the ball under control, And James Coppinger is given the time to pick out Kieran Sadlier with a lofted through-ball, And Kieran Sadlier has fired a first time volley into the roof of the net and there is nothing that Jack Bonham could have done about that and Doncaster Rovers have levelled the game up at 1-1 - One of Lee Hodson, Alex Jakubiak or Ousseynou Cissé should have cut out that pass from James Coppinger, Because without that pass, Kieran Sadlier doesn’t score the equaliser.

And that was the final noteworthy moment of The First Half, And Gillingham go in at the break with the score-line level at 1-1, If only Gillingham managed to held out for 1-0 at Half Time at the break, But there was a sense that the equaliser was coming for Doncaster Rovers, and there is work to be done at half time to ensure that Gillingham can replicate some of the promising aspects we saw from The Gills In The First Half.

HALF TIME: DONCASTER ROVERS 1-1 GILLINGHAM

I then sent the following tweets at Half Time,,,, ONE: HALF TIME: DONCASTER ROVERS 1-1 GILLINGHAM - Alex Jakubaik opened the scoring for Gillingham and Ndjoli assisted Jakubiak for Gillingham's first goal of the season, Gillingham switched off just before half time and this allowed Sadlier to score the equaliser for Doncaster Rovers. AND TWO: I have been very impressed with Cisse in the middle of midfield for Gillingham, While the front four of Charles-Cook, Jakubiak, Ndjoli and Hanlan are causing Doncaster Rovers plenty of problems defensively, Ndjoli and Charles-Cook have seen there efforts on goal saved by Lawlor.

Matt went down to the concourse to queue up to get something to drink, While I was speaking with Charlie, Ann and Diane about the first half, And our main talking point was the equaliser, because that goal from Doncaster Rovers was a real kick in the stomach just as when we felt that Gillingham needed to get to half time and re-group because Doncaster Rovers were pushing for that equaliser in the final five minutes of the first half, Regan Charles-Cook and Mikael Ndjoli have had chances to get themselves on to the score-sheet and the pace and movement of our front four has been excellent.

We then got speaking about The Luton Town V Middlesbrough Game, And That Goalkeeping Error From Simon Sluga which led to Britt Assombalonga scoring Middlesbrough’s Second Goal Of The Game, Now that mistake doesn’t happen if we are six or seven games into the league season, because it takes time to build up match sharpness, playing pre-season friendlies is one thing, playing competitive first team matches is completely different, and that is something I think we as Gillingham Supporters will need to take into consideration, It might take time to get up to speed, and while that process is on-going, If Gillingham can pick up a few points along the way, then that will stand Gillingham in good stead for when the players are up to 100% match fitness and match sharpness.

Matt came back mentioning how long the queue was at the food and drinks bar, And I mentioned to Matt that is why I brought two drinks, Because I knew we would be traveling back on the coach and you need plenty of liquid with you throughout the day, Jim and a few others came up the stairs towards the back of the away end, and they asked me what happened for Doncaster Rovers Equaliser because they missed the goal, And I described what had happened and how Doncaster Rovers were able to level the game up at 1-1.

As far as any tactical changes go, I am not expecting to see Gillingham make any half time substitutions, But Elliott List, Mikael Mandron and Mark Marshall all provide Gillingham with options in attack if we need to make a change in the forward positions, While Connor Ogilvie gives Gillingham the option to switch to a back three, if that is what Steve Evans and Paul Raynor want to do, Both teams were out on to the pitch ready for The Second Half, And Hopefully, We will see Gillingham kick on and try and find the winner - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

Neither Team made any substitutions at half time, So Doncaster Rovers and Gillingham are out on to the pitch with the same players that they have named in The Starting Line Up, And when play resumes, the first noteworthy moment of The Second Half Is Alex Jakubiak being penalised for a late challenge on Brad Halliday, And Doncaster Rovers have been awarded a free kick in there half of the pitch right by the dugout, and from the resulting free kick, Brad Halliday plays a one / two with Alex Baptiste and Brad Halliday plays a long ball down-field and Alfie Jones wins the initial aerial challenge and Ousseynou Cissé chests the ball down towards Barry Fuller who kicks the ball long down-field and Alex Baptiste gets the ball under control before playing a threaded through-ball through to Kieran Sadlier, who lays the ball off to James Coppinger, and James Coppinger passes the ball short to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman passes the ball forwards to Alfie May, And Alfie May manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Ben Whiteman, who passes the ball forwards to James Coppinger, And James Coppinger lays the ball off to Ben Whiteman, who switches the ball to the right flank where Madger Gomes is situated, And Madger Gomes runs into a more central position of the pitch and still manages to retain possession of the ball despite Alex Jakubiak’s Challenge, And Madger Gomes passes the ball out-wide to Kieran Sadlier, who runs towards the byline and see’s his attempted cross charged down by Barry Fuller at the expense of conceding a corner kick.

And From The Resulting Corner Kick, James Coppinger whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Brandon Hanlan and Ben Sheaf are both competing for the first ball, but the second ball drops to Madger Gomes who fires his first time effort over Gillingham’s Crossbar, And Doncaster Rovers have had the first goal-scoring opportunity of The Second Half, And From Here, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field from the resulting goal-kick and Brandon Hanlan flicks the ball on towards Regan Charles-Cook, And Regan Charles-Cook runs down the left side of the pitch in possession of the ball, and Regan Charles-Cook forces Alex Baptiste to knock the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Regan Charles-Cook whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Ben Whiteman wins the aerial challenge up against Ousseynou Cissé at the far post and although Stuart O’Keefe wins the second aerial challenge, Ben Whiteman passes the ball forwards to Madger Gomes and Madger Gomes goes on a driving run forwards in possession of the ball as Doncaster Rovers look to hit Gillingham on the counter attack and Madger Gomes’s Pass towards Alfie May is cleared away from danger by Barry Fuller - who stops Doncaster Rovers from hitting Gillingham on the counter attack.

Forty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Max Ehmer clears the ball out of play for a throw on, As Alfie May attempts to flick the ball on towards James Coppinger, And From The Resulting Throw On, Brad Halliday throws the ball short to Alex Baptiste, who see’s his attempted clearance charged down by Brandon Hanlan for another Doncaster Throw On, And Brad Halliday this time throws the ball short to James Coppinger, who passes the ball out-wide to Brad Haliday, and Brad Halliday passes the ball back to Alex Baptiste, who has to knock the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, due to pressure from Brandon Hanlan, And From The Resulting Throw On, Barry Fuller throws a long throw down the left flank and Regan Charles-Cook manages to keep the ball in play before forcing Alex Baptiste to knock the ball out of play for a corner kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Regan Charles-Cook whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Brad Halliday headers the ball partially clear and away from danger, while Stuart O’Keefe headers the ball back inside Doncaster Rovers Penalty Area, and James Coppinger headers the ball clear, and although Stuart O’Keefe gets to the ball first, Both Ben Whiteman and Alfie May manage to intercept the ball from The Gillingham Midfielder, And Alfie May passes the ball short to Ben Whiteman, who plays a neat one / two with Reece James, before picking out Madger Gomes with an excellent cross-field pass, And Madger Gomes runs forwards in possession of the ball, cuts inside before dropping the ball back to Ben Sheaf, who passes the ball forwards to James Coppinger, And Alfie Jones manages to intercept the ball and Regan Charles-Cook is challenged by Brad Halliday, And Gillingham are awarded a free kick which prevents The Doncaster Rovers Counter Attack.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Tom Anderson wins the initial aerial challenge while Stuart O’Keefe headers the ball down towards Ousseynou Cissé, who plays a long ball over the top which is routinely saved by Ian Lawlor, And In The Fifty First Minute Of The Match, Alfie Jones times his sliding challenge to perfection on Kieran Sadlier to knock the ball out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Throw On, Fifty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Mikael Ndjoli somehow manages to win Gillingham A Defensive Free Kick In Our Own Final Third Up Against Reece James, when I thought that the free kick decision was fortuitous to say the least.

Gillingham at least manage to create the first half decent opportunity In The Fifty Third Minute Of The Game, Lee Hodson throws the ball down the line and although Alfie May wins the initial aerial challenge, the second ball drops to Lee Hodson, who whips in a dangerous first time cross and Ian Lawlor gets to the loose ball and makes a routine save - It hasn’t really happened for Gillingham in the final third in The Second Half so far, and Steve Evans might be considering making a substitution to try and get Gillingham putting pressure on Doncaster Rovers Defence.

Gillingham create another half chance as The Gills have a throw on down the left side of the pitch in Doncaster Rovers Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Barry Fuller throws the ball short to Regan Charles-Cook, who plays a first time pass back to Barry Fuller, And Barry Fuller whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Reece James headers the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick because Mikael Ndjoli was lurking in at the back-stick, And from the resulting corner kick, Regan Charles-Cook whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Alex Baptiste manages to header the ball out of play for a throw on, And Gillingham just haven’t caused Doncaster Rovers problems from corner kicks - which makes me wonder, where were those short intricate corner kicks that Gillingham were taking in pre-season gone ??? - Because maybe Gillingham can do with mixing things up and going with a short corner kick routine.

Fifty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Max Ehmer kicks a long ball down-field towards Brandon Hanlan and Alex Baptiste has to header the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw On, Barry Fuller throws the ball short to Ousseynou Cissé, who passes the ball back out-wide to Barry Fuller, And Barry Fuller manages to keep the ball in play before whipping in a dangerous low in-swinging cross which Alex Baptiste boots clear and Lee Hodson keeps the ball in play and lays the ball off to Mikael Ndjoli, who manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball short to Ousseynou Cissé, who passes the ball forwards to Regan Charles-Cook, And Regan Charles-Cook passes the ball out-wide to Lee Hodson, And Lee Hodson goes on the out-side of Reece James and kicks the ball against The Doncaster Rovers Defender and we all thought that Gillingham were going to be awarded a corner kick - only to be surprised and infuriated that a goal-kick decision had been awarded instead.

Fifty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Doncaster Rovers were starting to pile on the pressure on to Gillingham’s Defence, Ben Whiteman has possession of the ball in Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, And Ben Whiteman passes the ball out-wide to Alfie May down the right side of the pitch, And Alfie May looks to take on Barry Fuller and Alfie May see’s his cross deflect off Barry Fuller and Alfie Jones manages to clear the ball long down-field and Regan Charles-Cook manages to flick the ball on towards Brandon Hanlan, And Brandon Hanlan gets to the ball first and manages to retain possession before drawing the foul from Brad Halliday and Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Barry Fuller has kicked the ball long down-field which has gone out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Goal-Kick.

Fifty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And we thought that Brad Halliday had knocked the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, But play continue’s with James Coppinger passing the ball inside to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman see’s his first time through-ball cleared away from goal by Lee Hodson, And Regan Charles-Cook is penalised for hand-ball, And Doncaster Rovers have been awarded a free kick, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Ben Sheaf passes the ball short to Brad Halliday, And Brad Halliday gets the ball under control before passing the ball back to Alex Baptiste, And Alex Baptiste runs forwards in possession of the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Brad Halliday down the right flank in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Brad Halliday manages to work his way towards the byline and dig out a low cross towards Madger Gomes, who gets the ball under control before seeing his seeing his shot on goal deflect off Alfie Jones and on to the roof of the net, and thankfully not into the back of the net, because if that deflection was on target, then Doncaster Rovers would have taken the lead, and from the resulting corner kick, James Coppinger whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Ousseynou Cissé headers the ball clear and away from danger and Alex Jakubiak runs down the right flank in possession of the ball and draws the challenge from Alfie May and Gillingham should have been awarded a throw on, only for the throw on decision to be given in Doncaster Rovers Favour.

And once the ball had gone out of play, Gillingham make a double substitution, As Mark Marshall and Elliott List come on to replace Regan Charles-Cook and Alex Jakubiak, Hopefully, that double substitution from Gillingham will allow The Gills to try and get themselves back into this match, Because Doncaster Rovers have been the stronger side In The Second Half, Gillingham also have got Mikael Mandron on the bench, Should Gillingham decide to bring on a additional striker to play alongside Brandon Hanlan up-front as well.

And when play resumes, Barry Fuller times his challenge on Madger Gomes to perfection and the ball goes out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Throw On, And In The Sixty Fourth Minute Of The Match, Reece James has possession of the ball in Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch Down The Left Side, And Reece James passes the ball inside to Alfie May, who manages to retain possession of the ball before passing the ball inside centrally to Ben Sheaf, who switches the ball to the opposite flank where Kieran Sadlier is situated, And Kieran Sadlier passes the ball back to Ben Sheaf, who see’s his attempted through-ball cut out by Ousseynou Cissé, who kicks the ball long down-field and Brandon Hanlan helds the ball up despite the challenge from Alex Baptiste, But Ben Sheaf intercepts the ball and the ball runs through to Tom Anderson, who passes the ball forwards to Ben Sheaf, And Ben Sheaf passes the ball forwards to James Coppinger, And James Coppinger passes the ball out-wide to Madger Gomes, And Madger Gomes is running forwards in possession of the ball and threads the ball through to James Coppinger on the over-lap, And James Coppinger manages to work his way towards the byline and pass the ball inside to Kieran Sadlier, who passes the ball back out-wide to Brad Halliday, And Brad Halliday whips in a low cross which Kieran Sadlier gets a heavy first touch to, however, the final touch came off A Gillingham Player, And Doncaster Rovers should have been awarded a corner kick.

But A Minute Later, Doncaster Rovers should have taken the lead, Jack Bonham kicks the resulting goal-kick long down-field and Madger Gomes headers the ball towards Kieran Sadlier, who headers the ball down towards James Coppinger, And James Coppinger plays a first time pass out-wide to Alfie May, And Alfie May goes on a driving run forwards in possession of the ball before cutting inside and going past Lee Hodson and Stuart O’Keefe, And Alfie May has fired a fiercely driven effort towards the bottom right corner of the net, And Jack Bonham has made a magnificent save and Barry Fuller manages to clear the loose ball away from goal and Gillingham are hanging on the ropes at the moment.

Sixty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Mikael Ndjoli losses possession of the ball to Brad Halliday, But Mikael Ndjoli does time his challenge to perfection on The Doncaster Rovers Full Back to knock the ball out of play for a throw on, And as the ball goes out of play, Doncaster Rovers make there first substitution of the match, As Niall Ennis comes on to replace Madger Gomes, and when play resumes, Max Ehmer times his challenge to perfection on Kieran Sadlier, And The Doncaster Rovers Goal-Scorer is also penalised for his mis-timed challenge on Stuart O’Keefe, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick which relieves the pressure building on to our own goal.

And From The Resulting Free Kick, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Brad Halliday is able to kick the ball up into the air and Brandon Hanlan wins the aerial challenge up against Kieran Sadlier and Ben Whiteman plays a pass over the top and Niall Ennis tries to flick the ball on towards Alfie May, and although Alfie Jones gets to the ball first, his pass back towards Jack Bonham is woefully under-hit and Jack Bonham has to slide in at full stretch to kick the ball towards Mark Marshall, who retains possession of the ball before laying the ball off to Ousseynou Cissé, who passes the ball forwards to Brandon Hanlan, And Brandon Hanlan passes the ball out-wide to Barry Fuller in-front of the dugouts, And Barry Fuller plays the ball inside to Ousseynou Cissé, who tries clipping the ball down the line towards Mikael Ndjoli, But Brad Halliday gets to the ball first, and plays the ball down the line to Kieran Sadlier, who drops the ball back to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman tries to force a pass down the line which is intercepted and then cleared by Alfie Jones and Mikael Ndjoli and Elliott List have a mis-communication between the two of them, and the ball goes out for A Doncaster Rovers Throw On.

Sixty Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham were awarded a free kick because Mark Marshall was pulled back by Ben Sheaf and Stuart O’Keefe’s pass towards Elliott List was cut out so there was no advantage, and from the resulting free kick, It’s Doncaster Rovers and not Gillingham who were looking to make the breakthrough, Mark Marshall’s in-swinging cross is headed clear by Alex Baptiste, And Mark Marshall gets on to the loose ball and passes the ball out-wide to Mikael Ndjoli, And Mikael Ndjoli passes the ball inside to Mark Marshall, who tries to take on Ben Whiteman, And The Doncaster Rovers Midfielder times his challenge to perfection and Ben Whiteman passes the ball down the line towards Niall Ennis, And The Doncaster Rovers Substitute runs into a more central position on the pitch before passing the ball out-wide to Alfie May, And Alfie May takes a few touches before passing the ball out-wide to Reece James, And Reece James passes the ball to Tom Anderson, who passes the ball square to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman takes a touch to tee himself up before trying a ambitious effort from distance which fails to hit the target - Disappointing to see Gillingham’s Attack break down the way it did, thankfully, Doncaster Rovers didn’t score that opportunity on the break.

And once the ball had gone out of play, Mark Byrne came on to replace Mikael Ndjoli In The Seventy First Minute Of The Match, Some fans around me wanted Mikael Mandron to come on to play alongside Brandon Hanlan, But Steve Evans and Paul Raynor have gone with the option of Mark Byrne to try and sure things up defensively in the middle of midfield, and what happens between now and the full time whistle, will decide if this was the correct or incorrect decision.

And when play resumes, Niall Ennis is penalised for his challenge on Max Ehmer, and from the resulting free kick, Elliott List is penalised for a foul on Niall Ennis right in-front of the technical area, And Brad Halliday was quick to pass the ball down the line towards Kieran Sadlier, But The Doncaster Rovers Goal-Scorer was flagged for offside, and from this defensive free kick, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Brandon Hanlan flicks the ball on towards Elliott List, But The Linesman had his flag up for offside.

Seventy Four Minutes Into The Match, And Ben Sheaf is penalised for his challenge on Elliott List, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in a very promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Mark Marshall almost manages to pick out Max Ehmer with a dangerous cross towards the back-stick, And Reece James manages to header the ball clear and Stuart O’Keefe losses out to Niall Ennis for the second ball, And Niall Ennis passes the ball back to Reece James, who plays the ball forwards to Alfie May, And Alfie May tries to pick out Kieran Sadlier with a cross-field pass and good thing the ball went out of play for a throw on, otherwise there would have been a counter attack for Doncaster Rovers.

And Seventy Six Minutes Into The Match, Ben Sheaf tried to pick out Kieran Sadlier with a threaded through-ball which went out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, And From The Resulting Goal-Kick, Gillingham had the chance to go back in-front despite being on the back-foot in the second half, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and the ball bounces down the left side of the pitch towards Mark Byrne, only for an offside decision to be awarded against Gillingham, and from here, Tom Anderson passes the ball short to Ben Sheaf, who passes the ball out-wide to Reece James, And Reece James plays a one / two with Alfie May and Reece James passes the ball back to Ian Lawlor, And The Doncaster Rovers Goalkeeper passes the ball short to Alex Baptiste, who runs forwards in possession of the ball before playing a pass down the line towards James Coppinger, who gets intercepted by Barry Fuller, And Barry Fuller passes the ball square to Mark Byrne, who tries passing the ball back to Stuart O’Keefe, and even though Mark Byrne’s pass is intercepted, the ball ricochets back to Mark Byrne, who passes the ball short to Mark Marshall, And Mark Marshall losses possession of the ball to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman passes the ball forwards to Niall Ennis, who plays a horrendous pass out-wide down the left flank and Lee Hodson is on to the loose ball and passes the ball square to Mark Byrne, and Mark Byrne threads the ball down the line towards Brandon Hanlan, And Brandon Hanlan tries to find the bottom left corner of the net from a very acute angle, And Hanlan’s Effort goes narrowly wide - But even if Brandon Hanlan had scored, the goal would not have stood because Brandon Hanlan was flagged for offside when we all thought that Brandon Hanlan was onside - and we were infuriated with the decision From Referee John Busby.

And our irritations only grew in frustration when Barry Fuller was booked for what we thought was a very soft free kick decision awarded in Doncaster Rovers Favour, Now John Busby hasn’t been dishing cards out like confetti, But this was a very poor decision, and from the resulting free kick, James Coppinger whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Alex Baptiste fails to hit the target with a glancing header and Gillingham have been given the goal-kick decision despite protests from Doncaster Rovers Players.

But Alfie Jones makes a terrible decision when Brad Halliday’s long pass down the line is going to no-one and Alfie Jones had the option to pass the ball back to Jack Bonham, And Alfie Jones allows Niall Ennis to slid in and intercept the ball and win a throw on for the hosts, that is inexperience from Alfie Jones there and if in doubt boot it out is always the sensible approach for defenders, Other then that, and Alfie Jones has shown himself to be a very capable left sided centre back, Gillingham were awarded a defensive free kick as James Coppinger was penalised for pushing Barry Fuller in the back, and free kicks and stoppages in play will do nicely for Gillingham at the moment, Because only one team looks like winning this football match, and based on the second half performance, and that team is Doncaster Rovers.

Eighty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham are awarded a free kick on the halfway line as Niall Ennis is slightly late on his challenge on Lee Hodson, And Lee Hodson is down injured and requiring treatment and because Gillingham had made all three substitutions, then Gillingham would go down to ten men if Lee Hodson was unable to continue playing, thankfully, Lee Hodson was able to get back up on to his feat and continue playing, walk that injury off and rest up after the game Lee Hodson was my thinking, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Barry Fuller tries to pick out Max Ehmer with a long ball down-field and Brad Halliday does enough for Doncaster Rovers to shield the ball out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Goal-Kick.

Doncaster Rovers make there second substitution of the game as Ali Crawford comes on for James Coppinger, and when play resumes, Lee Hodson puts in a crucial challenge to prevent Alfie May getting in and behind Gillingham’s Defence from Ben Whiteman’s Pass and Max Ehmer kicks the ball clear long down-field and Doncaster Rovers have still got the ball and Tom Anderson passes the ball square to Alex Baptiste, And Alex Baptiste passes the ball short to Ben Sheaf, who passes the ball forwards to Ali Crawford, And Ali Crawford is challenged by Mark Marshall, and Brad Halliday is first to the second ball and kicks the ball long down the line, and this time, Alfie Jones takes no chances and kicks the ball into touch at the expense of conceding a throw on.

Eighty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Barry Fuller blocks Kieran Sadlier’s Cross at the expense of conceding a throw on in Gillingham’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw On, Brad Halliday throws the ball short to Ali Crawford, And Ali Crawford passes the ball back to Brad Halliday, who whips in a dangerous cross first time and Alfie Jones headers the ball partially clear before getting to the second ball and kicking the ball long down-field and Alex Baptiste headers the ball up into the air and Kieran Sadlier tries to pick out Ali Crawford with a first time pass over the top, But Barry Fuller has come across and shielded the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Eighty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Elliott List see’s his pass through to Brandon Hanlan intercepted by Brad Halliday and blocked out for a throw on, However, in the next attack, we all thought that Doncaster Rovers had scored the winner, Doncaster Rovers win the ball back from Gillingham’s Throw On, And Ali Crawford passes the ball out-wide to Kieran Sadlier who passes the ball down the line towards Niall Ennis, And Niall Ennis flicks the ball around the corner towards Ali Crawford, And Ali Crawford passes the ball back out-wide to Niall Ennis, who manages to pick out Alfie May with a cross-field pass, And Alfie May goes around the out-side of Lee Hodson and see’s his initial shot on goal saved by Jack Bonham and the follow up effort was also saved by Jack Bonham and Mark Marshall kicks the ball clear - Highlights showed that Ousseynou Cissé had made the all important block - But Gillingham are surviving, and after that defensive scare, I take the point and I will take the point right now.

And Ousseynou Cissé was in the right place at the right time to header Kieran Sadlier’s cross clear and away from danger and Reece James keeps the ball in play and passes the ball back to Ben Whiteman, who passes the ball short to Ali Crawford and Stuart O’Keefe manages to clear the ball into Doncaster Rovers half of the pitch, and I am looking across to the clock, and Eighty Eight Minutes and stoppage time is a long time to wait for the full time whistle that is for sure.

But it is just relentless attacking opportunities from the home side now, As Tom Anderson see’s his chipped through-ball headed clear by Lee Hodson, But Alfie May gets on to the second ball, And Alfie May beats Stuart O’Keefe to the loose ball before taking on Mark Marshall and running into a central position, And Alfie May was in two minds whether to cross or shot, and Alfie May’s cross / shot goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Jack Bonham’s Long Kick Down-Field is to long and goes out of play for A Doncaster Rovers Goal-Kick, And The Fourth Official Shows - Three Additional Minutes Of Added Time On To The Board - And it is from this goal-kick where Doncaster Rovers almost scored the winning goal, Ian Lawlor passes the ball short to Ben Whiteman, And Ben Whiteman takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball towards Kieran Sadlier In Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, And Kieran Sadlier passes the ball forwards to Niall Ennis, who see’s his pass back to Kieran Sadlier intercepted by Elliott List, And Elliott List goes on a driving run down the left side of the pitch, And Brad Halliday times his challenge on Elliott List to perfection, And Brad Halliday passes the ball short to Ali Crawford, And Ali Crawford takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball square to Ben Whiteman, who drags his shot just wide of the far left post with Jack Bonham at full stretch - COME ON GILLS!!!!! - Was the response from many supporters in the away end, as we thought for a moment that Doncaster Rovers had in-fact scored the winning goal.

The final two noteworthy moments of the match was Kieran Sadlier penalised for his challenge on Brandon Hanlan in-front of the dugouts, and Doncaster Rovers being awarded a free kick as Alfie May is penalised for jumping into the back of Niall Ennis, and from the resulting free kick, Ali Crawford picks out Alfie May down the left side of the pitch with a diagonal cross-field pass, And Alfie May passes the ball back to Reece James, And Reece James’s cross towards the far post was over-hit and goes out of play for A Defensive Throw On, And When Referee John Busby blew his whistle for full time, we could breath a sign of relief - I TAKE A POINT - Was my response, because only one team looked liked they were going to pick up all three points in The Second Half, and that team was Doncaster Rovers.

FULL TIME: DONCASTER ROVERS 1-1 GILLINGHAM

As good as Gillingham were in the first half, second half, we saw a dominating display from Doncaster Rovers, and we saw a dire disappointing display from A Gillingham Team that just got worse and worse as The Second Half Continued, we were hoping that Mark Marshall and Elliott List could come on and give Gillingham that injection of pace in the final third, but neither player came on and made an impact, and the substitution of Mark Byrne on for Mikael Ndjoli was Steve Evans and Paul Raynor’s way of not over-committing for the win and making sure that Gillingham got a result on match-day one.

And I spoke with Matt and Charlie after the match had finished, and all we can say is that Gillingham have picked up a decent point away from home against A Very Good Doncaster Rovers Side, we can be encouraged by the first half performance, but that goal from Kieran Soldier was a kick in the stomach and Gillingham never looked liked they had recovered from that, But Jack Bonham’s double save, and the save to deny Alfie May from scoring are the type of saves that earn your side a point in a difficult away fixture.

I made sure I had all my belongings on me before heading for the exit, And I got speaking with Matt and Stocky From Gills In The Blood, and we spoke about how Gillingham got worse and worse as The Second Half Wore on and how this match really was a game of two halves, But if we are looking for positives, the front four of Alex Jakubiak, Brandon Hanlan, Regan Charles-Cook and Mikael Ndjoli caused Doncaster Rovers problems, Alex Jakubiak has got himself on the score-sheet straight away, and this is a really decent point for Gillingham, Because Doncaster Rovers lost against Charlton Athletic on penalties In The League One Playoffs, so we do have to take the level of opposition into consideration, Doncaster Rovers are a decent side, and there level of performance In The Second Half Showed.

I had to get back to The Kings Ferry Coach, So I said C Ya To A Few Gillingham Supporters, and as I made my way back to the coach, I got speaking with A Doncaster Rovers Supporter, And I mentioned that based on that performance in The Second Half that they probably deserved to win, and we also got speaking about both of our football clubs losing John Marquis and Tom Eaves over the summer, The Doncaster Rovers Supporter mentioned that the fee for John Marquis was between £1,800,000 and £2,400,000, While I mentioned that Tom Eaves had moved to Hull City on a free transfer and the offer to play in The Championship was too good to turn down, we both wished each other all the best for the season and I got back on the coach and headed back to my seat.

I won £11 from the score prediction bet as I correctly predicted A 1-1 Score Draw, I had put a draw down for The Gills Debate Prediction League and I just thought that this match was going to be a draw, obviously, disappointing not to win because Gillingham went 1-0 up, But this is a good point against A Very Decent Doncaster Rovers Side, And once everyone was back on The Kings Ferry Coaches, we were on our way back to Kent, and we at least travel back to Kent with Gillingham picking up a point from the opening league game of the season.

I posted the following status update on Twitter and Facebook,,,,,, FULL TIME: DONCASTER ROVERS 1-1 GILLINGHAM - As good as Gillingham were in the first half, Doncaster Rovers battered Gillingham in the second half, Jack Bonham made a double save late on, And Byrne came on for Ndjoli to try and sure things up defensively in the middle of midfield, I had also re-tweeted a few tweets from Gillingham, including the attendance, which was 7939 with 618 away supporters, I don’t think we will see 618 Gillingham Supporters At Bury, But currently, Bury V Gillingham is in serious doubt and there is the likelihood of that match being postponed.

I mentioned to KFG, Looks like we both got our predictions spot on for The NoirCat Prediction League, And I mentioned that I had won £11 on the coach, While I asked Nicholas where was he situated in the away end, because I didn’t see him at The Keepmoat Stadium, And Nicholas mentioned that he was directly behind the goal, where as, Me Diane And Ann were in the block dead opposite, I also mentioned that at least for this 1-1 draw we could recognise the players, which was 100% not the case when Sheppey United played against Gillingham a week ago where we could only recognise Charlie Walker, Josh Rees and Bradley Stevenson, I also agreed that going to pre-season friendlies allows you time to recognise who is who, and you get a good idea on how Gillingham are going to line up during the season.

You know that The League One Season has started when Matt has started to upload video clips from Doncaster Rovers V Gillingham, and these video clips are so important, especially as Alex Jakubiak scored for Gillingham at the opposite end of the pitch, And we were just starting to see some of the post match press comments from Steve Evans, who mentioned that a draw was probably a fair result in the end, and that to go in at the break at 1-1 was tough to take because The Gills were out-standing in the first half, Doncaster Rovers had also uploaded a photo of the away end, thanking The 618 Gillingham Supporters who had made the trip to The Keepmoat Stadium.

I was then asked on Twitter for my thoughts and opinions on who do I think had the best performance and who do I think had the worst performance for Gillingham, And I responded back with the following,,,, I thought Cisse was excellent for Gillingham and our front four of Hanlan Ndjoli Jakubaik and Charles-Cook all caused Doncaster Rovers problems with there pace, List and Marshall didn't have the impact we were hoping for when those two came on, Gills were dreadful in the 2nd half, And looking at the results elsewhere in League One, Peterborough United 1-3 Fleetwood Town, Tranmere Rovers 2-3 Rochdale and Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Portsmouth were all surprising results, I think the main thing for Gillingham was to avoid defeat, and that is precisely what we have done against a decent Doncaster Rovers Side.

Neil then mentioned on Twitter that Steve Evans is looking to sign three or four more players with one, and maybe two players signing before the next match, Neil then mentioned that the signing of Matty Jarvis sounds unlikely now with Steve Evans concerned about Matty Jarvis’s Injury Record, I also sent Ben the following response on Twitter,,,,, Considering just how Doncaster Rovers dominated the second half against Gillingham Today, I will gladly take a point away from home against A Doncaster Rovers Side who reached The League One Playoffs Last Season. Colin replied mentioning that Gillingham should have gone 2-0 up in the first half and we just switched off for Doncaster Rovers equaliser just before half time.

I had re-tweeted comments from Alfie Jones Interview, who was delighted to be named In The Starting Line Up and how this match was good experience for him and Alfie Jones added that a point is a fair result, even though he wanted Gillingham to pick up all three points, I was looking at results from elsewhere, And Diane will be pleased to see Chatham Town winning 2-1 with Two Former Gillingham Players In Jack Evans And George Sherminant getting themselves on the score-sheet, And speaking of Former Gillingham Players, I Noticed AFCNico praising Luke O’Neill and Callum Reilly for there solid debuts, And I replied back with the following response to AFCNico,,,, You have got two very good footballers in Luke O'Neill and Callum Reilly, Luke O'Neill was very consistent at Gillingham and scored some amazing free kicks., And Callum Reilly is a left footed midfielder who can play anywhere down the left side of the pitch., Another Former Gillingham Player to make an impression was Liam Nash, who scored twice as Hemel Hempstead Town won 4-1 on the opening day of the season.

There were a few pictures From Doncaster Rovers V Gillingham, While Gillingham’s Official Twitter Account posted four players in a poll for Gillingham’s Man Of The Match, I picked Regan Charles-Cook from the four players in the poll, But I thought Ousseynou Cissé was out-standing, and he would have been my top choice for Man Of The Match, especially in the second half when Gillingham were under the cosh defensively.

I was asked by the lads on the back of the coach for one of the best Gillingham Away Games I have been to, Hereford United 1-6 Gillingham was a good game, But I could name the likes of Portsmouth 1-3 Gillingham, Portsmouth 0-2 Gillingham, Charlton Athletic 1-2 Gillingham, Rotherham United 1-3 Gillingham, Watford 1-2 Gillingham In The League Cup, there have been so many magnificent away wins to choose from, Carlisle United is the longest away trip I have done and I have traveled to Carlisle United on A Tuesday Night, While Louis mentioned Sunderland Away was a long away trip last season, But that was a trip we had to do, because we might not have had another chance to go to The Stadium Of Light.

We stopped off at Peterborough Services at 18.50PM, And we had a thirty minute stop, And with both Kings Ferry Coaches stopping at Peterborough Services at the same time and the fact that Peterborough Services was completely packed, then we are going to need every minute of those thirty minutes, I queued up to buy Nine Chicken Nuggets And Large Fries for £5.80, And while I was waiting for My Order, I spoke with Charlie, and Charlie mentioned that his coach had a twenty minute stop, and how packed the services are reminded me when all six Gillingham Coaches stopped at the same service station when we traveled back from Swansea City, and it was packed in that service station, that was for sure, We spoke about the game in general and it’s not a bad point considering the number of debutants in both teams, and it might take Gillingham a few games to get up to speed completely.

I then collected my order of Nine Chicken Nuggets and Large Fries, before going into The NewsAgents to buy A 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola for £2.20, I then made my way back to where the coaches were parked inside Peterborough Service Station and I got speaking with Lewis for a bit about the game in general and how this was a decent point for Gillingham against a very good Doncaster Rovers Side, Lewis and Myself got speaking about the four potential signings that Gillingham could sign, And I think Steve Evans is looking to sign A Left Back, A Left Winger, A Striker (Maybe A Target-Man) And A Back Up Goalkeeper, Because it might be risky to go with Jack Bonham and Joe Walsh as our only two professional goalkeepers if Jack Bonham were to get injured, I am happy with Jack Bonham, Joe Walsh and Charlie Walker as our three goalkeepers, But I can see Steve Evans looking to sign another goalkeeper, just in-case.

Lewis agreed on The Left Back, Winger And Striker, but he wasn’t sure about the signing of another Goalkeeper, We could well see Gillingham sign all four players I have mentioned plus one more additional player, Because that is certainly another possibility, I also mentioned to Lewis that Bury V Gillingham could be postponed and we need to watch out for any news regarding that fixture, I added that I have not brought my ticket for that game as a precaution.

Once back on the coach, I sat down and eat my dinner, we had a few minutes before everyone was back on the coach again, and once everyone was back on the coach, we were on our way back to Kent, and once I had finished My McDonalds Meal, I put the rubbish in the bin, And As I checked Twitter, I re-tweeted a few tweets from Gillingham’s Official Twitter Account, And I replied to a message from Reedy, who mentioned that Ogilvie would struggle to start based on Alfie Jones Performance, And I replied back with the following,,, Which can be considered a compliment if Jones can keep Ogilvie out of the side, Because Ehmer and Ogilvie's defensive partnership towards the end of last season was very effective. Zakuani will now be considered fourth choice behind Ehmer, Jones and Ogilvie.

I then saw a humorous tweet which mentioned that James Coppinger had played for Doncaster Rovers for 752 years, when that number really is the number of appearances that James Coppinger had made for Doncaster Rovers, And I mentioned that the mentoring stats on Football Manager would be very beneficial, I then re-tweeted a few video clips from Matt, before mentioning to Rocketman that It looks like both of our football clubs got The 2019 / 2020 Season up and running with 1-1 draws today, And Rocketman replied back mentioning that Port Vale don’t usually have the best of records away against Colchester United, so it was a great point today.

I then re-tweeted a few Twitter Status Updates From Gillingham Players, And Lewis spoke about the long trip back from Doncaster Rovers on the coach, and why the journey back home on the coach is so much longer, And I replied back with the following,,,,,, Just think how long the trip back home is from Carlisle United On A Tuesday Night, Because I got back home at 6AM From that particular long away trip, And that was a very long away trip.

Gary then came round and collected the tip money for the drivers, and because of the uncertainty regarding Bury V Gillingham, Bookings on the coach for future away games were perhaps not at the forefront of everyone’s minds, After Bury, Gillingham travel to Coventry City, (That game is being played at Birmingham City’s Ground) Tranmere Rovers and Bristol Rovers, None of those matches are games I can see having a high turnout, compared to Gillingham’s 618 supporters in the away end at Doncaster Rovers.

And as we got back into Kent, we started to drop people off at various drop off points, with the majority of the supporters on the coach getting off the coach at Priestfield Stadium, And I said C Ya to those who got off the coach, and I double checked that I had everything on me before we arrived at The Cricketers Pub In Rainham, And once I checked that I had everything on me, I got off the coach and said c ya to Louis and Gary before thanking the drivers, And I have to say that the trip back to Kent from The Keepmoat Stadium was better then expected, Because I had got off the coach around 22.15PM, And I made the ten to fifteen minute walk from The Cricketers Pub back home again, and I was back indoors at 22.30PM, And Gillingham have picked up a hard fought point against a very good Doncaster Rovers Side at The Keepmoat Stadium, and it was important that Gillingham got something from our opening league game of the season, and I would have taken a point before kick off, and when we were hanging on at the end of the match, I was delighted that Gillingham held out for a 1-1 draw.

So that’s the first league game of the season done and dusted, and hopefully, Gillingham can build on that point by winning our next league game against Burton Albion at Priestfield Stadium and Gillingham take on Newport County In The First Round Of The League Cup, with so much conversation and discussion about Gillingham’s home form, then it is essential that Gillingham win both of these matches at Priestfield Stadium - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!