Gillingham 2 - Hartlepool 1

It was a cold old Saturday afternoon. Thankfully the world's largest man sat to my left so I had at least some wind break and body heat to cling too. Did not stop my feet from turning blue and my nose from going red. The game? First half was a case of trying to work out who was playing for us let alone the opposition. Most of the team were new to us - signings and loans from he hem the non league end of the divisions. The 3 year strategy to get to the FA Trophy final looks to be in full flow. Pops was nervous. I on the other hand reckons Stimson has very little to lose so why not go for a real shake up and see what happens? I know you never win anything with kids - so we will be fine - we were not winning much without them.
So the twins are in, Colin and Arfur and the Pie family. The trio to my left are fairly up on footballing stresses and do not irritate me overly. The first half is akin to watching under 18's football. Naive and less skillful than you'd like to see. We gift Hartlepool's James Brown a goal in the 25th minute. The heads do not drop but the first touch and passing remain inadequate to turn the tide. Thankfully 2 minutes added time is cued and the first end closes. To boos. A trait this weekend it seems.

Half time brings out the Slightly Spicy Girls. Dressed in not much more than frilly swimwear they were probably less spice and more bruised bluesy gals. Invicta Radio seem to think that a half time crowd at GFC would benefit from some entertainment. They sang 2 live songs. And were booed. By most of the 5,488.

Some fans to my left were getting into the spirit and jigging along. Dad & I remained seated and laughed a lot.

Second half - what a difference the Spicy Girls make... ha ha. Oli scores in the 46th minute. It looked for all thje world as if it was going over the bar. In it went. The Gills fans could sing their 'new' song. Oli Oli Oli - oih oih oih! And O-lay O-lay O-lay O-Lay. (Feeling hot hot hot) - told you those Spicy Girls were to blame.

The second goal I missed. With giant hay stacks to my left and pops to my right all attempts to get upright saw me pushed back down. Can honestly say that's the first time that's ever happened. Trapped in my seat. And boy was standing up good - movement to the outer limbs to get some blood circulating. Oli scores his second. Substitution takes place and a player with longer hair comes onto the pitch. Without a close up hard to tell but certainly put Sparky in my head for the rest of the game. I also for the first time this season had a real longing to see Matty Jarvis running the left hand side... wherefore art thou Matty?

So we managed to hold on to the lead. How? Not overly sure. But the team are clearly in need of some time to gel and get a feel for each other. They are also in need of toughening up. GOT to be stronger on the ball and better skilled with the first touch. Stimson sounds positive and is getting them all proper fit.

The bigger question - what is he gonna do with the current members he has dropped in favour of these new boys?

Ooh. Who are you? A new team sheet is required:
1. Kelvin Jack (GK)
2. Duncan Jupp
3. Craig Armstrong
4.
5. Simon King
6. Ian Cox
7. Andrew Crofts
8. Mark Bentley
9. Gary Mulligan
10. Delroy Facey
11. Nicky Southall
12.Simon Royce (GK)
13.
14. Aaron Brown
15.
16. Efe Sodje
17. Andy Pugh
18. Craig Stone
19. Sean Clohessy
20. David Graham
21.
22. Derek Stillie (GK)
23. Barry Cogan
24. Guylian Ndumbu-Nsungu
25. Tom Bryant
26. Chris Dickson
27. Luke Freeman
28. Dennis Oli
29. Charlie Howard
30. Leroy Griffiths
31. Adam Bygrave
32. Stuart Thurgood
33.
34.
35.
36. Adam Miller