HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 1-0 PORTSMOUTH
SECOND HALF:
Despite being under the cosh defensively, Gillingham eventually won themselves a free kick when Tomas Holy kicks the ball long down-field and Jack Whatmough has gone into the back of Josh Parker, and the sarcastic cheers from the home support is because Referee Nicholas Kinseley hadn't given Gillingham many favourable refereeing decisions prior to awarding this free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Gillingham could have doubled there lead, Dean Parrett whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross / shot and Craig MacGillivray had to dive at full stretch to fingertip the ball round the post to prevent Gillingham from doubling there lead, This was one of those free kicks that goalkeepers really dislike, because if no-one gets a touch on to the ball then the ball could creep into the far corner of the net, but should someone make contact, then A Gillingham Player or A Portsmouth Player defending the free kick could stick the ball into the back of the net.
Portsmouth create another decent goal-scoring opportunity as Ronan Curtis passes the ball through to Lee Brown on the over-lap and Lee Brown passes the ball back to Gareth Evans on Gillingham's Penalty Spot and Gareth Evans fires a first time effort over Gillingham's Crossbar and Gareth Evans really should have hit the target, and that was a massive let off for Gillingham - Maybe Dean Parrett had put Gareth Evans off - However, The Chances were mostly being created by the visitor's, Because Lee Brown has possession of the ball for Portsmouth and runs forward towards the halfway line and Lee Brown lays the ball off to Ronan Curtis, And Ronan Curtis runs forward in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Tom Naylor, who carries on running towards the edge of Gillingham's Penalty Area and Tom Naylor lays the ball off to Ronan Curtis, who fires a fiercely driven effort towards goal and the ball deflects off Alex Lacey and the ball deflects into Tomas Holy's grasp.
Another Portsmouth Chance, Nathan Thompson throws the ball down the line towards Tom Naylor, who gets the ball under control before passing the ball square to Gareth Evans in an central position on the pitch, And Gareth Evans takes a touch to control the ball before firing a fiercely driven shot towards goal which was hit too cleanly and Tomas Holy was able to gather the ball by getting his entire body behind the ball.
CHANCE FOR GILLINGHAM: Gillingham could have doubled there lead when Barry Fuller throws the ball long down the line and Josh Parker not only keeps the ball in play, But Josh Parker manages to fire the ball across the face of goal and the ball deflects into Billy Bingham's path and Billy Bingham's first time effort towards goal is saved by Craig MacGillivray.
Portsmouth were looking to force the issue as they knock the ball long down the left side of the pitch - Gillingham's Right - And Lee Brown takes a few touches in possession of the ball before seeing his cross charged down by Barry Fuller, and the ball ricochets into Mark Byrne's Path, And Mark Byrne takes a few touches in possession of the ball and Mark Byrne passes the ball back to Luke O'Neill, and Luke O'Neill see's his attempted clearance charged down and Barry Fuller manages to get to the loose ball first and get the ball partially clear and away from danger and Billy Bingham headers the ball on towards Josh Parker, who plays the ball over the top towards Elliott List, And Elliott List runs towards goal and manages to skillifully evade Jack Whatmough and Jack Whatmough bundles Elliott List down to the deck inside Portsmouth's Penalty Area and Referee Nicholas Kinseley points to the penalty spot straight away, and up steps Callum Reilly to stick the ball into the back of the net to double Gillingham's Lead and ease our nerves just as we go into stoppage time, because 1-0 up with five minutes to go will have given us a lot to be nervous about.
And Gillingham had the chance to make the score-line 3-0 with a few minutes to go, Barry Fuller manages to keep the ball in play and Barry Fuller was looking to slow the game down and Barry Fuller passes the ball back to Alex Lacey, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Alex Lacey kicks a high and hanging cross-field pass towards Elliott List, And Elliott List takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball square to Callum Reilly on the edge of Portsmouth's Penalty Area and Callum Reilly whips a curling effort narrowly wide of Craig MacGillivray's Left Hand Post.
FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 2-0 PORTSMOUTH
OTHER MENTIONS:
Steve Lovell changed our formation when Luke O'Neill came on to replace Brandon Hanlan, Because Gillingham switched from A 4.3.3 Formation To A 4.4.2 Formation With Luke O'Neill and Callum Reilly playing on both wings, also, congratulations to Noel Mbo for making his first league appearance for Gillingham, Noel Mbo has mostly played for Gillingham In Kent Senior Cup and Football League Trophy Matches, So for Noel Mbo to make his league debut for Gillingham was a massive positive, another massive positive was the fact that Gillingham have done the double over Portsmouth and Gillingham were the first team to beat Portsmouth during The 2018 / 2019 Season, And Portsmouth were unbeaten away from home before they traveled to Priestfield Stadium on Boxing Day, Gillingham have played Portsmouth four times in 2018, and we have beaten them three times (twice at Fratton Park), and our 3-1 win at Fratton Park towards the end of the last season was Gillingham's first ever win away at Portsmouth.
Gillingham are now seven points clear of The League One Relegation Zone - Eight if you want to include goal difference - And should Gillingham manage to win against Doncaster Rovers and results go our way, then Gillingham will go ten points clear of The League One Relegation Zone.
You can tell that our squad lacks ability, understandable because just look at the players Portsmouth had on the bench on Boxing Day, Brett Pitman, Ben Close and Christian Burgess, players who know this league inside out, especially Brett Pitman, But Gillingham have had previous squads with players with better ability, but you could not fault our players for work-rate, throwing themselves in-front to block shots and putting the challenges in and one player we have got in this squad who is the perfect example of a player who puts themselves about is Barry Fuller, WHAT A SIGNING Barry Fuller has been for Gillingham This Season, When we signed Barry Fuller, I thought Luke O'Neill will start at Right Back and Barry Fuller will prove to be a valuable and experienced player off the pitch, but his contribution on the pitch has been magnificent.
We did get lucky with Nathan Thompson having to go off injured and Portsmouth went down to ten men, But Billy Bingham and Luke O'Neill both came on so that Gillingham could line up with two solid banks of four, and It was nice to see Noel Mbo come on to make his league debut, generally speaking, Gillingham tend to pick up more results when we're winning games and we have something to defend and the opposition are willing to attack, and The Portsmouth Match saw both of these examples exemplified, It's when we're a goal down or when teams come to Priestfield Stadium and play for a 0-0 draw where we struggle, because I think Gillingham are best suited to a counter attacking style, which perhaps shows why Steve Lovell is picking up more points away from home then at home under his management.
When the atmosphere got going, it was brilliant inside Priestfield Stadium On Boxing Day, I can understand the frustrations where Gillingham sat deep and we were not pressing from the front, and that includes when Portsmouth went down to ten men, But Gillingham had the lead, we opted for a cautious, disciplined, defensive display and this performance managed to earn Gillingham three valuable points, although we were fortunate that Portsmouth didn't have there shooting boots on, But we took our chances with Tom Eaves not in the match-day squad at all, And Josh Parker and Callum Reilly both got themselves on the score-sheet.
If we are looking for more positives, then Gillingham picking up four points from our last three league games is a massive positive, and beating Portsmouth can only be a boost for the players confidence levels and we couldn't have asked for anything better for A Christmas Present that A 2-0 Win against Portsmouth on Boxing Day, The challenge now is to see if we can build on this result by picking up results against Doncaster Rovers and Southend United, Because if we can do that then Gillingham's League Form will improve and we will go into The FA Cup Third Round Tie Against Cardiff City full of confidence, and we also go into that match as underdogs which will suit Gillingham down to the ground perfectly.
I went for Elliott List for MOTM, But you could have named another five or six players easily for Man Of The Match, Great celebrations at the full time whistle as well when you look at this tweet -
https://twitter.com/TheGillsFC/status/1077958086156058624 - And all in all a fantastic performance, a fantastic result, and Steve Lovell has the midas touch when it comes to matches against Portsmouth, But if you compare this match to the Portsmouth Game that was live on SKY Sports A Year Ago, We looked dreadful last season, this season, we were of course defensively disciplined and cautious, but we took our chances and were trying to hit Portsmouth on the break, Hanlan and List can cause teams problems with there pace and Parker is much better playing as a central striker.
And finally - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!