By Jake Verity

This was it. The chance to go top of the league for the first time in years.

But we needed two things to happen for that to become a reality: a Grimsby win and three points for City. Simple, right?

Well, after Grimsby managed to beat Walsall 3-1 in the early kick-off, it felt like it might really happen.

However, the prize on offer was probably even bigger than just going top of the league. A win would have left us nine points clear of the play-offs, a huge advantage and far more important at this stage of the season.

We all know the result of today’s game. We didn’t make this opportunity count and suffered our first league defeat in just over a month. But let’s not panic just yet, because we are still in a very strong position.

We still have a healthy gap over the play-offs, and with ten games to go, there’s no better opportunity to bounce back with two home games in a row.

Win, and we’re feeling optimistic again. Lose, and there will undoubtedly be more nervousness than the cautious optimism we’ve all had in recent weeks.

Promotion winners aren’t made in March; they have to carry their form all the way through to May. A win today would have been the perfect result, but ultimately, we were always going to drop points at some stage. After an incredible run, we’ve picked up more points than nearly all the teams in the country. Now it’s a question of how we bounce back.

Will our response be similar to the one after our only other league loss this year at Wimbledon away? After that, we went on a run of six league wins and a draw.

If we can do that again, we’ll be on 85 points after the Notts County game on Good Friday. Let that be our inspiration from today.

The Match Report

There’s little to write about this encounter, as it was truly a game of few chances. 

In all honesty, that was part of the problem.

We’ve been in fantastic form over the past few months, creating a plethora of opportunities in front of goal. Just look at Salford last weekend or Cheltenham on Tuesday. We managed 25 shots on Tuesday alone.

Ultimately, we’ve either outclassed the teams we’ve played or found a way to win when we haven’t been at our best.

But today, we managed neither.

We missed Alex Pattison, Bobby Pointon, and Antoni Sarcevic badly. All three of these players have been pivotal to our form since the start of the year, and the prospect of them being injured for a few weeks is definitely a concern.

After Tuesday’s fantastic result against Cheltenham, we went into this game with a similar line-up and high confidence, despite the injuries we had in the squad.

The problem was that Gillingham worked out the perfect game plan against us: frustrate our midfield, slow the play down, and keep the ball in the air.

I mean this with no disrespect – it was a solid, industrious display from the home side, and they were more than deserving of their three points, as we struggled to compete with them.

The early stages went in City’s favour, though. A few minutes in, Jack Shepherd headed over from a Smallwood set-piece, and Tommy Leigh missed a good chance after Jamie Walker played him through.

I said in last weekend’s match report that we must give Leigh time to settle into our squad, but as we chase promotion, we ultimately need the player leading the line to score goals. 

The logic, I imagine, is that Leigh started today given his height, but he again struggled in front of goal. The hope is that if and when he scores his first, many more will follow, but I would expect either Michael Mellon or Calum Kavanagh will start next weekend against Tranmere – if not both together.

It was a scrappy first half, with Gillingham picking up three yellow cards in the first 20 minutes as they looked desperate to slow the game down. It felt like Andy Cook could have thrived up front against such a physical team, bringing others into the game. The sort of encounter he would relish.

Just ten minutes later, City nearly took the lead. A corner found its way into the box, and George Lapslie almost scored his third goal of the week after Paul Huntington knocked the ball down. The chance was blocked on the line though, and City couldn’t find the back of the net.

While City controlled most of the possession, we failed to do much with it, with the only other real highlight being a long run from Tayo Adaramola – arguably our best player over the last few days – which nearly culminated in another attack. 

With the exception of a couple of recent games, there continues to be an interesting paradox in which we are better without possession of the ball than with it – a defining feature since Alexander took over as our manager. As we did against both Bromley and Salford, we must fix this before the end of the season. 

After a few Gillingham corners, half-time arrived, offering an opportunity to regroup.

However, any team talk failed to counteract the big problem of the day, which was ultimately Gillingham’s direct approach and our lack of competitiveness in the air, another thing we’ll need to address in the coming weeks.

That direct approach led to their goal ten minutes into the second half. A cross from a corner found its way into City’s box, and Conor Masterson made no mistake when the ball found its way to him, putting the ball into the back of the net.

After that, it felt like an uphill task for City, and fundamentally, it was. Instead of responding, as we have so often in recent weeks, the squad looked tired and unable to compete. We were second best for most of the game.

Alexander tried to change things with two double substitutions in the second half, bringing on Neil Byrne and Mellon, and later adding Kavanagh and Tyriek Wright to the pitch, but little went our way.

The only real chance of note was an effort from Tyriek Wright saved by the goalkeeper. But it felt far more likely that they would score a second than that we would find an equaliser.

Yet again, the problem was that we struggled to create opportunities and played the ball in the air far too frequently when building attacks, to the benefit of Gillingham’s centre-backs. This is something we haven’t really done since this great run of form, and hopefully was just a bad day rather than a permanent tactic.

We struggled so much, though, that for the last five minutes, Paul Huntington played up front (who by the way has been excellent at centre-back in recent weeks). 

I know we probably felt we had to chase the game, but it probably sums the match up fairly well.

What Comes Next?

Well, first and foremost, let’s not dwell on this too long. We’ve been on a remarkable run of form, and this squad has more than enough talent to secure promotion to League One. We all know that.

With our next home game against struggling Tranmere, who are just above the relegation zone, three points are a must next weekend. If we want to ensure automatic promotion, we must get a result against them.

There are definitely things to consider as we prepare for a side lower down the league such as not panicking in games like this and keeping the ball on the ground. 

But we’ll also be hoping that at least one of the trio of Pattison, Pointon, and Sarcevic will be back soon. At this stage of the season, players like them can make the difference.

After Tranmere, we’ll face Colchester who have put together an excellent run in recent weeks. Huge credit goes to the club for putting tickets at just £5 for what could be a hugely significant match. Let’s hope we can fill Valley Parade for it.

With ten games to go, there’s the potential to win 30 points. Just five wins out of the ten will probably be enough for promotion; every point matters now. This is a crucial time for this football club, and we have to stick with them.

Today was a difficult result, but there’s still over 20% of the season left. Nothing is decided yet. It’s back to Valley Parade, which has become a fortress lately, and hopefully it will stay that way.

Let us not get distracted either about other teams and their fixtures or results (even though it’s hard at this stage in the season). This opportunity to win promotion is entirely in our own hands now.

Though that being said, Walsall play Bromley on Thursday night, as many people have started to realise. Should the league leaders drop more points, there is a chance to take the opportunity we missed today in front of a Valley Parade crowd. 

Over to City now, and Graham Alexander, to show this squad still has what it takes to take this football club back to League One.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC, Gillingham, League Two