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fan-of-mulligan · 4 years

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FOM BLOG: WIGAN ATHLETIC 2-3 GILLINGHAM

My Thoughts On Wigan Athletic V Gillingham………..

Gillingham have started The 2020 / 2021 Season with four successive home matches against Southend United (League Cup First Round) Crawley Town (Football League Trophy) Hull City (League One) and Coventry City (League Cup Second Round), four home matches in three different competitions, But Wigan Athletic Away was in-fact Gillingham’s first away match of The 2020 / 2021 Season, and having lost against Hull City 2-0 on the opening League One Match Of The Season, Gillingham responded from that disappointing performance and disappointing defeat by winning 5-4 on penalties against Coventry City In The Second Round Of The League Cup, But the challenge for Gillingham now is to pick up our first league win of the season against A Wigan Athletic Side who were playing in The Championship Last Season.

And speaking of Gillingham’s First Away Game Of The Season, Had supporters been able to go to Wigan Athletic V Gillingham in normal circumstances, then we would have probably been on the coach at 6.30AM In The Morning for the long away trip to Wigan Athletic, Traveling to Wigan Athletic one way would have seen us travel 244 miles in four hours and thirteen minutes, this travel time of course does not take into consideration stopping off at the service stations, or, any potential traffic problems we might have encountered on our journey towards Wigan Athletic, But with league matches being broadcasted on I Follow, This means no early start and you are only paying £10 to watch Wigan Athletic V Gillingham either on your television, or on your computer.

It is important to note that watching matches on I Follow is a substitute for not being able to watch the match live inside the football stadium, but there are clear benefits to watching Wigan Athletic V Gillingham on I Follow which cannot be ignored, If we’re on the coach for Wigan Athletic V Gillingham, Your talking about getting up at 5AM to get on the coach at 6.30AM In The Morning, and we would probably arrive outside The DW Stadium at 1.45PM In The Afternoon, and after the match has finished, and your back on the coach at 5.10PM, your probably looking to get back into Kent at 11PM on Saturday Night, and a away day really does take up a entire day, not to mention the additional costs that come with traveling to Wigan Athletic Away, I know quite a few supporters who regularly went to away matches who have stopped going to Gillingham Away Games, not because of the cost, but because of the time it takes traveling to and from the likes of Rochdale, Accrington Stanley, Blackpool and Plymouth Argyle.

And I know quite a few supporters who opt to watch Kent Non League Sides play whenever Gillingham play away from home, and quite a few supporters go and watch Chatham Town, Hollands & Blair, Faversham Town, Whitstable Town, Sittingbourne, Lordswood, Ebbsfleet United, Dover Athletic and Dartford play instead, And with football supporters being allowed inside football stadiums to watches matches at Ryman Premier League Level or lower, then I can see quite a few supporters watching Kent Non League Matches instead of watching Gillingham play away from home, especially when the following is most likely to happen,,,, Now this is only my opinion, and things can change should information change regarding when football supporters can watch matches in League One and League Two like we normally did back in February, But I think away supporters won’t be able to watch away matches for the entire 2020 / 2021 Season, simply because football clubs will want to get there Season Ticket Holders and pay on the day home supporters inside the ground to watch there team play, And when supporters can watch Gillingham Play inside Priestfield Stadium, Where away supporters are situated inside Priestfield Stadium, either in the end block of The Gordon Road Stand, Or The Brian Moore Stand, then those area’s can be opened up to get more Season Ticket Holders inside Priestfield Stadium.

Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,, Jack Bonham, Ryan Jackson, Christian Maghoma, Jack Tucker, Connor Ogilvie, Scott Robertson, Josh Eccles, Jacob Mellis, Jordan Graham, Trae Coyle, Vadaine Oliver SUBS: Joe Walsh (GK), Zech Medley, Robbie McKenzie, Matty Willock, Henry Woods and John Akinde - Gillingham had only named six substitutes on the bench with Kyle Dempsey and Stuart O’Keefe both unavailable because of injury, whilst Alex MacDonald was also unavailable for selection for The Gills, Josh Eccles is thrown straight into the starting line up to make his full Gillingham Debut, And Trae Coyle also starts, having come on as a substitute in Tuesday Night’s League Cup Win Against Coventry City.

As for the formation and how Gillingham are going to line up, Gillingham will line up with A 4-3-3 Formation with Jacob Mellis playing further forwards ahead of Scott Robertson and Josh Eccles on central midfield, Jordan Graham will play on the right, Trae Coyle will line up on the left, And Vadaine Oliver will lead the line for The Gills, Vadaine Oliver had to start for Gillingham after his exceptional performance against Coventry City and John Akinde is going to have wait patiently for his opportunity to start for Gillingham, Another positive is Ryan Jackson’s inclusion in the starting line up, both full backs struggled to get forwards in Gillingham’s 2-0 home defeat against Hull City and Robbie McKenzie lined up at Right Back for Gillingham that day, So having Ryan Jackson available for selection is a huge boost for The Gills.

I had paid £10 to watch Wigan Athletic V Gillingham on I Follow just after 2PM and got the video clip working, There were some sound issue’s because I could not hearing the commentary from BBC Radio Kent until ten minutes before the match started, But just as both teams walked out on to the pitch, I had uploaded the following comment on to Twitter,,,,, Wigan Athletic V Gillingham about to kick off - Hopefully, Gillingham can build on Tuesday Night's Penalty Shoot-Out Win Against Coventry City In The League Cup, And Gillingham can pick up our first league win of the season in League One Today - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!! - It also has to be noted that Wigan Athletic wearing black squad numbers on the back of A Blue And White Stripped Kit is a horrendous kit decision, I thought the back of stripped shirts had to be clear, for example, Sunderland’s Home Shirt from a few season’s ago.

MATCH DETAILS (FIRST HALF HIGHLIGHTS)

Five Minutes Into The Match, And Wigan Athletic win themselves the first corner kick of the match with Josh Eccles timing his challenge to perfection on Kai Naismith and knocking the ball out of play for A Wigan Athletic Corner Kick, Again, It has to be noted that Wigan Athletic’s squad numbers are dreadful and you can barely read the players names or numbers on the back of the shirt’s, and from the resulting corner kick, Wigan Athletic almost take the lead, Kal Naismith drops the ball short to Gary Roberts, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Gary Roberts works his way towards the byline and whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross, and Jack Tucker’s defensive header goes straight to Lee Evans inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Lee Evans gets the ball under control before firing a fiercely driven effort towards goal which is blocked by Jack Tucker, who lunges himself in-front of the ball and the ball ricochets out of play for A Wigan Athletic Corner Kick - A Dreadful Defensive Header From Jack Tucker, But Jack Tucker redeems himself with that excellent lunging block to prevent Wigan Athletic from opening the scoring.

And from the resulting corner kick, Wigan Athletic almost opened the scoring in fortuitous circumstances, Kal Naismith whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Jack Bonham punches the ball into the back of Vadaine Oliver’s Head and the ball ricochets out of play for another Wigan Athletic Corner Kick - That ricochet off Vadaine Oliver could have easily seen Wigan Athletic open the scoring with a fortuitous own goal - And from the third corner kick, Gary Roberts whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Kal Naismith headers the ball over Gillingham’s Crossbar from roughly eight yards out and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - There were only highlights for the first corner kick shown on the extended highlights on I Follow, But I thought I would put all three corner kicks together in these two paragraphs.

Eleven Minutes Into The Match, Danny Fox has possession of the ball for Wigan Athletic down Wigan Athletic’s Left Side Of The Pitch, Just In Gillingham’s Half, And Danny Fox hits a diagonal cross-field cross towards Joe Garner, who goes to ground underneath Connor Ogilvie’s Challenge Inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Wigan Athletic have some very legitimate penalty appeals turned down by Referee Tom Nield, But play continue’s as Trae Coyle manages to get to the loose ball ahead of Lee Evans, But Trae Coyle’s pass back to Jack Tucker was woefully under-hit, And Jack Tucker has to kick the ball clear away from danger at the expense of conceding a corner kick with Lee Evans closing Jack Tucker down, and from the resulting corner kick, Wigan Athletic should have scored, Gary Roberts passes the ball short to Lee Evans, who passes the ball back out-wide to Gary Roberts, And Gary Roberts gets the ball under control before whipping in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards Viv Solomon-Otabor, who is completely unmarked inside Gillingham’s Six Yard Box, and Viv Solomon-Otabor completely mis-kicks his initial effort on goal and Connor Ogilvie has done just about enough with a last ditch interception to divert the ball out of play for A Wigan Athletic Corner Kick - That should be 1-0 to Wigan Athletic without question - And you have got to say that Gillingham’s defending from corner kicks in the first twelve minutes of this match have been less than convincing.

The next passage of play see’s Trae Coyle completely taken out by Danny Fox down the left side of the pitch in Wigan Athletic’s Final Third, And Trae Coyle has won Gillingham a free kick in a very promising position on the pitch, Danny Fox was also shown a yellow card from Referee Tom Nield for that foul, and from the resulting free kick, Scott Robertson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick, And Jack Tucker does exceptionally well to header the ball back across the face of goal and keep the attack alive by heading the ball down towards Connor Ogilvie inside Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area, And Connor Ogilvie takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to fire a low effort towards goal which takes a huge deflection off Tom Pearce, and the ball deflects out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Scott Robertson whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Connor Ogilvie is penalised for a foul on Danny Fox.

And failing to capitalise on that half chance for Vadaine Oliver proved to be costly for The Gills, Because Wigan Athletic manage to take the lead after The Twenty First Minute Of The Match, Wigan Athletic retain possession of the ball very nicely and move the ball from left to right and eventually Tom James is in possession of the ball for Wigan Athletic down the right side of the pitch right on the byline, And Tom James passes the ball inside to Lee Brown, who passes the ball back to Nathan Cameron, And Nathan Cameron passes the ball square to Danny Fox, who gets the ball under control, And Danny Fox passes the ball forwards to Alex Parry, And Alex Parry takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Nathan Cameron, who passes the ball forwards to Lee Brown, And Lee Brown manages to pick out Viv Solomon-Otabor with a threaded pass down the right flank, and Viv Solomon-Otabor is one on one with Connor Ogilvie, And Viv Solomon-Otabor uses his pace to go on a driving run down the right side of the pitch, and Viv Solomon-Otabor whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and there was Joe Garner with a excellent first time volleyed finish to give Wigan Athletic the lead, and there is absolutely nothing that Jack Bonham can do about that effort on goal to prevent Joe Garner from scoring, And Wigan Athletic have taken the lead - 1-0 TO WIGAN ATHLETIC.

What is particularly irritating about that goal, is that Gillingham have got to twenty minutes without conceding and that’s always what you look for in a away game, don’t let the home side score inside the opening twenty minutes, and a minute after twenty minutes of the match had been played, Gillingham concede, But it is also how Gillingham concede the opening goal which is frustrating, Christian Maghoma has got to do way better then that to prevent Joe Garner from scoring, and although Connor Ogilvie is protesting that Viv Solomon-Otabor has over-ran the ball out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, I think the defending was poor, three Wigan Athletic Players and three Gillingham Players inside the penalty area and Joe Garner does not score if Christian Maghoma does a better job defensively, Now, Gillingham went a goal down against Hull City and didn’t respond in our opening league game, So can Gillingham replicate what we were able to achieve against Coventry City On Tuesday Night and score a equaliser to level the game up at the very least ???

And the answer to that question is Yes, A Big Yes, Because Gillingham were able to score the equaliser straight from the kick off, Jordan Graham passes the ball back to Christian Maghoma, who takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down-field and the ball bounces through towards Vadaine Oliver down the left side of the pitch in Wigan Athletic’s Final Third - Wigan’s Right Side - And Tom James is under pressure from Vadaine Oliver to hook the ball clear and Lee Brown headers the ball further clear away from goal and Josh Eccles shows great composure to allow the ball to bounce over his head and pass the ball back to Jack Tucker, who takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Connor Ogilvie, And Connor Ogilvie gets the ball under control before hitting a high long ball towards Vadaine Oliver, And Vadaine Oliver does brilliantly to win the aerial battle up against Danny Fox to flick the ball on towards Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham takes one touch to take the ball away from Tom Pearce, and another touch to smash the ball into the back of the net with Jamie Jones well and truly beaten, and that really is a remarkable equaliser from Jordan Graham - WIGAN ATHLETIC 1-1 GILLINGHAM.

The goal from Jordan Graham really is a exceptional equaliser, And the technique to get the ball under control and the finish was top quality, and it really has been a decent week for Jordan Graham at the moment, A 94th Minute Equaliser from the penalty spot to take Gillingham V Coventry City to penalties, Jordan Graham then scores in the penalty shoot-out to help Gillingham progress into The Third Round Of The League Cup, And Now Jordan Graham has scored Gillingham’s Equaliser against Wigan Athletic at The DW Stadium, Also, special praise must go to Vadaine Oliver for the flick on for Jordan Graham’s Equaliser, and Vadaine Oliver is putting in the performance which is keeping John Akinde on the substitutes bench at this moment in time.

And just past The Thirty Minute Mark, Gillingham do in-fact manage to turn this match on it’s head and go from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, The high press from Scott Robertson in Wigan Athletic’s Final Third forces Tom James to kick the ball long down-field and Gillingham are awarded a throw on, on the halfway line down Gillingham’s Left Side Of The Pitch, And it is from this throw on where Gillingham score to take the lead, Connor Ogilvie throws the ball long down the line and Vadaine Oliver wins the aerial challenge up against Alex Parry to header the ball on towards Jordan Graham, who gets the ball under control, and Jordan Graham runs down the left side of the pitch in possession of the ball before continuing his run inside Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area, And Jordan Graham works his way towards the byline, cuts inside to avoid the attempted challenge from Nathan Cameron, And Jordan Graham fires a low driven effort towards goal which goes through Jamie Jones Leg’s, and the ball goes into the back of the net to give Gillingham the lead at The DW Stadium - WIGAN ATHLETIC 1-2 GILLINGHAM.

Wigan Athletic Jamie Jones was perhaps unsighted with the defenders in-front of him, but that is a fantastic individual goal from Jordan Graham, And Trae Coyle and Jacob Mellis were both inside The Wigan Athletic Penalty Area waiting for a cut back or re-bound, but nether player was required, Because Jordan Graham has stuck the ball into the back of the net to give Gillingham the lead and Gillingham have responded from going 1-0 down to now take the lead and go 2-1 up, Hopefully, Gillingham can extend the lead to 3-1 whilst the momentum is in our favour.

OTHER MATCH INCIDENTS WHICH WERE NOT SHOWN ON EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS

FIRST HALF

The first noteworthy moment of the match see’s Gillingham awarded a free kick down the left side of the pitch in Wigan Athletic’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Scott Robertson whip in a dangerous in-swinging cross which is headed partially clear and away from danger by Nathan Cameron, who wins the aerial challenge up against Connor Ogilvie, and Jacob Mellis is first to the second ball on the edge of Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area, And Jacob Mellis headers the ball back into the danger zone, and Danny Fox manages to boot the ball clear and away from danger for the hosts - and that was a half chance for Gillingham to open the scoring.

Three Minutes Into The Match, And Trae Coyle’s pass towards Jordan Graham down the left side of the pitch is slightly over-hit and runs out of play for A Wigan Athletic Goal-Kick, It is very on in the match, but there was very good movement between Trae Coyle, Jordan Graham and Vadaine Oliver in that passage of play, and in both attacks, Gillingham have looked to expose a few weaknesses that Wigan Athletic have got down there left side.

Fourteen Minutes Into The Match, And Jordan Graham almost picks out Vadaine Oliver with a fantastic cross and Nathan Cameron does just about enough to header the ball back to Jamie Jones In The Wigan Athletic Goal, Vadaine Oliver was out-side Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area so this was not quite the cross which lead to Vadaine Oliver scoring for Gillingham against Crawley Town In The Football League Trophy, But even so, that was a unbelievable cross from Jordan Graham.

Nineteen Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham are looking to make the breakthrough, Josh Eccles cross-field pass is cut out, but Jacob Mellis is on to the loose ball and Jacob Mellis plays a excellent through-ball through to Vadaine Oliver, and the loose ball takes a double deflection off two Wigan Athletic Players and there was a half chance that the ball would ricochet through to Jordan Graham, But Jamie Jones does in-fact manage to dive on to the loose ball and the chance has gone for The Gills.

Twenty Three Minutes Into The Match, And just after Jordan Graham had scored the equaliser for The Gills, Joe Garner is penalised for a foul on Josh Eccles, and a minute later, Gillingham create a decent goal-scoring opportunity as The Gills look to flip this match on it’s head and take a 2-1 lead, Ryan Jackson has whipped in a fantastic in-swinging cross and Scott Robertson tries to pick out the bottom left corner of the net with a glancing header, But Jamie Jones was in the right place at the right time to make a comfortable save in The Wigan Athletic Goal.

Twenty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Wigan Athletic really should have scored, Jordan Graham is penalised for a foul and Wigan Athletic have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Lee Brown whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Danny Fox wins the aerial challenge at the back-stick and tries to header the ball down towards Joe Garner and Scott Robertson has done just about enough to prevent Joe Garner from getting a shot off on goal, and Gillingham manage to clear there defensive lines, But that was a real scare defensively for Gillingham, And you have got to say that The Gills look very vulnerable from set plays and the inexperience in our centre back pairing is really showing at the moment.

A Few fouls just start to break up the passage of play, Joe Garner is penalised for his challenge on Jacob Mellis, However, In The Thirty Fourth Minute Of The Match, Josh Eccles is booked for a cynical foul on Kal Naismith as Wigan Athletic were looking to build up a attack and Josh Eccles has taken one for the team conceding that free kick, and the booking was the correct decision, now, Wigan Athletic have been awarded a free kick in a very promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Kal Naismith has tried to smash the ball into the bottom right corner of the net and Kal Naismith’s free kick smashes into Gillingham’s Defensive Wall, And Gillingham momentarily manage to clear there lines, however, Tom James has possession of the ball on the halfway line, And Tom James tries to pick out Tom Pearce with a long diagonal cross-field cross pass which is over-hit and runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - And Gillingham will gladly take the goal-kick and Gillingham can re-group and just try and see out the final ten minutes plus stoppage time of the first half.

But it appears that Wigan Athletic have other idea’s and the hosts are looking to level the match up at 2-2 before the half time interval, Because In The Thirty Eighth Minute Of The Match, Kal Naismith manages to use his pace to burst inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area Down The Left Side Of The Pitch - Gillingham’s Right - And Christian Maghoma manages to stay on his feat and Christian Maghoma manages to block Kal Naismith’s fiercely driven cross, and the cross ricochets back to Kal Naismith who inadvertently knocked the ball out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - Sometimes you need that little bit of luck, Because I thought that Christian Maghoma had blocked Kal Naismith’s Cross at the expense of conceding a corner kick.

Trae Coyle then wins Gillingham a throw on in Wigan Athletic’s Final Third Down The Left Side Of The Pitch In The Thirty Ninth Minute Of The Match, And From The Resulting Throw On, Ryan Jackson hurls in a long dangerous throw into the heart of Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area and Nathan Cameron can only header the ball partially clear towards the edge of Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area, And Scott Robertson takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to smash a fiercely driven effort goal-wards and the ball is blocked and deflected out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, With Wigan Athletic Defender Nathan Cameron making the all important block, And from the resulting corner kick, Jordan Graham almost scores directly from the corner kick as Jordan Graham whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards goal and Jamie Jones appeared to claw the ball back into play from behind the goal-line - NOW, DID THE BALL CROSS THE GOAL-LINE!!!!!! - Because there were plenty of appeals from Gillingham Players inside Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area that the ball did in-fact cross the goal-line, and with no goal-line technology, and with no side on camera view, it is inconclusive if the ball had in-fact crossed the goal-line, but that looked in for me, and this could well be a controversial talking point at the end of the match, If Gillingham do not pick up all three points, and especially if we find out after the game that the ball had in-fact crossed the goal-line.

Kal Naismith is then penalised for his challenge on Josh Eccles In The Forty Second Minute, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Scott Robertson was quick to pass the ball short to Trae Coyle, And Trae Coyle takes one touch to control the ball, and another touch to a thread a pass down the line towards Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham tries to pick out Vadaine Oliver with a high and hanging cross towards the back-stick, But Jamie Jones was able to gather Jordan Graham’s Cross with relative ease.

Gillingham are then under the cosh in First Half Stoppage Time, As Jack Tucker makes a important clearance to intercept a cross, and Tom James see’s his fiercely driven effort towards goal blocked by Christian Maghoma, But the hosts are still looking to try and level the score up at 2-2 at the half time interval, And Wigan Athletic move the ball from the centre to out on the right flank where Viv Solomon-Otabor was situated, And Viv Solomon-Otabor gets the ball under control and uses his pace to get himself towards the byline, And Viv Solomon-Otabor whips in a high and hanging cross towards the back-stick, And Jack Bonham makes a comfortable gather to ease the pressure building on to Gillingham’s Goal.

HALF TIME:

I Wrote the following status update on to Twitter for My Half Time Thoughts on the match so far,,,,,,,,, HT: WIGAN ATHLETIC 1-2 GILLINGHAM - Joe Garner opened the scoring for Wigan Athletic, But Gillingham score a instant equaliser with a great goal from Jordan Graham, And Jordan Graham puts Gillingham in front in The Thirtieth Minute with a excellent finish from a tight angle. I am not sure if Jordan Graham scored directly from the corner kick, a side on angle would give us a better view to see if Graham had in-fact scored, But that's 3 goals from Graham in the last 2 matches, And he is looking like he is only going to get better with more game-time. Gillingham have looked suspect from a few corner kicks that Wigan had whipped inside Gillingham's Penalty Area in the early stages of the match, And Solomon-Otabor should have scored for Wigan from one of those corner kicks, But Gillingham go in at half time with the lead.

I had replied to a few comments on Facebook, Josh Eccles was wearing Squad Number Seventeen For The Gills and with all the new signings that Gillingham have made during the off season, and the signings that Gillingham have made during the season, then it is important to keep track of the squad numbers of all of our signings, as well as the squad numbers from the few players that were in Gillingham’s First Team Squad For The 2019 / 2020 Season, I mentioned just how bad Wigan Athletic’s Kit was with Black Squad Numbers on the back of A Blue And White Stripped Shirt, which made the players names and squad numbers unreadable at times.

As far as any tactical substitutions goes, I don’t think any player needs to be substituted, Gillingham are winning 2-1 against Wigan Athletic, and whilst it is a slender lead, it is still a winning position Gillingham are in at this present moment in time, And with Josh Eccles cup-tied for Gillingham’s League Cup Third Round Tie Against Stoke City, then Josh Eccles should play the full ninety plus minutes for Gillingham against Wigan Athletic, and we can then rest Josh Eccles up for the home game against Blackpool The Following Saturday, Hopefully, Gillingham can pick up there first win and there first three points of the season against Wigan Athletic, and Gillingham can get the first away win of the season as well - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF (HIGHLIGHTS)

Fifty Three Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham continue to build on there bright start to the second half by creating another goal-scoring opportunity, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Nathan Cameron wins the aerial challenge and headers the ball backwards towards his own goal and Danny Fox wins the aerial challenge up against Trae Coyle, and Tom Pearce kicks the ball long down-field and Connor Ogilvie wins the aerial challenge up against Viv Solomon-Otabor, and Alex Parry has completely taken Scott Robertson out and The Gillingham Midfielder is down injured, but play continue’s as Kal Naismith wins the aerial challenge up against Josh Eccles, and Christian Maghoma headers the ball forwards to Jordan Graham, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the around the corner down the right flank towards Ryan Jackson, who uses his pace to run down the right wing, wait for support and pass the ball through to Jordan Graham on the over-lap, And Jordan Graham manages to keep the ball in play, and Jordan Graham works his way into a crossing position before whipping in a sensational in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Tom Pearce has done just about enough to win the aerial challenge up against Vadaine Oliver to header the ball clear and out of play for A Gillingham Throw On - Thankfully, Scott Robertson is OK to continue playing for The Gills - And from the resulting throw on, Connor Ogilvie hurls in a long dangerous throw into the heart of Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area and Vadaine Oliver and Jamie Jones compete for the high ball, And Vadaine Oliver is penalised for a foul on The Wigan Athletic Goalkeeper, and this is just one of those things nowadays where you cannot challenge The Goalkeeper for a high ball anymore.

Sixty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham extend the score-line to a 3-1 lead, Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver wins the aerial challenge to flick the ball on towards Jordan Graham, who gets the ball under control before getting challenged by Alex Parry, and the loose ball falls kindly into Scott Robertson’s Path, And Scott Robertson retains possession of the ball before passing the ball back to Josh Eccles, who passes the ball out-wide to Connor Ogilvie down the left side of the pitch in Wigan Athletic’s Half, And Connor Ogilvie takes one touch to control the ball and after touch to clip the ball down the line towards Vadaine Oliver, And Vadaine Oliver manages to get the ball under control and lay the ball off to Scott Robertson on the edge of Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area, And Scott Robertson gets the ball under control and passes the ball square short to Trae Coyle, who does brilliantly to pick out the bottom right corner of the net with a first time curling effort, and there is nothing that Jamie Jones can do about that, And Trae Coyle’s goal has given Gillingham a valuable two goal cushion just past the hour mark - WIGAN ATHLETIC 1-3 GILLINGHAM.

Out of the three goals, you have to say that Gillingham’s Third Goal was more of a team goal with Scott Robertson, Josh Eccles, Jordan Graham, Vadaine Oliver, Connor Ogilvie and Trae Coyle all involved in that passage of play, And just like Jordan Graham, Trae Coyle has also had a excellent week for The Gills, Trae Coyle scored the winning penalty in Gillingham’s Penalty Shoot-Out Win Against Coventry City In The Second Round Of The League Cup, And Trae Coyle has now scored his first ever league goal in professional football, And it has to be mentioned that Trae Coyle is only Nineteen Years Old and he is having a real impact early on in his loan spell at The Gills, But the one thing this third goal does, is potentially give Steve Evans the option to substitute a few players who are starting to tire and keep those players fresh for Wednesday Night’s League Cup Third Round Tie Against Stoke City.

But Wigan Athletic were on the front-foot straight from the kick off and Ryan Jackson was penalised for his challenge on Kal Naismith down Gillingham’s Right Side Of The Pitch In Gillingham’s Final Third Close To The Byline, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Tom Pearce whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post and Jacob Mellis’s Defensive Header wasn’t the best and Jacob Mellis has headed the ball clear and out of play at the expense of conceding a corner kick, however, It is from this corner kick where Wigan Athletic do manage to get themselves back into this match, Gary Roberts whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross from the resulting corner kick and Josh Eccles misses the initial header, and the ball ricochets off Jack Tucker and Connor Ogilvie and there was Kal Naismith to stick the ball into the back of the net with a snap-shot first time finish from inside the six yard box and there was nothing that Jack Bonham could have done about that, and Wigan Athletic have responded with a goal in The Sixty Fourth Minute Of The Match - WIGAN ATHLETIC 2-3 GILLINGHAM

But that was a terrible goal for Gillingham to concede, Josh Eccles misses the header, the ball ricochets off Jack Tucker and Connor Ogilvie and maybe Vadaine Oliver could have done more to prevent Kal Naismith from scoring, But what is extremely irritating about that goal is the fact that Gillingham were 3-1 up, The Gills did the hard part and extending our lead by two goals meant that I could not see Wigan Athletic getting themselves back into this match, But this instant goal from Kal Naismith has completely changed this match, Because with the score-line at 2-3, Wigan Athletic only need one goal to pull themselves back on to level terms at 3-3, it also has to be mentioned that Gillingham’s Defending From Corner Kicks has been very disappointing in this match against Wigan Athletic, and it comes to no surprise to see Wigan Athletic score from a corner kick - Those substitution suggestions and resting a few players for The Stoke City League Cup Game has gone completely out the window now, But I do wonder if Steve Evans will look at his options on the substitutes bench to try and freshen the team up for the rest of this match ???

Eighty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had the chance to make absolutely sure of securing all three points against Wigan Athletic, Gillingham were awarded a throw on down the left side of the pitch right in-front of the dugouts, And Connor Ogilvie hurls the ball long down-field and John Akinde gets the ball under control before being challenged by Nathan Cameron, and the loose ball falls kindly to Jordan Graham, who gets the ball under control and Jordan Graham manages to pick out Josh Eccles with a cross-field cross pass roughly twenty five yards from goal, and Josh Eccles takes one touch to control the ball and another touch to smash a fiercely driven effort towards goal which failed to hit the target by some considerable distance - But that effort on goal was defiantly worth taking on by Josh Eccles, nothing wrong with that effort on goal at all.

But In The Eighty Eight Minute Of The Match, there was a huge talking point, As Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field, and John Akinde reads the bounce of the ball better then Nathan Cameron and Nathan Cameron is in serious trouble here for Wigan Athletic for pulling John Akinde back when he was one on one and through on goal, And Nathan Cameron is very lucky not to be sent off for pulling John Akinde’s Shirt, Maybe Referee Tom Nield thought John Akinde wasn’t going to get to the ball, But Nathan Cameron was the last man and I do think he is very lucky not to have been sent off, and from the resulting free kick, Trae Coyle has failed to hit the target by some considerable distance with his effort on goal - And I am surprised that Jordan Graham didn’t take the free kick considering that Jordan Graham is on for a hat-trick for The Gills.

Christian Maghoma is then penalised for a foul on Joe Garner, And Wigan Athletic have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Alex Parry passes the ball short to Lee Evans, who takes a few touches in possession of the ball, And Lee Evans whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Scott Robertson knocks the ball out of play for A Wigan Athletic Corner Kick, Wigan Athletic thought that Connor Ogilvie had pushed Kal Naismith to the floor and that Wigan Athletic should have been awarded a penalty kick, But Referee Tom Neild points for A Corner Kick for the hosts.

And from the resulting corner kick, Lee Evans whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Christian Maghoma manages to header the ball clear and away from danger and Alex Parry gets to the loose ball first and passes the ball out-wide to Lee Evans, who takes a touch to control the ball and whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Jack Tucker headers the ball partially clear and away from goal and Danny Fox has possession of the ball in Gillingham’s Half On The Halfway Line, And Danny Fox manages to pick out Olly Crankshaw with a accurate pass down the right flank - Gillingham’s Left - And Olly Crankshaw is running through towards goal and Olly Crankshaw continue’s his run towards the byline and pulls the ball back across the face of goal with a floated cross, and Joe Garner’s header hits Matty Willock on the arm and Christian Maghoma boots the ball clear and away from danger - AND WAS THAT A PENALTY KICK FOR WIGAN ATHLETIC!!!! - Referee Tom Neild waves those penalty appeals away and that was a huge let off for The Gills.

OTHER MATCH INCIDENTS WHICH WERE NOT SHOWN ON EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS

SECOND HALF

And right at the very start of The Second Half, Gillingham manage to win themselves a corner kick because Tom James times his challenge to perfection on Jordan Graham at the expense of knocking the ball out of play for A Gillingham Corner Kick, And from the resulting corner kick, Gillingham almost extended there lead to 3-1, Jordan Graham curls the ball goal-wards directly towards goal from the resulting corner kick and the ball strikes the out-side of the near post with Jamie Jones well and truly beaten and that was no accident, that corner kick was intentional by Jordan Graham and Gillingham almost went 3-1 in-front, And a minute later, the ball set up nicely off the turf for Vadaine Oliver to strike a fiercely driven effort towards goal which was straight at Jamie Jones In The Wigan Athletic Goal and Vadaine Oliver has certainly caused Wigan Athletic problems defensively and Vadaine Oliver has assisted both of Jordan Graham’s Goals in this match so far, and this fast and frantic start to the second half continue’s, As Viv Solomon-Otabor uses his pace to run down the right flank and Connor Ogilvie has done very well to stay with Viv Solomon-Otabor, And Viv Solomon-Otabor see’s his dangerous in-swinging cross take a huge deflection off Connor Ogilvie and Jack Tucker allows the deflected ball to run through to Jack Bonham to make a slightly difficult save, And I say a slightly difficult save because Joe Garner was lurking in there inside the six yard box - I have got to mention that Viv Solomon-Otabor has caused Gillingham problems defensively throughout this entire match, And it was Viv Solomon-Otabor who assisted Joe Garner’s Goal for Wigan Athletic In The First Half.

And this fast and frantic start to the first half continued, As Jack Bonham kicks the ball long down-field and Vadaine Oliver wins the aerial challenge to header the ball down the line towards Trae Coyle, who manages to keep the ball in play down the left flank in Wigan Athletic’s Final Third, And Trae Coyle uses his pace to cut inside into a more central position of the pitch just out-side Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area and Trae Coyle fails to hit the target by some considerable distance with his effort on goal, And Gillingham have already seen efforts on goal from Jordan Graham, Vadaine Oliver and Trae Coyle within the first five minutes of the second half.

Josh Eccles has picked up a knock and went down to the deck and required treatment, Gillingham had in-fact continued to play on, And Ryan Jackson’s dangerous in-swinging cross was saved by Jamie Jones In The Wigan Athletic Goal and play was then stopped by Referee Tom Nield, And The Wigan Athletic Players were furious with that decision, Because they thought that Gillingham should have knocked the ball out of play which would then allow Josh Eccles to get some treatment, thankfully, Josh Eccles is OK to continue playing for The Gills, especially when you take into consideration that midfielders Stuart O’Keefe and Kyle Dempsey are out injured for The Gills.

Fifty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And I thought Gillingham should have been awarded a penalty kick when Trae Coyle was pulled down by Tom James inside Wigan Athletic’s Penalty Area, But Referee Tom Nield waves away Gillingham’s Penalty Appeals, And Wigan Athletic probably believe that this makes them even with there penalty appeal in the first half also being turned down, And in the same minute, Viv Solomon-Otabor is penalised for pushing Jack Tucker to the ground and Jack Tucker wins Gillingham a defensive free kick in Gillingham’s own final third, excellent defending from Jack Tucker there to position himself in-between the ball and Viv Solomon-Otabor to win Gillingham that free kick, And In The Fifty Ninth Minute Of The Match, Gillingham had a half chance to potentially extend there lead to 3-1, Scott Robertson manages to intercept the ball in Wigan Athletic’s Half Of The Pitch, And Scott Robertson passes the ball forwards to Vadaine Oliver, who is crowded out by Danny Fox and Nathan Cameron, And Wigan Athletic just about manage to clear there lines - But had Scott Robertson put more pace on to that pass towards Vadaine Oliver, Then Vadaine Oliver would have been one on one and through on goal.

Sixty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Trae Coyle see’s his audacious effort on goal clear Wigan Athletic’s Crossbar by some considerable distance, I think the front three of Jordan Graham, Vadaine Oliver and Trae Coyle have been excellent for Gillingham throughout this match, The temptation will be there for Steve Evans to substitute one of these three and bring on another midfielder to try and pack the centre of the pitch, But looking at this match in comparison to the other matches this season, Ryan Jackson was sent off against Southend United, So Gillingham had to make changes, Kyle Dempsey picked up a injury against Hull City, Stuart O’Keefe was seriously injured against Coventry City, So it makes a pleasant change for Gillingham to be winning, and not have to make enforced substitutions throughout this match.

Right now, Gillingham are under the cosh with Christian Maghoma having to header the ball clear and out for a throw on, Gillingham have also blocked two crosses into our penalty area, And Jack Tucker was in the right place at the right time in The Seventy Third Minute to not only intercept the ball, But Jack Tucker kicks the ball long down-field and Danny Fox is penalised for his challenge on Vadaine Oliver on the halfway line.

Seventy Five Minutes Into The Match, And Wigan Athletic are pushing to make the breakthrough and score the equaliser, Tom Pearce has whipped in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Viv Solomon-Otabor cannot get on the end of that cross at the far post and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, And In The Seventy Sixth Minute, Gillingham were fortunate to win themselves a goal-kick as Wigan Athletic are on top, But In The Seventy Eighth Minute Of The Match, Connor Ogilvie is forced to concede a corner kick and the hosts have a opportunity to get themselves back on to level terms, Gary Roberts passes the ball short to Viv Solomon-Otabor, who lays the ball off to Gary Roberts, And Gary Roberts runs into a more central area of the pitch just out-side Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Gary Roberts driven effort towards goal is blocked by Connor Ogilvie, and while that was going on, Christian Maghoma was down injured for Gillingham and required treatment and play continued whilst Gillingham were on the defensive - Thankfully, Christian Maghoma was OK to continue playing for The Gills, But Robbie McKenzie and Zech Medley are both on the substitutes bench, Should Gillingham need to make a change at centre back.

Eighty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Matty Willock comes on to replace Jacob Mellis, And Matty Willock is probably going to drop in alongside Scott Robertson and Josh Eccles as Gillingham line up with a three man central midfield, And In The Eighty Fourth Minute Of The Match, Gillingham make there second substitution as John Akinde comes on to replace Vadaine Oliver, who truly has been exceptional for Gillingham throughout this entire match against Wigan Athletic, I know Vadaine Oliver has not got himself on the score-sheet, but two assist’s for two Jordan Graham Goals, and Vadaine Oliver played a pivotal role for Trae Coyle’s Goal, Vadaine Oliver’s Contribution For Gillingham has to be noted, and I think it is between Jordan Graham and Vadaine Oliver for Gillingham’s Man Of The Match against Wigan Athletic - Because both players have been exceptional for The Gills in this match.

Ryan Jackson then concedes a corner kick just as we go into the first of five additional minutes of stoppage time, and from the resulting corner kick, Tom Pearce whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Nathan Cameron’s glancing header fails to hit the target and that was the chance for Wigan Athletic to score the equaliser as well, Wigan Athletic have also made there first substitution of the match as Olly Crankshaw comes on to replace Gary Roberts, And I have got to say that considering that Wigan Athletic are losing and we are heading into stoppage time at the end of The Second Half, why hasn’t Charlie Jolley or Kyle Joseph come on as substitutes for the hosts ??? - Both Players mentioned are strikers, and Wigan Athletic could bring both players on to try and find the equaliser, And if I was A Wigan Athletic Supporter, I would be asking the question why haven’t these two players come on, Because both players could have come on and made an impact for Wigan Athletic ???

POST MATCH THOUGHTS

And that penalty appeal was the final noteworthy moment of the match as Gillingham held out for a hard fought 3-2 away win against Wigan Athletic, Two Goals From Jordan Graham and a goal from Trae Coyle was enough to ensure that Gillingham picked up there first win and first three points of the season in our second League One Fixture of the season, and after losing 2-0 against Hull City on the opening League One Match Of The Season, It was vital that Gillingham responded with a win against Wigan Athletic and that is precisely what Gillingham have done.

I then posted the following comments on to Twitter,,,, FT: WIGAN 2-3 GILLINGHAM - A Brace From Jordan Graham and a goal from Trae Coyle helps to secure Gillingham three vital points against Wigan Athletic, Having gone 3-1 up, It was disappointing to see Gillingham concede a sloppy goal which brought Wigan back into the match at 3-2. Having lost 2-0 against Hull City on the opening league game of the season, It was very important for Gillingham to get our first league win of the season against Wigan Athletic this afternoon, and that is precisely what Gillingham have done, And Graham was superb for Gills Today. - I also mentioned the following as well,,,,, Last Season, It took nine away league matches before Gillingham secured there first away win of the season with A 1-0 Away Win Against Accrington Stanley, Gillingham have secured there first away win in there first away match of The 20/21 Season with A 3-2 Win Against Wigan. - Gillingham drew Twelve Away Matches and only won three away matches throughout the entire 2019 / 2020 season, And Gillingham have already picked up there first win, in there first away match of The 2020 / 2021 Season.

I then re-tweeted status updates from Ryan Jackson, Vadaine Oliver, Josh Eccles, Jack Tucker and Trae Coyle, There were quite a few status updates from Gillingham’s Official Twitter Account that I had Re-Tweeted, I noticed elsewhere that Toby Bancroft got himself on the score-sheet as Margate won 2-1 against Brightlingsea, Gillingham Town also won 2-1 against Sherborne Town Reserves, and Josh Eccles will of course be cup-tied for Gillingham in our League Cup Third Round Tie Against Stoke City On Wednesday.

As for player performances, Jordan Graham, Vadaine Oliver and Trae Coyle are three players who were getting plenty of praise and plaudits, Jordan Graham scored two excellent goals, especially the first goal for the equaliser, Vadaine Oliver assisted both of Jordan Graham’s Goals and Vadaine Oliver’s all-round game was exceptional and Vadaine Oliver won everything in the air as well, And Trae Coyle took his goal really well, and this front three were versatile and interchangeable and there is a lot of movement between all three players, and although John Akinde did come on to replace Vadaine Oliver in the latter stages of this match, I do think that Gillingham need to sign two wide forwards to provide cover and competition for Jordan Graham and Trae Coyle, Because 4-3-3 looks like the formation that Gillingham want to line up for this season.

Josh Eccles and Scott Robertson are both inexperienced midfielders, But both players really put in a stellar performance for Gillingham in central midfield and both players are going to get game-time for Gillingham, especially with Stuart O’Keefe and Kyle Dempsey out injured on the sidelines, But the negatives have to be the one position on the pitch which was the back-bone of Gillingham’s Success Last Season - The Defence - Gillingham looked very vulnerable from defending corner kicks and that is exactly how Wigan Athletic scored there second goal, poor marking, poor defending and a poor goal to concede, especially as this goal was scored just two minutes after Trae Coyle had given Gillingham A 3-1 Lead, Christian Maghoma and Jack Tucker are going to have to improve as a defensive partnership, especially given that both players lack experience and we don’t have Barry Fuller or Max Ehmer in Gillingham’s Back Four for this season.

But this match was about Gillingham getting there first league win of the season and that is precisely what Gillingham have done, thankfully, we are not talking about Jordan Graham’s Corner Kick - Which apparently did cross the goal-line - otherwise we would be talking about a controversial talking point with Gillingham not picking up all three points - Three Goals, Three Points, Gillingham’s First Away Win Of The Season In Gillingham’s First Away Match, Gillingham have moved up to Fourteenth In The League One Table, And I got my prediction completely spot on for The NoirCat Prediction League.

And the matches continue to come at us thick and fast, With The League Cup Third Round Match being played against Stoke City On Wednesday Night, And a very difficult home fixture against Blackpool In League One On Saturday, Hopefully, Gillingham can build on The 3-2 win against Wigan Athletic, and Gillingham can win both matches against Stoke City and Blackpool as Gillingham build some momentum early on in The 2020 / 2021 Season - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!

#WiganAthletic #Gillingham #JordanGraham #LeagueOne

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