Gillingham - 1 (Perpetuini 82.)
Crystal Palace - 0

Palace really needed a win to get their season back on track, but nothing is that easy supporting our team, and once again we saw all three points disappear, despite the fact that we had a penalty, which Dougie Freedman somehow managed to miss. For those despairing this season really is not as bad as it seems, as 1996/97 saw us in exactly the same position at this point in the year, and we eventually went on to finish 3rd in the League. Whether or not we can repeat that performance this time round remains to be seen, and we shall certainly have to see some changes pretty soon if that is to be the case again.

The first real action in this match came when Aki Riihilahti was guilty of a foul on Paul Shaw, and as the free kick came in it was Dougie who was all the way back to clear the ball from the danger area. Andy Hessenthaler attempted a shot on goal, which missed to the left of the upright and Thomas Myhre got his first touch in a Palace shirt. Kit Symons then conceded a corner as Hessenthaler tried another shot, the inswinging ball being cleared by Aki.

Rod Wallace was caught offside before a foul on Andy Johnson, by Nicky Southall, saw Shaun Derry fire the ball into AJ, his header being easily dealt with by Jason Brown in the home goal. Chris Hope got a shot on goal that Thomas did well to hang on to. Aki then found his name in the book for a foul on Shaw, but the free kick was wasted, much to the relief of the travelling Palace faithful.

Curtis Fleming cleared a corner to Gillingham and Paul Smith was booked for a foul on Dougie.

The next corner saw the clearance made by Kit before Wallace was caught offside, Thomas taking the free kick, pumping the ball up the field of play. Shaun took a corner to Palace, but the home goal never looked threatened. Southall fired a cross into the centre that was once again cleared by Kit, and a corner to the home side was well held on to by Thomas, who was looking quite promising in the Palace goalmouth.

Hessenthaler fired a long range shot at goal which sailed harmlessly over the top of the bar before a persistent raid on our goal saw the ball float around the area just a little too long for our liking until Kit finally cleared the danger. Hessenthaler then fouled Tommy Black, the free kick being taken by Tony Popovic, before Southall tried a shot that went well wide of the post. Smith then got a shot which Thomas held on to once again, and Hope fired a shot in which Kit managed to clear from the area.

Dougie tried a shot that the keeper saved well, and the first half came to an end before either side really seemed to settle to the task.

The second half saw a corner fired in by Shaun who was cleared from the danger area by Brown. A free kick close to the area saw Tommy hit the shot straight into the defensive wall before Nyron Nosworthy was caught offside. John Hills got a shot on goal which Thomas held on to and Kit cleared yet another corner to the home side. AJ was back to clear the next dangerous cross into our area, and suddenly disaster struck the home side.

Hope was dismissed for a professional foul on Dougie, and a penalty was awarded. Dougie stepped up, but the keeper guessed which way the ball would go, and he successfully punched the ball out to save the spot kick. A golden opportunity wasted, but at least we were now only playing against 10 men. Of course, often the side with fewer players does better, as indeed we have done in the past, and so it was to prove today.

A corner to Palace saw Barry Ashby clear the danger, and the next corner saw Dougie try a shot that went over the top of the bar. The next corner fell to Gillingham, but the danger was averted as Ashby was deemed to have fouled Shaun, and Thomas took the resulting free kick. Ian Cox was then booked for a foul on Dougie but once again the free kick was wasted, and Palace decided it was time to make a change with Wayne Routledge coming on for Tommy.

Yet another corner to Palace saw Shaun fire the ball in once more, AJ managing an overhead kick that somehow cleared the bar, and Gillingham decided to make a change of their own, Wallace giving way to Mamady Sidibe. Neil Shipperley fired a shot at goal which missed to the left of the upright and Palace made another change, Gary Borrowdale replacing Curtis.

Southall fired a shot goalwards that once again Thomas managed to hold on to, and the next raid was cleared by Tony. Player/manager Hessenthaler decided to rest himself, the substitution taking place as David Perpetuini came on to replace him, and this was to prove critical shortly after. Dougie fired a cross in that Kit headed straight at goal, the keeper just managing to tip it over the bar, though the corner was wasted once again.

Gillingham made their final substitution, Shaw going off and Mark Saunders coming on, and his first touch of the ball saw him guide the ball into fellow substitute Perpetuini's path, his shot crashing into the bottom corner of the net. With only minutes left we were suddenly a goal down, and we never really looked like pulling the deficit back.

There was sufficient time for Saunders to get himself booked for a foul on AJ, and a shot on goal by Hills nearly made the scoreline read 2-0, but Thomas was equal to the task, and further embarrassment was avoided. One can be sure though, that as the final whistle went Steve Kember would have been somewhat upset at our lack of finishing ability, and perhaps that we had once again gone to sleep at the back, allowing a fairly simple goal to be conceded.

We now take a break for Cup action midweek, and hopefully we can get things back on track with our visit to Blackpool. Just maybe Gareth Williams might get a run; will we see a hatful of goals from him?

Colin Pryce

Gillingham: Jason Brown, Nyron Nosworthy, Barry Ashby, Chris Hope, Ian Cox, Andy Hessenthaler (David Perpetuini 78), Paul Smith, Nicky Southall, John Hills, Paul Shaw (Mark Saunders 81), Rod Wallace (Mamady Sidibe 70).

Substitutes not used: Kevin James, Danny Spiller.

Crystal Palace: Thomas Myhre, Kit Symons, Curtis Fleming (Gary Borrowdale 74), Tony Popovic, Jamie Smith, Shaun Derry, Aki Riihilahti, Tommy Black (Wayne Routledge 64), Andrew Johnson, Dougie Freedman, Neil Shipperley.

Substitutes not used: Cedric Berthelin, Michael Hughes, Ben Watson.

Attendance: 8,889

Referee: Mr H Webb