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The penultimate game of Gillfords pre-season was arranged with some haste after the Unibond League hosts were let down at short notice. Nevertheless, Jimmy McMurdo was able to field a full squad against the Lancastrians, who started with a line-up of only ten players. During the summer Gillford's Steve Skinner put pen to paper and signed on at City, but turned out tonight in Gillfords colours, with Mark Butler, Danny Palmer, Lee Otway, Jack Twentyman and Dean Lamonby the other returning players in a travelling squad of fourteen. The game kicked off in fierce rain but was played at a tremendous pace, and the end to end football was a pleasure to watch. After thirty-minutes the game had it's first goal courtesy of Carl Waters, when a slip by a defender in the Gillford box allowed the forward to slot the ball home to give The Dolly Blues the lead, and the scores remained unchanged to the break. The 2nd half was the same with both teams going quick out of the box and the fast moving game caught Gillford out as Tom Entwhistle fired the home side into a commanding lead. Gillford's new boy's fitted in well and gave encouraging performances. The forward two of Otway and Rayson were linking up very well and closed down the home defence at every opportunity, and despite the deficit Gillford continued to play fast, flowing and skillful football. The positivity reaped dividends in the eightieth-minute when Otway finished a good move, when his shot, from the edge of the penalty area, nestled in the bottom corner. With the unrelenting downpour making the pitch heavy Gilly couldn't find the equaliser and the game finished 2-1, but nevertheless it was a very entertaining game with both teams well disciplined. Report courtesy of Mike Linden |