And so to Cheltenham

[The Cat Man]

Lovely town, stayed overnight on Saturday, nice meal and too much wine, even Mrs Cat didn`t seen to mind this away trip.

Sunday afternoon just about sums up being a Gills fan. They score early on , wwe are totally appalling , we could not cope with the pitch and in the most part not up for it. We were so poor inthe first thirty mins it was like watching a pub team. Livened up a touch pre half time , good efffort from Cody well saved and a speculative effort from Barcham. Halftime must has been the Hessie hairdryer treatment because in the second half we were pretty bloody good, creating chance after chance, good goalkeeing the woodwork and off the clearances kept us out...Then came Cody with two goals in the last four mins...job done...I would point out Mrs Cat wanted to leave with 5 mins to go...as we know after Man City at Wembley anything can happen in a couple of mins, especially being a Gills fan

Julian - 6 - decent second half save, kicking form floor much improved...I have no confidence in him, nor does Lawrence the amount of times he was screaming at him.

Fuller - 7- better performance, linked up well second half with midfield.

Lawrence - 7 - marshalled the defence well, he and Richrds went missing for their goal - though it was a very good cross.

Richards - 6 - better than last week , but that doesn`t say a lot...hoof merchant

Martin - 7 - I so prefer him to nutter, poor clearance before their goal only real blemish

Maher - 5 - disappointing afternoon, he took all free kicks pre Spiller - they we all average.

Payne - 7 - was our best player in a poor first half , coped best with poor pitch...really tries hard.

Barcham -6 - Worked hard , had a couple of half decent efforts, felt things didn`t happen for him on poor pitch.

Weston - 6 - sublime to the ridiculous...simple passes not a chance, beat three players and whip in a dangerous ball under pressure - easy

Bayo - 7- poor first half, fantastic second half, great ball for Codys winner

McDonald - 8 - MOM, had one shot in the first half apart from that nowhere to be seen. Seond period he looked a class act - two goals

OlI - 4 - one trick pony, bambi on ice etc etc

Rooney - 7 - lively ,tried things, must be given more chances

Spiller - 7 - livened things up, looked fresh and up for it...could start next week

Hess - good changes, good hairdryer...must have felt why does he bother after 30 mins.

Methinks playoffs

The CatMAN...sort it out Hess

[nickthehoover]

Agree on the most part with your summary Cat Man, however I would differ slightly with your ratings:

Julian 7 - Made a couple of good saves and distribution was ok
Fuller 8 - One of his best games, got forward a lot and put some good balls in the box
Richards 7.5 - Won plenty of headers and was solid against Goulding
Lawrence 7 - Not up to his usual standard, particularly in the first half when he seemed to struggle with the pace of Thomas
Martin 7 - Solid, crossing was ok but a couple of times he was beaten by Low
Weston 8 - First half he was most lively and creative, and he only got better when put in mis 'proper' position of central midfield. However, sometimes his basic passing lets him down.
Maher 5 - Struggled to get the ball down on a poor pitch and didn't protect the back 4 adequately enough. Deservd to be brought off
J.Payne 8 - Lively in the first half with his closing down and it was a shame he had to come off injured
Barcham 7 - Didn't get involved in first half but second half was much more lively, however he tired towards the end
McDonald 8 - Some good endeavor without having any real chances, however he's in the team to score goals and scored 2 so we can't complain.
Akinfenwa 7 - Fair play to Cheltenham, they stopped the ball in to his feet on a lot of occassions but when we did get it to him he certianly caused their defence problems.

Subs:
Oli 6 - Won a few balls in the air however offers little with the ball at his feet
Spiller 7 - Lively, creative and certainly made a difference from Maher
Rooney 7 - As with Spiller he made an impact on the game.

Hessenthaler 10 - Got his starting 11 right, bringing Martin in and I thought he got his subs spot on, right players on and off and at the right times encourgaing us to go forward. Obviously motivated the players at half time and he should take a lot of credit for this win.

[Deleted]

I think both of you have been a touch generous with your ratings. We were better in the 2nd half, but we lucky not to be 2-0 down at half time (though it could have been 2-1 if the ref had given a clear pen) and had maybe only 2 moments of menace in the first half. We also defended poorly as a unit in the first half. For me as well, Hess was miles too conservative with his team selection. He was going to "shake it up." If one change is shaking it up, I give up! For me:

Julian 5 - Messed up for corner that led to goal, command of area and communication poor. My view may be a little tempered by the fact that my mate reckons his long hair makes him look like Jim Carrey and the chaps sitting behind me kept singing clown music when he got the ball!
Fuller 8 - Brought down for clear pen, got forward well and defended well. Also great to see him try to rally the troops in first half like a proper captain.
Richards 6 - Won ariel battle, but struggled for pace on a number of occasions. Distribution awful
Lawrence 5 - Worst performance since he first came to the club. Could have been booked in first half, deserved to be in 2nd. Looked off the pace, distrubution poor.
Martin 6 - Horrid first 20 mins, then recovered to look composed. His poor clearance led to goal. Needs to do better if he's going to win a new deal and replace Nutter. Corners were OK.
Weston 7 - Vacated right side too often and needs to be a better outlet for Fuller if he's playing there. Run at people though, 1 fabulous cross and passing generally good. I think he needs to play in the middle if we're going to go up.
Maher 5 - Worst he's played for ages. Lumped ball forward, given run around in midfield.
Payne 7 - Only player in the first half who looked like he'd not had a hard night out on the sauce. Range of passing excellent, tackled well and put himself about.
Barcham 6 - Only 1 real moment of quality with a great run and ball to Bayo that should have led to a goal. Didn't see enough of the ball, but worked hard as usual.
McDonald 8 - 3 chances (missed a sitter) 2 goals. I dread to think where we'd be without him.
Akinfenwa 7 - Our distribution to the big man was awful. Lumping it to him when he's got 2 men on him was silly. As ever, he made something happen out of nothing. Great cross for our winner.

Subs:
Oli 5 - Won a couple of headers but looks like he's lost his pace. Far too narrow for someone brought on to play wide right.
Spiller 9 - Changed the game for me. Came on, won the ball and passed it to a blue shirt. Drive, determination. Must start Saturday if fit enough.
Rooney 7 - I moan he never makes an impact, he did. The catalyst for our equaliser, looked dangerous, wanted to get involved. Plays like that and he could threaten Barch for his place.

Hess 7 - Team selection was way too cautious playing 2 holding midfielders again, but fair play, subs changed the game and I'm sure there were words at half time. Wouldn't be surprised if we owe Cheltenham a new dressing room door. Must move Weston into the middle and get Spiller involved on Saturday, maybe on the right.

[ollybeak]

you're correct about moving Spills to the right. so many times yesterday Barry had no one to pass to on the right hand side,so had to hoof the ball in the general direction of Bayo.Not Barry's fault at all,and that was the best performance I've seen from him.

[swansgills888]

cody done the business.
bayo made it happen.
rooney is a first team player in my eyes with excellent vision.
fuller had his best game in a gills shirt today.
julian was ok but still suspect.
oli came on and looked lifeless, he looked terribly off the pace..

the rest of the team played ok on a bumpy surface, but enjoyed a lovely day out in a beautiful spa town and the result made my journey home to swansea that much sweater after placing a 200 pound bet on us to win.

up the gills !!!!

[ollybeak]

I bet you was sweating with 5 minutes to go.