Gilly Gilly Hessenthaler Akinfenwa Barcham by the Sea

This is a preview I originally wrote for www.rageonline.co.uk.   Any amendments and corrections will be in italics.

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On Saturday Oxford United pay a visit to Gillingham FC’s Priestfield ground, after the midweek trip to Southend on the opposite side of the river.  Back in the Conference days, the East London pairing used to be Ebbsfleet and Grays, so this makes a welcome change.  This visit is the club’s first since August 2005 when United lost 1-0 in the league cup to then League One Gills, and prior to that was in 2000 in Division Two (current League One), when United also lost 1-0.  In the home fixture in November 2010, the Gills finally broke their string of 35 away games without victory, which had stretched back through the whole of the previous season to May 2009.  Cody McDonald scored the solitary goal in United’s defeat, and with fifteen league goals is now just two behind Rotherham United’s Adam Le Fondre.    

On Tuesday night, the Yellows travelled to Southend, and although the temperature had warmed considerably from the prior Saturday, the Us lost 2-1 for the second consecutive away game on a misty night, despite taking a well worked early lead.  That game saw Damien Batt sent off with a straight red card, and so he will miss three matches, presumably Ben Purkiss will take his place, and that change will perhaps give Potter a start too to provide some danger from the wing.    

After the victory in November, Gillingham strung together another four straight wins, gaining manager Andy Hessenthaler the December manager of the month award.  In their last six games, they have beaten Stockport (currently 24^th), Northampton (13^th) and Aldershot (16^th), drawn with Torquay (14^th) and Stevenage (12^th), and lost to Chesterfield (1^st). 

Gillingham are currently 8^th in the league with 41 points from 28 games, just two places ahead of The Yellows who dropped to tenth place midweek and remain on 39 points, also having played 28. 

Apart from a 5-1 victory over basement club Stockport, most of the Gill’s recent games have been fairly low scoring, with neither them nor their opponents scoring more than two goals.  As has been heavily trailed elsewhere, United have not kept a clean sheet for a record 22 league games, but are not bottom of the clean sheets list in League 2, as Macclesfield have only achieved three this season, United’s start to the season giving them five, last seen at Hereford.  As a score prediction, both sides will score at least one goal, and for the game to finish 2-1, hopefully this time to United. 

There are several ways of getting to Gillingham by train from London, departing variously from London Victoria, Charing Cross, Waterloo East and St Pancras International.  Escalator works at Victoria tube station should be avoided if possible, and so your previewer will take his first football trip on the High Speed train from St Pancras.

On the day match tickets are a staggering £23.00 for adults in the uncovered Brian Moore stand.  Although a £3 advance discount was available, breaking through the £20 barrier seems expensive for uncovered seating and is one of the highest ticket prices we will see this season.