League

Gillingham
Spectators: 5000 (Terracing: 4000, Seating: 1000, VIP seats: 0) Wes Wills started the match with the kick off in front of an excited audience. If Wes Wills had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 5th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Halesowen FC's Gav Blakewell proved his good apprehension of play when he, in the 7th minute of the match, managed to save Halesowen FC from getting a goal against them. Jacob Ellerby hit a great freekick 9 minutes into the match. Glenn Brindley sent away a hard shot on goal in the 12th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Rupert Dunne had several of the Halesowen FC's defenders around him in the penalty area when he, after 20 minutes of play, received a pass and succeeded in some way to shoot a shot which went straight ahead into goal. This resulted in a 1-0 score and a disappointed Gav Blakewell as he didn't even see the shot coming. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Rupert Dunne in the 23rd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Gav Blakewell prevented the ball from getting in the gole. Glenn Brindley fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 27th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Gav Blakewell having to interfere. Halesowen FC's Gav Blakewell played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rupert Dunne in the 33rd minute of play. When Darius Earnshaw fell near the penalty area in the 36th minute he thought he would be awarded a free kick. The referee ignored Gillingham's protests and gave Darius Earnshaw a yellow card for diving instead. Darius Earnshaw hit a great freekick 36 minutes into the match. After 40 minutes of play, Gillingham's Glenn Brindley made it 2-0 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Gav Blakewell was left in no man's land by his defense there! After 44 played minutes, Halesowen FC's Stephen Litchfield shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Silvester Robson came through and got his fingers on the ball before it flew over the goal line. He then quickly gripped the ball tighter before the forwards in Halesowen FC reached it. After a defensive mix-up in Halesowen FC's zone, Rupert Dunne stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Gav Blakewell came out of the goal and Rupert Dunne tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. 48 minutes into the match, Gillingham's Rupert Dunne sent off a blazing shot straight on target, a shot that Gav Blakewell narrowly saved just below the crossbar. No-one was surprised that the home team were leading 2-0 at half-time.

Gav Blakewell made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Rupert Dunne in the 56th minute of play. If Glenn Brindley had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 57th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. The audience was convinced that Rupert Dunne's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but Gav Blakewell was relentless in the 59th minute of the game. The Gillingham fans' excitement grew in the 62nd match minute when Gillingham's Rupert Dunne looked to have a clear shot with the ball near the goal. The shot wasn't hard, but the ball still rolled over the goal line to make it 4-0 before the goalkeeper had a chance to intervene. If Rupert Dunne had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 68th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After a defensive mix-up in Halesowen FC's zone, Glenn Brindley stole the ball and had only the goalie to beat. Gav Blakewell came out of the goal and Glenn Brindley tried to chip the ball over his head. To his dismay, the ball went over the crossbar and out of play. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Rupert Dunne in the 72nd minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Gav Blakewell prevented the ball from getting in the gole. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Glenn Brindley in the 75th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Gav Blakewell saved Halesowen FC from getting behind. When Glenn Brindley came up free with the goalie in the 77th minute, the Gillingham fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Glenn Brindley couldn't finish the play. Halesowen FC's Gav Blakewell played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Rupert Dunne in the 79th minute of play. Gillingham's Rupert Dunne got a good chance for a goal in the 88th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. Gav Blakewell made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Glenn Brindley in the 92nd minute of play. In the 96th minute, Rupert Dunne got an opportunity to score, but he didn't get a solid hit on the ball and ended up kicking it wide of the goal. There were very few away supporters still in the ground by the end of the match. Most of them had left early, disgusted by the way their team had been torn apart. Gillingham fully deserved thier win.