League

Epsom Park
Spectators: 6841 (Terracing: 5000, Seating: 1841, VIP seats: 0) Gus Short made the kick off and thus started the match. After 5 minutes of play, Gillingham's Crispin Hoskins made it 0-1 when he simply outclassed the defender marking him and hit a curling shot into the right side of the net. Rod Beadle was left in no man's land by his defense there! If Franz Paine had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 11th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. Gus Short recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 16th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Crispin Hoskins in the 18th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Rod Beadle saved Epsom from getting behind. After a rather tough play, Epsom's Gaz Burton got a free kick in the 18th minute. In the 20th minute, Gus Short 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. Andrew Kindness struck a weak shot in the 24th minute. Edward Harper didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for Epsom. Rod Beadle took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gus Short , even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Pat Deaconsfield hit a great freekick 29 minutes into the match. The supporters of Gillingham booed when Epsom was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 32 match minutes in a wonderful position. Gaz Burton didn't get a good kick on the ball. After 37 played minutes Epsom got a freekick which was hit by Gaz Burton . Gillingham's Crispin Hoskins got a good chance for a goal in the 38th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. The supporters of Gillingham booed when Epsom was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 39 match minutes in a wonderful position. Gaz Burton didn't get a good kick on the ball. In the 42nd minute Gus Short shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Rod Beadle saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. In the 44th minute Pat Deaconsfield suffered a foot injury and had to be helped off the field. Peter Botham charged in rather forcefully in the 44th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Peter Botham the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. After a rather tough play, Epsom's Peter Botham got a free kick in the 45th minute. After 46 played minutes, Gillingham's Scott Moody shot from a long distance, and at first it looked like the ball was going into the goal, but the goalkeeper Rod Beadle 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 Gillingham reached it. Luck had favoured the away team in the first, and they walked off with a 0-1 lead.

The players of the home team were most fresh-looking when they entered the field to play the second half. Andrew Kindness was the one to do the kick off. In the 52nd minute, Franz Paine ran past the defenders and hit a shot which went straight ahead into goal. Edward Harper was frozen by the shot and now it was 1-1. Edward Harper showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Franz Paine in the 56th minute of the match. Crispin Hoskins recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 58th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. Crispin Hoskins sent away a hard shot on goal in the 60th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. An unexpectedly hard shot by Andrew Kindness in the 66th minute of play forced Gillingham's goalkeeper Edward Harper to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. In the 69th minute there was a penalty for Epsom. Donald Wilkes stepped forward and shot the ball to the right of a diving Edward Harper . 2-1. Franz Paine recieved an excellent pass in front of the goal in the 74th minute. Unfortunately, he received the ball on his off foot and could only manage a weak shot that went over the goal. In the 76th match minute, Gillingham was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Eric Hatcher to maneuver through the defense. Epsom's Andrew Kindness got a good chance for a goal in the 78th minute, but he totally mistimed the shot and it went over the crossbar. If Franz Paine had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 83rd minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. In the 89th minute, Andrew Kindness 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. The supporters of Gillingham booed when Epsom was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 91 match minutes in a wonderful position. Gaz Burton didn't get a good kick on the ball. Crispin Hoskins received a nice pass in the box and took a hard shot in the 95th minute. Rod Beadle tensed up and prepared to dive, but the shot went over the goal with him having to interfere. Gaz Burton hit a great freekick 96 minutes into the match. Sammy Briggs 's late challenge caught a Gillingham's player on the shin and left him crawling around in pain. The referee blew his whistle and produced the yellow card. Sammy Briggs helped the player get up and apologised. The supporters of Gillingham booed when Epsom was adjudged a doubtful freekick after 98 match minutes in a wonderful position. Sammy Briggs didn't get a good kick on the ball. Scott Moody , 99 minutes into the match, dribbled the ball up the side of the field and decided to take a long shot at the goal. Unfortunately, the ball was poorly hit and landed closer to the corner than to the goal. Epsom's supporters were highly satisfied with the result. They cheered their team of the pitch, having watched them win a very even match.