Historic Victory for Gills

Gillingham recorded their first ever victory over Yeovil Town at a wet and windy Priestfield.

Simeon Jackson`s 10th minute penalty was enough to earn the home side all three points, although they had plenty of chances to make the win far more comfortable.

The Gills struck the woodwork twice during the match, while Simon Royce pulled off a superb save late on to deny Yeovil in a game in which Gillingham easily did enough to deserve the points, despite not taking full advantage of the chances they created.

Simeon Jackson returned to the Gillingham starting line-up having missed out at Bristol Rovers on Saturday, with Mark Stimson reverting to a 4-4-2 formation.

Gillingham made a flying start to the match, and could have taken the lead within a few minutes of the kick-off, had Curtis Weston`s low effort not been well pushed to safety by Alex McCarthy in the Yeovil goal.

As it was, the home side took the lead just minutes later.

Febian Brandy`s turn of pace tricked the defence and he was bundled over as he burst into the penalty area. The referee pointed to the spot in spite of protests from the Glovers, and Simeon Jackson gratefully accepted the opportunity to claim his 12th goal of the season, skilfully chipping into the roof of the net on the back of two penalty misses in his last two attempts for club and country.

Five minutes later McCarthy was again responsible for keeping the Gills at bay.

A superb flowing move saw Andy Barcham beat his man and play a neat one-two with Febian Brandy. The ball was squared to Jackson, whose low half volley was well held by the goalkeeper.

Yeovil couldn`t cope with the pressure being applied by the home team, and McCarthy had to react quickly to get down to Barcham`s low effort after another slick move.

Minutes later, Febian Brandy struck the crossbar with a wicked snap-shot from a wide position, and the Gills were left wondering how on earth they only lead by one goal.

Yeovil manager Terry Skiverton made a tactical change mid-way through the half, replacing Scott Murray with Sam Williams to try and solidify the midfield.

This appeared to have the desired effect, as Gillingham began to find it more difficult to pass the ball.

However, they did create another good chance before the end of the half. Brandy forced McCarthy into another fine save, and Palmer`s effort from the rebound only just missed the target.

The visitors barely created anything in the first half, struggling to get any sort of shot away. They were restricted to one effort from range and two corners, neither of which will have worried goalkeeper Royce.

The Gills went in at the break with a deserved lead, but will have been desperately hoping that their wastefulness in front of goal didn`t come back to haunt them.

The second half took a while to really get going, and neither side managed to create much in the way of chances.

This was, until out of nowhere, Gillingham struck the woodwork for the second time in the match.

They were awarded a free-kick 25 yards from goal, from which Barry Fuller struck a powerful effort which smacked full on into McCarthy`s left-hand post, and bounced away to safety.

Yeovil tried to press forward in search of an equaliser, but a lack of quality on the part of both sides, possibly due to the unfavourable conditions, meant the second half didn`t flow anywhere to the level that the first did.

In the 73rd minute, Simon Royce was to thank for keeping his team`s slender lead intact.

Ryan Mason`s free-kick was headed back across goal, where Sam Williams` close range header was brilliant clawed away by Royce.

This was to be as good as it got for the visitors, whose challenge was effectively halted in the 80th minute when JP Kalala was shown his second yellow card.

Gillingham were happy to keep hold of the ball and wind the clock down, and went on to earn yet another home win.

They have only lost once at home in the league all season, and if they could repeat that type of form on the road, would be much closer to the top of the table, as opposed to being nearer the bottom end where they currently reside.

Next up for Mark Stimson`s men is an FA Cup Second Round tie at home to Burton Albion on Saturday, where the Gills will be looking to make it through to the Third Round and set up a match similar to last season`s lucrative meeting with Aston Villa.