Gillingham More Gillingham >
Crawley sour grapes leave a bad taste!
Christmas could not have begun any better than by registering a convincing 4-1 victory at home to a struggling side relegated from the league above only last season. But the Boxing Day game has always the potential to dent any festive cheer from the previous day and with the Gills travelling to another side not faced during last season’s campaign, this time in promoted and top of the league Crawley Town, this would be a much sterner test. With seven wins and a draw since their last defeat at home and ten wins and three draws in all league games, Crawley went into the game highly fancied by many to extend their lead at the top but it seems nobody was accounting for Jo Kuffour! His mobility brought about a pivotal moment in the game where his quick feet led to a free kick and more crucially a red card for the home side.
This didn’t really affect the home side however as a spot kick awarded in their favour was converted to put them a goal up. But Kuffour, on his penultimate match for the club, got the Gills level and just two minutes later put the side ahead through more trickery that bemused the defenders around him as he sauntered at speed into the area before slotting underneath the ‘keeper. I doubt at that stage of the game the man advantage made that much of a difference but the game ended 2-1 to end Crawley’s long unbeaten spell and not only extend the Gills’ own unbeaten run but further push the side into a play-off spot.
Whilst the action on the field was of a usual nature, it was what happened off it that caught most of the attention. As the Gills players warmed down after the game, the lights were allegedly switched off leaving them quite literally in the dark. Comments from Crawley boss Steve Evans stating that the Gills’ fans would be celebrating “as if they had won the World Cup” managed to infuriate large sections of the faithful as well – an absurd statement considering that Crawley average home gates of 3,196 compared to the Gills’ 5,487! Not only that but the attendance for the Gills visit was by far their largest gate of the league season, swelled by the 1,300 plus fans from Kent, just eclipsing their previous best against Oxford where, again, over a thousand visitors came to the game.
With the Gills averaging over 500 away fans at grounds this season it is clear to me that Crawley clearly have delusions of grandeur. A lofty position does not necessarily create a “big” club and whether they stay there remains to be seen. Comments like those made by the Crawley boss are an insult to the bigger sides that often add fuel to the opposition’s fire, especially when his exceedingly controversial past is there for anyone to read should they put his name into any reputable news website. Of course, what he said may have been taken out of context and we won’t really know the truth but if what has been mentioned sounds a little unsavoury then what happened after the game was possibly worse. Reports of racist abuse from Hessy involved police action that was eventually dropped, apparently at the request of Evans himself. But whatever did or did not happen, the events after the game at the Broadfield stadium smacks of a side believing their own hype and being sore losers, something they will surely be reminded of when they visit Kent in March.
Posted by Gillingham fan Gary Wade
Featured ContributorsMore >
-
Jason Burt
The Telegraph's football correspondent Learn more >
-
Luke Moore
Co-founder of The Football Ramble podcast Learn more >
Watch it on BT Vision
-
Championship
-
Sat 19 May
- West Ham v Blackpool Live 2pm, Sky Sports 1
-
Champions League
-
Sat 19 May
- Bayern Munich v Chelsea Live 6pm, Sky Sports 1
NewsMore news >
-
Cheltenham to face Crewe at Wembley
Cheltenham withstood heavy first-half pressure before goals from Jermaine McGlashan and Marlon Pack secured a 2-1 win at Torquay to confirm their place in the npower League Two play-off final. Read more >
8 hours ago -
Green not deterred by SFA sanctions
Charles Green has signalled his intent to push through with a takeover of Rangers despite confirmation of a transfer embargo – but he revealed the club were still assessing a possible challenge to the Scottish Football Association sanctions. Read more >
10 hours ago
Most popular
4 weeks ago
4 hours ago
Comments
Please leave your comments using the box below. Learn more
BT is not responsible for any external content or links uploaded by users of the site. Nor does the presence of information or links about other parties' products or services confer any form of endorsement of another party's products or services by BT. Please show respect to other users and avoid bad language when posting