Macclesfield Town 0 Gillingham 0
Published: 17:00, 10 December 2011
Curtis Weston tries to break the deadlock during Gillingham's 0-0 draw at Macclesfield Picture: Barry Goodwin
by Luke Cawdell
Gillingham were held to a second successive goalless draw in League 2.
In a match that had few chances, the Gills will be looking to the positives after extending their unbeaten run to seven games.
Chances were few and far between in the opening half for both teams but Macclesfield posed more problems. Gillingham’s best spell came at the start of the second half.
It needed a sliding tackle from Jack Payne to deny Matthew Hamshaw after 12 minutes, while at the other end, shots from Jo Kuffour and Jack Payne were blocked before getting anywhere near Jose Veiga’s goal.
Macclesfield always looked dangerous when the ball was whipped into the box as they had the height advantage. Nat Brown flicked a chance just wide for the hosts and Andy Frampton had to hack the ball clear just before the interval.
Gillingham’s best chance of the opening half was made by Danny Kedwell, as he turned left-back Carl Tremarco inside out, but Veiga was there to save the shot from an angle.
The Gills made a good start to the second half and soon after the restart Weston forced Veiga into making a decent save to deny his acrobatic effort.
Moments later Veiga was called upon again, parrying Danny Jackman’s low drive before denying Weston from the follow-up.
At the other end, Vinny Mukendi beat the Gills offside trap but trod on the ball.
The early goal-mouth action soon dried up before, with 70 minutes gone, Macclesfield’s George Donnelly dragged a shot wide from distance.
With just over 10 minutes left, the Gills introduced on-loan West Ham striker Frank Nouble to try and create a winner.
Fellow substitute Chris Whelpdale tried a shot from distance but that was blocked by a defender. There was little else of note in a game that won’t live long in the memory.
Gillingham: Flitney, Lee (Lawrence 64mins), Martin, Frampton, Richards, J Payne, Jackman, Montrose, Weston (Whelpdale 88mins), Kedwell, Kuffour (Nouble 78mins). Subs: S Payne, Gazzaniga.
Macclesfield: Veiga, Bateson, Tremarco, Brown, Donnelly, Mukendi (Fairhurst 74mins), Daniel, Diagne, Brisley, Wedgbury, Hamshaw. Subs: Morgan, Mendy, Boden, Thomas.
Attendance: 1,724
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