NO ONE wants to lose a match, especially to local rivals, but to have the game settled by a last minute own goal will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the masses of Millwall fans who made the trip to Medway last night

Those expecting a blood and thunder clash in this Worthington Cup match, were sadly disappointed as the game was played a surprisingly slow tempo - until the last 10 minutes.

The game started well for Gills and were in front in the fifth minute through the prodigious Marlon King - with a little help from Lions' left back Robbie Ryan. David Perpetuini's cross was coolly chested down by Ryan but the ball ran away from him and King placed it into the corner of the net.

Halfway through the first half the home side suffered a setback when Onuora seemed to pull a hamstring and was replaced by Guy Ipoua. Most of the first half pressure came from Millwall and Gills went into the break lucky to have retained their lead.

And it didn't last long after the break. Millwall's Sadlier was the provider. He ran at pace at the Gills defence and played Ryan in and although Bartram came rushing off his line and saved bravely at his feet the ball ricocheted to Moody who guided it into the net past Pennock.

As the game seemed to be ebbing towards extra time, it exploded into life.with close attempts on both. Gills had Bartram to thank three minutes from the end when he made a brave stop from Ifill after a slip by Perpetuini. And Cahill put a shot over the bar from Sadlier's knockdown from the resulting throw.

But as the 7,511 inside Priestfield were readying themselves for extra time, Ipoua, who had struggled to make an impact all night, collected the ball and burst through the Millwall defence.

Just as he was about to unleash his shot from the penalty spot, Nethercott stuck his boot in to try and clear but only managed to steer the ball into the net.