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Gillingham 0 Ipswich Town 0
FIVE months and a day since they sunk into the Championship’s bottom three, Gillingham finally got themselves out of the drop zone with a priceless point against Ipswich.
And it is a measure of how far they have progressed under Stan Ternent in recent weeks that they could even afford to feel disappointed not to claim all three points against a team chasing automatic promotion.
Gills’ goalless draw was so nearly a 1-0 win, with Mamady Sidibe failing to convert a one-on-one with two minutes to play and Jonathan Douglas hitting the underside of the bar in injury time.
But Coventry’s 1-0 defeat at new leaders Sunderland meant that those near misses could be forgotten, with Gillingham able to look down on three clubs below them for the first time since mid-October.
Before the match, assistant manager Ronnie Jepson had dismissed talk that Gillingham’s form – three wins and a draw in their last four games – would make them favourites against a team lying just three points off the top of the table.
The Gillingham team played like favourites, though, grabbing the initiative and taking the game to their illustrious visitors.
Mike Flynn capitalised on a mistake by Tommy Miller to test Ipswich keeper Kelvin Davis after 11 minutes and Darius Henderson made a dangerous break four minutes later. Sadly, the striker decided to try and win himself a penalty with a dramatic dive over Davis and deservedly earned himself a booking instead.
Gills should have been a goal to the good in the 18th minute when Richard Naylor could only deflect a Nicky Southall cross towards Henderson. Henderson headed it across goal and Sidibe sidefooted the ball agonisingly wide of the upright with Davis beaten.
The home side continued to dominate the play, with Nyron Nosworthy fizzing a shot well wide in the 32nd minute and Sidibe trying an ambitious 35-yard volley soon after.
And five minutes before the break Douglas came within a whisker of making the breakthrough when his mis-hit cross looked destined for the back of the net until the impressive Davis tipped it away with an acrobatic save.
The second-half was a scrappier affair, with Ipswich getting back into the game after introducing Jim Magilton into midfield.
Magilton nearly carved out a goal for Shefki Kuqi 10 minutes after the restart but his cross just eluded the 16-goal striker. It was a rare chance for Kuqi, who along with the highly-rated Darren Bent was being kept quiet by the Gills defence.
Bent did finally break clear in the 58th minute only for Jason Brown to rush out of goal and bring him down outside the box with a clumsy challenge. Referee Brian Curson opted for a yellow card rather than a red, though, and Brown gratefully scurried back into his goalmouth.
A minute earlier and Brown’s opposite number Davis had taken centre stage, diving full length to save a Flynn shot that had zipped through a crowd of players.
After that two-minute burst of action the match went into a lull for the next 25 minutes, with the game heading inexorably towards a goalless draw.
But with two minutes left on the clock, Douglas played a ball through and Sidibe outpaced Jason De Vos to find himself with only Davis to beat. The Mali international hesitated, though, and couldn’t force the ball past the keeper from a tight angle.
Roared on by a noisy home crowd, Gillingham kept pressing for a late winner and they nearly got what they deserved deep in injury time.
Substitute Darren Byfield and Sidibe combined to set up Douglas, who sent a vicious, rising shot past Davis. With the Rainham End rising as one to celebrate the winning goal, the ball cannoned back off the underside of the bar and was cleared to safety.
At the final whistle, Gillingham had every right to feel aggrieved that they hadn’t picked up another home win.
But after moving out of the relegation zone, stretching their unbeaten run to five games and outplaying one of the division’s top three, there were plenty of positives to concentrate on.
Gillingham: Brown, Nosworthy, Hope, Ashby, McEveley, Southall, Smith, Flynn, Douglas, Sidibe, Henderson (Byfield 74). Subs Not Used: Bossu, Crofts, Hills, Jarvis.
Attendance: 9,311
GILLS JURY
"Before the game I would have taken a draw but after the way we played we should have had all three points – especially after hitting the bar at the end. The whole team played well and we made Ipswich look pretty ordinary. Things are looking much more hopeful now and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel." Chris Jones, Strood
Team rating: 7
Star man: Mike Flynn
"If a neutral had been watching I think they would have struggled to tell who was third from top and who was third from bottom. On the balance of chances created we probably deserved all three points.
"Moving out of the bottom three is a psychological boost and there is more belief from the crowd now and I think the players have picked up on that." Gary Norman, Rainham
Team rating: 8
Star man: Paul Smith
"It was another good team display which limited Ipswich’s chances on goal. I can’t remember them really testing Jason Brown. We are finally out of the relegation zone and that’s a credit to Stan, Ronnie, the players and the fans. Let’s hope we can keep our good run of form going and continue to climb the table." Keith Pestell, Rainham
Team rating: 8
Star man: Nicky Southall
"I thought it was a hard-fought point and a real team performance. Ipswich had spells when they got on top but they never really scared us in front of goal. We could have won it but it’s just so nice to be out of the bottom three and hopefully we can keep picking up points." Paula Baker, Rochester
Team rating: 8
* KM-fm will be following Gillingham in their fight for Championship survival in every game home and away until the end of the season.
Tune in to your local KM-fm station for live updates with sports editor Simon Watts in 'Sportswatch' every Saturday from 2pm, plus score flashes from all Kent's other matches.
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