Millwall 4 Gillingham 1

DARREN BYFIELD struck a second half hat-trick to break Gillingham’s hearts on New Year’s Day.

The striker, who left the Gills in the summer for the London side, turned in a match-winning display to bury his former side at The New Den.

Gillingham had taken an early lead but a mixture of defensive blunders and controversial refereeing decisions let the home side back in the match.

The Gills boss Ronnie Jepson wasn’t prepared to blame the officials alone though as he blasted the side’s defending.

“The goals we conceded were self inflicted,” he said. “They were ridiculous really and when you concede goals like that you can’t win a football game.

“There were a few debatable decisions but sometimes you can look for too many excuses.

“We’ve got to defend better than that and the decision making has to be better in certain aspects of our play.”

After just ten minutes Gillingham took the lead, when Michael Flynn’s long throw went through to Mulligan, and the Irish striker turned and planted the ball past keeper Lenny Pidgeley.

Both sides struggled to find their rhythm as the half wore on, but the Gills were looking in charge before some sloppy defending handed Millwall the chance to equalise.

Substitute Chris Zebroski was the man to level the scores, as he stabbed the ball home from close range, when Clint Easton failed to clear Neal Ardley’s cross with seven minutes of the half remaining.

Despite conceding, Gillingham ended the half on top and should have gone ahead again, but Matt Jarvis failed to make the most of his chance, after Mark Bentley had played him into space with a sublime through ball.

The shot went curling wide but the Gills left the field with their tails up and primed to beat an average Millwall side.

Just five minutes into the second half, however, Millwall were awarded a penalty, when Duncan Jupp was adjudged to have tripped Byfield in the area, and the striker stepped up to score the resulting spot kick.

If Gillingham had felt hard done by with the second goal, they were again on the receiving end of a controversial decision, when Byfield took the ball from a clear off-side position to scored goal number three on 79 minutes.

Millwall were cruising after the third goal and a pass forward through Gillingham’s defence allowed Byfield to take the ball and add goal number four.

Ben May crashed a header off the bar as Millwall went for a fifth goal and Dean Brill also made a stunning save to deny Byfield his fourth in stoppage time.

Gillingham: Brill, Jupp (Ndumbu-Nsungu 84), Easton, Sancho, Crofts, Chorley, Savage, Flynn, Bentley (Spiller 78), Mulligan, Jarvis.
Subs not used: Pouton, Jackman, Johnson.
Attendance: 10,055.