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Gillingham 0-2 Ipswich Town - Match Report
Tuesday, 5th Oct 2021 20:56

Joe Pigott and Conor Chaplin were on target as a much-changed Town side comfortably beat Gillingham 2-0 at the Priestfield Stadium in the Papa John’s Trophy. Pigott gave Town the lead in the 43rd minute and Chaplin added the second on 71 with the Blues deserved victors.

Town boss Paul Cook made 11 changes from the team which was beaten 2-1 at Accrington on Saturday, starting seven players who were in the squad last season.

Former Gill Tomas Holy was in goal with Kane Vincent-Young at right-back and Myles Kenlock making his first competitive start at any level this season at left-back. Toto Nsiala skippered alongside Luke Woolfenden at the centre of the defence.

Rekeem Harper and Idris El Mizouni were the central midfielders with Kyle Edwards on the left, Kayden Jackson on the right and Conor Chaplin the number 10. Pigott was the lone striker.

Youngsters Albie Armin, Cameron Humpreys and Zanda Siziba were among the subs along with 21-year-old recent Australian signing Tete Yengi, a forward, who only made his first start for the U23s yesterday.

Sone Aluko was a conspicuous absentee from the players who have been on the fringes with the Nigerian international believed to have picked up a knock.

For Gillingham, one-time Town academy youngster Stuart O’Keefe captained a side featuring seven changes from the team which lost 2-0 at home to Wigan on Saturday. The Gills named only six subs.

Ahead of kick-off both teams, aside from Nsiala, took a knee to applause from the very sparse crowd.

Rain started to fall heavily as the Blues dominated the ball in the early stages and threatened for the first time in the ninth minute when, following a long spell of possession, Vincent-Young played a low ball from the right to Pigott on the edge of the box from where the one-time Gills loanee hit a first-time effort just over the bar.

On 11 Pigott fed in Jackson, who had swapped flanks with Edwards but soon switched back again, but the former Accrington man ran into trouble. At the other end, O’Keefe hit the home side’s first shot over following an error by Harper.

Town continued to dominate, keeping possession for spells and throwing in the occasional long ball for Pigott, Jackson or Edwards to chase, and in the 17th minute Chaplin turned a Vincent-Young cross from the right well wide.

Three minutes later, Harper sent Vincent-Young away down the right with Chaplin in space in the middle but the cross was far too strong for the former Barnsley and Portsmouth man.

The game continued in the same pattern and might have done better in the 27th minute when Vincent-Young fed in Jackson breaking behind him and the forward crossed low but behind Chaplin. The ball fell to Pigott and the striker eventually managed to get in a shot on the turn but over the bar.


Two minutes later, Edwards tricked his way past Jack Tucker on the byline and ended up on the ground. The ex-West Brom man looked to have been fouled but referee Trevor Kettle wasn’t interested and Town’s protests were surprisingly muted.

After Nsiala and Vincent-Young had blocked Charlie Kelman shots just inside the Town box, the Blues broke quickly down the right. Jackson crossed and it fell to Pigott, whose shot was blocked by a defender, then the loose ball hit him and ran to Gills keeper Aaron Chapman, at 6ft 8in tall only an inch shorter than Blues number one Holy.

Chaplin shot wide from the edge of the box in the 33rd minute with the Blues maintaining their dominance but still without finding the net.

The Gills began to show more as half-time approached and on 40 Kelman struck a 25-yard shot which Holy let through his fingers and over.

But in the 43rd minute the Blues finally took the lead. Jackson was played in by Chaplin on the right and sent over a perfectly-weighted low cross which Pigott slammed into the roof of the net from the edge of the six-yard box.

The Blues deserved their lead at the break having been well on top during an entertaining first 45 minutes.

The only thing that had been missing was the goal with Pigott taking the chance just before half-time confidently after Chaplin and Jackson had done well on the right.

The second half started as the first had ended with the Blues pushing for a second. Harper failed to find Edwards with the most difficult of three possible passes as Town broke quickly in numbers, then a Pigott reverse pass to Chaplin was cut out by a defender. On 53 Pigott hit a low shot wide from the edge of the box.

In the 57th minute Robbie McKenzie was booked for clipping Jackson’s heels as the Town man broke down the right.

A minute later, Chaplin lifted a ball over the backline for Edwards, who might have made more of it had he anticipated it making it over a defender. Soon after, Vincent-Young made a strong run with the ball down the middle but was halted on the edge of the box.

Just after the hour mark, Kenlock picked out Harper with an excellent cross from the left but the ex-West Brom man scuffed his volley when he should have scored.

Gillingham claimed a penalty in the 66th minute when Kelman went to ground in the area but the striker appeared to have dived. As Town broke, Bailey Akehurst went in late on Vincent-Young and was booked.

Two minutes later, the Gills again appealed for a penalty after O’Keefe ended up on the deck as the Blues cleared from a corner. Again referee Kettle showed no interest.

On 70 El Mizouni, again impressive and looking every bit a senior player in central midfield, shot over from 25 yards following a Town break down the right, Chaplin having laid it back to the Tunisia international from a Jackson cross.

Two minutes later, it was 2-0. Holy caught a poor Gillingham free-kick from left and threw it out to Pigott on the left. The striker took it inside a few paces and played a ball over the top for Chaplin in space. The Gills waited for a flag that never came - Tucker appeared to be playing the Town forward onside - and Chaplin confidently beat the keeper to score his second of the season and all but seal the victory.

Having doubled their lead, Town immediately swapped Pigott and Edwards for James Norwood and Louie Barry.

On 77 Holy did superbly to get across to his left to push Kelman’s deflected effort just past his post.

A minute later at the other end, Chapman palmed away a Chaplin strike as the Blues looked for a third.

El Mizouni was booked for a foul on 85 having made on two earlier transgressions which had gone unpunished before Siziba replaced Chaplin.

A minute later, Barry twisted and turned having been found on the left of the box by Siziba but Chapman saved well down to his left.

In the penultimate minute of regular time, Siziba curled a shot not too far wide after the Kent side had repeatedly failed to clear their lines.

Deep in injury time, Harper shot well wide after the ball had fallen to him after Barry had been dispossessed as he tried to find himself room to shoot.

Town were well worth their win having been in control from virtually start to finish and might well have won by a greater margin.

The result leaves everyone in the group on three points having played two games apiece with the Blues, who are top on goal difference, facing Colchester at home in their final fixture on Tuesday 9th November.

Gillingham: Chapman, O'Keefe (c), Ehmer (Lintott 60), Tucker, Kelman, Lee, Reeves (Lloyd 73), McKenzie, Akinde (Sithole 73), Bennett, Akehurst. Unused: Cumming, Tutonda, Adshead.

Town: Holy, Vincent-Young, Woolfenden, Nsiala (c), Kenlock, Harper, El Mizouni, Jackson, Chaplin (Siziba 85), Edwards (Barry 73), Pigott (Norwood 73). Unused: Hladky, Armin, Humphreys, Yengi. Referee: Trevor Kettle (Rutland). Att: 1,116 (Town: 224).


Photo: Matchday Images



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BromleyBloo added 20:58 - Oct 5
Decent, especially given the changes - not great, but deserved win over poor Gills side.
Chaplin MOTM and VYoung looked sharp coming forward - can we fit him in the team defensively because no question he suits our system and was on fire last season when he first arrived? El Mizouni also very solid performance in the middle and a clean sheet.

COYB and can we have another Doncaster performance against the Shrews please, so we can hope for another new dawn (false or otherwise)………………

5

cat added 20:58 - Oct 5
Good morale boosting win (although in a poxy cup) and a very useful run out for the fringe players. One things for sure is that we are scoring for fun, with goals coming from midfield and up top. We just need to get a few wins on the board to compliment our much improved entertaining brand of front foot football :-)
8

FramlinghamBlue added 20:59 - Oct 5
Papa John's is the real quiz!
3

BlueRuin69 added 21:03 - Oct 5
Last 5 games won 3 drawn 1 lost 1 = Gelling. Coyb
0

Edmundo added 21:03 - Oct 5
Which was a more irrelevant cup: Papa John's or the Simod?! Still, a win's a win.
1

Edinburgh_Blue added 21:05 - Oct 5
@FramlinghamBlue. Love The Office reference. 😄
0

masetheace added 21:10 - Oct 5
Now play the same team at the weekend !
-6

dirtydingusmagee added 21:10 - Oct 5
Well a win in a cup comp is a rare event. away from home and a clean sheet, so something be happy about .Well done lads.Now lets see the first team do a job on the Shrews.
11

martin587 added 21:15 - Oct 5
Very good all round performance.For me El Mizouni just about shaded It and Chaplin also.So to cut a long story short …very encouraging.Nice easy drive back to Southend and should be home by 10.30.
5

DaGremloid added 21:16 - Oct 5
Cat - why are you so anti cup competitions? What's wrong with a decent cup run for a change?
0

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 21:16 - Oct 5
Not sure this was our reserve team.
0

midastouch added 21:18 - Oct 5
Don't get me wrong, a win is always welcome. However, here comes the but...
Why on earth drag this tournament out with group games? Surely a straight knockout format would be a lot less painful for all concerned! I can just about handle group games in the World Cup and the Euros, but group games killed the Champions League and the Europa League for me! And group games in the Papa St Joke trophy really is scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as I'm concerned. Straight knockout games would more than suffice for this trophy!
7

BromleyBloo added 21:33 - Oct 5
………and, hey, thanks to Dobra, we're top of the table:

Team P W D L GD Pts
1 Ipswich 2 1 0 1 1 3
2 West Ham U21 2 1 0 1 0 3
3 Colchester 2 1 0 1 0 3
4 Gillingham 2 1 0 1 -1 3
2

ArnieM added 21:37 - Oct 5
Well played you Blues. The more I see if El Mizouni , the more I like him. Chaplin also had a very good game. My only criticism is that we can at times tend to over complicate our play.
8

blueboy1981 added 21:39 - Oct 5
100% improvement on Saturday's First Team … !!!
Much better performance - well done.
3

KiwiTractor added 21:46 - Oct 5
Well done lads
2

cat added 21:55 - Oct 5
DaGremloid I ain't got nothing against cup comps but see this one as a player development cup.Hope Cooks goes full on at the FA Cup cause them games are special.
4

algarvefan added 21:56 - Oct 5
I have to say I really liked Chaplin tonight, thought he was MOM and worked so hard for the team. He has looked a little short on confidence but the longer the game went on the better his performance. He is my choice for the Celina spot Saturday. Nobody embarrassed themselves tonight and the team did well. Where are all the moaners tonight?
3

DaGremloid added 22:01 - Oct 5
Cat - fair enough. Although we've more chance of winning this one!
2

Radlett_blue added 22:05 - Oct 5
Good to see a win, but the relevance of Town's 2nd string beating a Gillingham side with 8 changes is tiny.
1

yorkieblue62 added 22:14 - Oct 5
No matter what the teams or the competition getting the winning mentality is important
7

itfchorry added 22:37 - Oct 5
So enjoyed watching tonight -

This one is dedicated to all of us long suffering
Tractor Boys and Girls -

💙🚜
1

Yorkshire_Townie added 22:48 - Oct 5
V welcome win - sounds comfortable. And interesting that it was the majority of last season's side that came up with the result. 7 started & 8 (i think) finished the game for us. Up to the new squad to show that they actually ARE better than those they have replaced. Kenlock got a run out since he is unable to play in the league. Maybe the grass isnt always greener (in players)...?
3

Stato added 23:06 - Oct 5
Chaplin does a high press regardless of support from others and rarely gives the ball away. He was excellent again tonight and took his goal well. He seems a much better option than Fraser who has yet to find his best form at Town
4

atty added 07:18 - Oct 6
Didn't take that team long to gel.
6


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