Back to Action at Last for the Mighty Gillingham

These past two weeks have been almost as boring as an international break. After the spectacle of EPL side Aston Villa’s trip down to the delights of Gillingham and the KRBS Priestfield stadium, our game the next week against another massive team (Aldershot aren’t that bad y’know) fell victim to the English weather.

Gillingham v Aldershot was postponed due to a frozen pitch, much to the disappointment of all those Gillingham fans who of course wanted to return the week after the Villa game, to see their beloved team play (not).

The postponement now means the Gills' return to action after an unexpected two week break, with a potential fixture pile-up now awaiting them.

Gillingham have happy memories this season of their encounter with Morecambe. The Shrimps made the long haul down south only to receive a 5-0 thrashing, from an unusually on-fire Gillingham side at the KRBS Priestfield.

The Gills will be hoping to replicate the form that so nearly earned them a replay in the FA Cup two weeks ago, when they make the long haul up north to try and steal three points from Morecambe. They bumped up the points tally which leaves them languishing 10th in the Coca Cola League Two table at the moment.

Morecambe however have had an even longer spell on the sidelines. That horrible, vicious, deadly cold English weather means the Shrimps have had their last two games marked with that annoying ‘P’ (postponed) sign.

This means the Lancashire side’s last outing was a 4-0 defeat against Bradford City, on Dec. 28. The game on Saturday will be their first match of 2009. Aston Villa’s first was against the Gills, and now the Kent club have the distinction of giving Morecambe their first game of the new calendar year. They are so kind, aren’t they?

After having an extended holiday, both sides will be back out to try and show they haven’t rusted completely, and are still capable of scoring the goals and bringing home the three points for their respective clubs.

Team News

Gillingham

The usual suspects, Mark McCammon (back) and Luis Cumbers (fractured fibula), remain sidelined, but there are also some others which will put a big dent in the Gillingham lineup.

Sierra Leone winger Albert Jarrett looks unlikely after failing to recover from an ankle injury against Wycombe Wanderers, while the case with Captain Barry Fuller is a little bit more serious. He has been hospitalised with pneumonia.

Key defender Garry Richards is also out, as he serves his second of a three match ban. This means experienced midfielder Mark Bentley is likely to continue his partnership with Simon King at the heart of defence.

On a more positive note, Nicky Southall, the club’s most vital player is back after being so unfortunately cup-tied for that fantastic, most spectacular game against the mighty Villa.

Morecambe

Long-term injury victims Matthew Blinkhorn (knee), Garry Hunter (bone bruising) and Michael Twiss (ankle), have finally gained sufficient fitness to return to the plans of manager Sammy McIlroy.  

Defender Andy Parrish (knee) and midfielder Stuart Drummond (virus) are both major doubts, while striker Danny Carlton is no longer at the club after his loan deal expired. The player has now moved on to Darlington until the end of the season.

Officials

The officials lucky enough to officiate this massive game (well it is Morecambe’s first of the New Year after all) are as follows:

Referee: G Laws

Assistant Referees: I Nolan & R A Salt

Fourth Official: N A Yates