League Two Play-off Semi Final: Gillingham To Live the Dream at Wembley

Following years of bitter disappointment and soul-shattering relegations, Gillingham FC are now on the verge of ending their promotion drought after winning 2-1 at home against Rochdale to book their place in the Coca Cola League Two Play-off Final at Wembley Stadium.

After a 0-0 draw away from home in the semi-final first leg, the result at Priestfield means the Gills are now just one game away from instant promotion back up to League One.

And from where die-hard Gillingham fan Yoosof Farah was sitting for this high octane encounter, the game at the krbs Priestfield lived up to expectations and seemed to be quite the spectacle.

As soon as the arrangements for the play-off game against Rochdale were announced, it was evident that this game would be another memorable occasion for the town of Gillingham, similarly to the Aston Villa game in the FA Cup, broadcast on national television.

And as soon as Yoosof got his tickets for Kent's showpiece event, it was clear that he had just purchased one of the hottest tickets in town, as shown by the seemingly never-ending queue at the club's ticket office.

On the day of the game at home, it was clear how much this match meant to people in Gillingham and the surrounding areas.

Union Jack flags with GILLINGHAM FC printed on them were displayed in several people's living room windows, little Gillingham FC flags were put on display on several cars that drove by, and on the morning of the game you'd look one way, turn the other and see someone sporting a blue Gillingham jersey.

Even to a tourist that might venture down south to the 'Garden of England' that is Kent, the county in which Gillingham is situated, they would be able to tell there is something important going on around the place.

With the krbs Priestfield having a capacity of under 11,000 and even just the town of Gillingham having a population of over 99,000 (courtesy of Wikipedia), it was clear that not everyone could go to the game.

And so it was clear that pubs all across the county were bracing themselves for an influx of customers, all desperate to watch the match at home shown on national sports channel SkySports1.

For those going to the match, the fact that the game was to be broadcast live across the country perhaps made the event even sweeter, although just seeing the atmosphere outside the ground an hour before kick-off would've still been more than enough.

Unlike the usual home games, it was obvious this home game was special, as shown by the hundreds of fans singing their heart out at the nearby pub, the amount of fans taking the roads close to the ground by storm, and of course by the massive amount of extra policing present.

Once inside the ground, again half an hour before kick-off the importance of the game was there for all to see.

Seats that would be empty for the usual home matches were now taken, queues for programmes as well as refreshments were extensively long, and areas that would be allocated for seating would now be occupied by television cameras, scattered in several different locations around the ground.

When the game started, the constant roar of the ever-so passionate fans in Gillingham's "true-fan" stand, the Rainham End, emphasised to the hundreds of thousands watching on television the importance of this match.

The roar of the home fans would increase significantly 13 minutes into the second leg encounter, as Gillingham's Canadian international striker Simeon Jackson got ahead of his marker to tuck the ball home and put the home side ahead.

1-0 to Gillingham, with delirious delight across the faces of all in sea of Gillingham blue, and no doubt across the faces of all packed into the pubs and at home in the county of Kent.

However, as seems to be the norm with the Gills, such happiness was not made to last as Rochdale found themselves level on 36 minutes.

The hosts failed to deal with a seemingly harmless attack, and striker Chris Dagnall stole in to slot the ball nicely into the far corner, sending the 500+ away fans at the other side of the stadium into a state of delirium, as well as hushing the supporters in all other areas around the ground.

But in the second half Gillingham managed to make amends, and won a crucial penalty on 56 minutes, after full-back John Nutter was scythed down by Dale's Rory McArdle.

Top scorer Jackson stepped up, sent keeper Frank Fielding the wrong way, and smashed home to create a cacophony of pure happiness all around the ground.

At the point of the penalty being given, Yoosof had seen the horrors of penalty misses in previous games and could not bare to watch. And so as all others around him fiddled around, fixing their eyes on the spot and bracing themselves for Jacko's spot-kick, Yoosof Farah turned away, waiting to hear the noise of the kick and the reaction of his fellow supporters.

He heard the ball being kicked, and then saw a man crouch down on the floor clenching his fists and shout with all his voice "Yes!", before hearing the rest of the people around him cheering like their country had won the FIFA World Cup.

It was 2-1 to Gillingham, and after some last-ditch defending, fans having panic attacks, and ooohs and aaahs for the remaining 34 minutes,the home side held on and still had that score of 2-1 when the final whistle blew.

A moment of pure ecstasy then ensued, as thousands around the ground, Yoosof included, could not hide their delight and stormed onto the pitch to congratulate those heroes in blue as well as show to the nation how much this result meant.

It was a magical moment as fans everywhere embraced each other, sharing their delight at seeing the players they have supported all season long finally give them something decent to shout about.

It had finally been confirmed after weeks of waiting: the Gills are going to Wembley.

After the match, outside the ground all you could see was a town of happiness. Fans everywhere cheering, passers-by delighted to find out their team obviously won, and of course local kebab-shop owners with £ signs in their eyes, ecstatic with the amount of hungry customers walking in.

A day later, now that the dust has settled and people are starting to recover from their hangovers after celebrating perhaps a tad too much from the night before, it's clear the players are just as happy as the fans.

Gillingham's star player, centre-back Simon King, talking to the Gillingham FC Official Club Website, said the game at Priestfield was a "special moment."

He went on to say: "We have to make sure we enjoy these kind of occasions, being a professional footballer it is such a short career and it is not every day you get to go and play at Wembley."

The Gills' goalkeeper, Simon Royce, also talking to the club's Web site, was delighted to make it through to the play-off final at Wembley, a stadium where he'll be playing for the first time in his career.

He said: "I was quite emotional in the changing rooms afterwards so to wait until I am thirty-seven is fantastic, I have waited a long time, so I am going to make the most of it."

Being one to recognise the importance of Gillingham's fantastic following, he added: "It was like the Villa game, these fans have been frightening, for an away fan base they have been unbelievable this year and even last year."

For the showdown with Shrewbury at the UK's greatest sporting arena, the Gills have been allocated 38,000 tickets.

Anyone who has been to a Gillingham game home or away this season will know that Simon Royce was 100% right when he went on to say: "[At Wembley] it is just going to be a fantastic atmosphere, we will out sing Shrewsbury."

The whole town of Gillingham was gearing up to take the second leg at Priestfield by storm.

Now, 38,000 from Gillingham will be gearing up to take London and the United Kingdom's greatest sporting arena by storm, as Gillingham Football Club look to put years of disappointment behind them, and win promotion back up to where they belong, the Coca Cola League One.