Gillingham Town 1 Hamworthy United U18’s 1 AET (0-0 after 90 minutes) Gillingham Town won 11-10 on penalties
FA Youth Cup Preliminary Round
What a match and what a debut for Hamworthy United in this competition! A ‘typical’ cup tie with the underdogs, on a sloping pitch, eventually going onto triumph by the narrowest of margins 11-10 in a penalty shoot out. Gillingham advancing into the next round after 21 of 22 penalties were converted, before the second of the goalkeepers (the aptly named James Gillingham) missed his spot kick to send the home side into jubilant celebration. Gillingham Town started slightly the brighter, kicking down the slope, with the Hammers still getting a long day and journey to North Dorset out of their system. After some early scares (often self-inflicted) the match began to sway towards the Hamworthy youngsters, with forwards Josh Reavenall-Nuete and Dean Macklin posing a regular threat to the Gillingham defence. By halftime, however, it was evident that to win this match the Hammers were going to have to raise there game.
The second half started with some early domination for the visitors and following the introduction of two fresh strikers after 58 minutes, in Luke Stone and Charlie Gajic, a goal for Hamworthy seemed almost inevitable. This period saw some of the best football of the game played by both sides, but with the Hammers looking increasingly dangerous. However, chances came and went, with the final whistle (at the end of 90 minutes) probably being a relief to both teams. Extra time again started with the Hammers pressing and more wasted opportunities, before Charlie Gajic at last placed a well direct shot wide of the Gillingham Town keeper to take the lead, 8 minutes into extra time. Unfortunately, the classic sucker punch of the scoring side’s lack of concentration allowed a Gillingham player time and space to run at the heart of their defence, before being brought down on the edge of the box. The resulting free kick being drilled low under the Hamworthy keeper for an immediate equaliser.
With players from both sides starting to go down with cramp, chances became fewer, and the prospect of penalties to divide the sides became the obvious outcome. The match finally settled by that amazing penalty shoot out! Good luck to Gillingham in the next round!