Gills snatch
last minute win
The manager
of the month curse struck yet again as Gillingham snatched a last-gasp victory
in a pulsating match.
Ipswich boss Joe
Royle received his October award on Friday and, as when he won it in March,
Town promptly lost the next match.
The visitors made
a lively start and deservedly went ahead on 13 minutes, when Paul Shaw crossed
for Rod Wallace to head goalwards.
Home keeper Kelvin
Davis tipped the effort onto the bar, but Wallace reacted quickest to dive and
head home from close range.
Town were level
within five minutes. Shefki
Kuqi capped a surging run by picking out Ian Westlake who volleyed home his
first senior goal.
There were chances
at both ends throughout the half, with neither side defending well, and Gillingham
went back in front on the stroke of half time.
Richard Naylor's
wayward pass went straight to Andy Hessenthaler who put Mamady Sidibe through
and he coolly curled a shot beyond Davis.
Substitute Tommy
Johnson had already hit the post with a curling free-kick before Gillingham
extended their lead on 54 minutes when Sidibe beat Naylor to the by-line and
crossed for Shaw to sidefoot home.
However, Ipswich
were not beaten and hit back to level by the 74th minute.
First, Pablo Counago
flicked a Jim Magilton cross home before Fabian Wilnis set up substitute Tommy
Miller to sidefoot a shot in off the post.
There were no more
clear-cut chances until stoppage time when Naylor did well to block Sidibe's
shot, and Jermaine Wright slid a dangerous ball away from substitute Mark Saunders.
However, the visitors'
late pressure paid off in the final minute of stoppage time when Wilnis lost
the ball near his own corner flag and Nicky Southall crossed for Saunders to
score with a low angled shot that Davis got a hand to but could not stop.
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