Rams 0 Gills 1 – PSF

Football returned to Southwood tonight with the first of the home friendlies, a little earlier than usual but definitely not too soon for the fans.

The Rams squad is basically the same as at the end of last season but with new signings Bradley Bough and Gareth Cornhill, and the return of Ryan Moore from Ebbsfleet. There were also a couple of trialists involved tonight, including  Sam Fisher and Chris Lewis, and an appearance between the sticks by 16 year old ‘keeper Dave Parker.

The Gills, who already have a few matches under their belts, were first to settle not surprisingly, however as the first half progressed the Rams started to get into the game and produced the better chances on goal, particularly Aaron Beech’s volley just before the break that saw ‘keeper Paulo Gazzaniga at full stretch to tip it away.

After the interval the Rams had a different 11 on the pitch, whilst the Gills made a few, select changes. The introduction of Danny Kedwell and then Adam Birchall for the Gills certainly made them look more threatening in attack, however the goal in the 68th minute resulted from a Ramsgate defender stepping on the ball in his area allowing Birchall to blast at goal. Brett Mills blocked well at point blank range but Joseph Afusi was on hand to stab the ball home.

A good performance from the Rams, who have only had a handful of training sessions, against a well-drilled pro outfit that should leave the home fans craving more of the same.

See the forum for links to match reports by KOS Media and Gillingham FC.

The Rams’ squad included George Amber, Paul Axon, Aaron Beech, Bradley Bough, Gareth Cornhill, Sam Fisher, Ollie Gray, James Gregory, Ryan Harker, Jack Kirkby, Chris Lewis, Mark Lovell, Brett Mills, Ryan Moore, Simon Pettit, Dave Parker, Liam Quinn, Warren Schulz, Mitchell Sherwood, Jack Smelt, Joe Taylor, Stuart Vahid, Luke Wheatley and Curtis Winnett.

Gillingham brought a squad comprising some new signings, 1st team regulars, and a few youngsters. The new signings involved were Danny Kedwell, Adam Birchall and Lewis Moore. The full squad was Daren Hawkes, Paolo Gazzaniga, Barry Fuller, Danny Jackman, Jerry Nnamani, Jack Parter, Josh Hare, Danny Spiller, Lewis Montrose, Dean Rance, Tom Brunt, Alex Brown, Paris Cowan-Hall, Jake Hessenthaler, Jack Payne, Stefan Payne, Danny Kedwell, Adam Birchall, Ashley Miller and Joseph Afusi.