In the latest of our “22 Days in May” series celebrating the 20th anniversary of Gillingham’s 3-2 Play Off Final win over Wigan Athletic, we caught up with the Player Coach who scored a sensational equaliser at Wembley in what proved to be his last game of professional football.
Today KSN catch up with STEVE BUTLER…
Butler who currently coaches for the Soccer Elite Academy told us, “It seems a long time since I actually played football – that game, which was my last Football League game as well, is quite a poignant day, but then again I was thirty-nine at the time as well, so it was probably time to retire anyway. But it does seem a long, long time ago…”
“There’s a picture somewhere of me when I scored pecking Smudger (Paul Smith) on the cheek and I remember thinking at the time after we’d made it 2-2 “Oh god this is going to penalties and I might have to take one!” So that was my immediate thought and I was SO pleased when Thommo got the winner later on and I didn’t have to take one.”
“The overriding thing obviously joy that I’d scored, but trepidation that it looked like it was going to go to penalties and I’d probably have to be one of the penalty takers.”
Playing at Wembley was the last thing on his mind when Butler joined Peter Taylors coaching team at the start of the season as he admitted, “I came into the Club just as a coach and didn’t really intend on playing and I didn’t play for over half the season as I thought it was time for me to move onto coaching what with injuries and stuff like that. I was actually playing in the reserves whilst still coaching and I was scoring a couple so Peter (Taylor) started to put me in the first team – I honestly had no intentions of playing that year! It was just at the end – Iffy (Onuara) was doing well but we’d signed a couple of others during the season who weren’t doing as well and Carl (Asaba) got injured so I played in a few but of course as soon as he was fit again he went straight back in and I ended up being sub for a few games. The pair of them were doing really well for us and the only reason I got involved was because Carl was hurt halfway through the season.”
If the Gills had won their final League fixture, the Play Offs wouldn’t have been needed, but sadly defeat at Wrexham sent Taylor’s side into post-season action. Butler remembered, “It was strange going to Wrexham – we knew their season was over as they had nothing to play for, but the game was just one of those – I think it was a tension thing in the end. It’s amazing how it works as I think if we’d have played anything like we did earlier in the season we obviously thought we would have won – we were definitely favourites for the game – on the day, I don’t think that we deserved to win and we just couldn’t get that goal at the end.”
So, into the Play Offs and an early exit looked likely at Stoke until… The Coach takes up the story, “We were getting fairly easily at Stoke until Hessie scored an absolute worldy – he hit one for twenty odd yards – he’s always said it was thirty – which was such an important goal for us as we went into the home leg just one behind, and I remember the home game more as we played absolutely brilliantly on the night. Stoke were a really good side at the time and the home fans in that first leg were baying and they could have got four or five, but when Hessie got his goal into the top corner out of nothing – a really beautiful strike – it got us right back into the game.”
“I can’t really remember how long there was to go – I think we were two one down and there was around ten minutes. The two boys up front had worked their socks off but hadn’t really got anywhere which is why I was put on. Its strange that at six foot two you don’t score many headers but that was me. A lot of people have said that to me, but it was such a good ball from Junior Lewis – left foot – and I’ve actually only ever watched the game back once since and he had a great game, didn’t he? I must have been like a young buck with so much energy after just coming on that as he started to cross, I’d just started my run and lucky for me it came absolutely perfectly.”
“Since the day, if everyone who has told me that they were there, the crowd would have probably been closer to 200,000 – it was a great day as kit wasn’t too far for the Gillingham fans to go and I also remember how many turned up on the Monday for the parade through the towns – it was brilliant as to the number of people who turned up there too as it was a freezing day I remember!”
“For Gillingham actually to survive in the Championship is like another club actually getting promotion upwards because the size of the club – to be in the Championship is a hell of an achievement and for Hessie to keep them there was probably even a better achievement if I’m honest!”
Next time our spotlight turns on the man who crossed the ball for Roly Graham to win the FA Vase for Deal Town – we speak to Steve Marshall.