Gillingham bowed out of the Emirates FA Cup to a Devonshire blitz in the Priestfield gloom.
It all started so well for Steve Evans side as Vadaine Oliver put the home side in front, but by half time Exeter City had responded with a triple whammy that Gillingham couldn’t recover from.
They did eventually rally late in the second half when Dominic Samuel pulled one back and such is the magic of the Greatest Cup Competition in the World.
Goalkeeper Jack Bonham was so nearly the Gills hero with a last kick chance from a long Connor Ogilvie throw that flashed narrowly over the Exeter bar and the visitors scrapped through to Round Three for just the 3rd time in 18 years.
The Gills boss made just a solitary change from Tuesdays win over Wimbledon with Chris Maghoma replacing Zech Medley, and the home side started brightly as Samuel was left shaking his head as after a spell of penalty area pin ball, the Gills number nine fired over from six yards.
The home side did though take the lead inside the opening twenty minutes as Alex MacDonald brilliantly “picked a defenders pocket” on the edge of the box, before squaring for Oliver, who side footed home.
Exeter responded brilliantly with three goals in eleven minutes before the break. Nicky Law started the comeback firing beyond Bonham into the bottom corner.
The Gills keeper them miscued a clearance straight to Law who was allowed too much time and space down the right as he set up Joel Randall to drill into the net.
As the Gills reeled from losing their lead inside six minutes, Randall scored was in the end was to prove the decisive third as he did brilliantly on the edge of the box to create the space for himself before netting his second.
Three one behind at the break and the Gills made a double change at the break with Scott Robertson and Declan Drysdale replacing Maghoma and MacDonald, and the home side set about pushing and probing looking for a life-line, but chances were few and far between for both sides as the half tightened significantly.
Oliver fired over before Randall missed a chance on the break for his hat-trick before Samuel headed Ryan Jackson’s cross wide, before the Gills eventually did get that life-line as Oliver did brilliantly to keep Jordan Graham’s deep looping cross alive for Samuel to smash the ball into the net. The goal left the Gills nine short minutes to force extra time.
Randall, who was a constant threat throughout then struck a post trying to seal Exeter’s passage, before with the final kick of the game, the Gillingham keeper so nearly became a hero – at the “other” end. Pushed up for a last gasp Ogilvie throw, the ball fell to Bonham, but his snapshot was inches too high and disappeared into the empty Rainham End and with-it Gillingham’s Cup dreams for another year.
You can only speculate what would have happened in that closing nine minutes had the Rainham End been occupied but as we all sadly know; we will never know!
And so there won’t be any Third Round tie against a Premier League side for the Gills this season – its back to League action in Wednesday and a trip West to Bristol for a meeting with a couple of “old friends” in former skipper Max Ehmer and striker Brandon Hanlon and their Bristol Rovers team mates.
GILLINGHAM – Bonham, Jackson (Akinde), Maghoma (Drysdale), Tucker, Ogilvie, McKenzie, Dempsey, MacDonald (Robertson), Graham, Samuel, Oliver
Subs – Walsh, Woods, Willock, Coyle
EXETER CITY – Andresson, Key, McArdle, Hartridge, Page (Sparkes), Williams (Taylor), Atangana (Sweeney), Collins, Law, Randall, Bowman
Subs – Lee, Jay, Ajose, Fisher
REFEREE – Mr Young
Image courtesy of Gillingham FC