Gillingham slipped to their first EFL Trophy defeat of the season as a much-changed side went down to two second half goals at Portman Road against Ipswich Town.
With Steve Evans and his Ipswich counterpart Paul Lambert both stating their respective dislike of the competition, wholesale changes came on both sides from the weekend – the Gills boss making nine changes from the side that started at Shrewsbury (just Zech Medley and Jack Tucker retained their places) whilst none of the Ipswich side that started at MK Dons on Saturday started on this Tuesday night.
Second half goals though from Armando Dobra and Ben Folami condemned the Gills to defeat but if Evans will take anything from the game, it will be that more of his squad have had minutes in their legs as their tough run of League fixtures in October kick in from the weekend when Oxford United visit Priestfield, quickly followed by home games with Fleetwood, Portsmouth and Sunderland with a return trip to Ipswich and a trip to the MK Dons all to come before Halloween!
Early on Matty Willock and Alex MacDonald both went close for the Gills with Joe Walsh keeping out Liam Gibbs’ effort at the other end. Dobra cleared the Gills goal by some distance as both sides came to terms with the wholesale changes although before the break Christian Maghoma and MacDonald had further efforts blocked for the Gills.
With Willock being replaced at half time by Dominic Samuel, the second half’s first real chance of note led to Ipswich taking the lead as Dobra gloriously beat Walsh in the top right-hand corner from the edge of the box.
Samuel had a header just over from Trae Coyle’s cross as the Gills strained to get on level terms but fifteen minutes from time Gibbs side footed home the Ipswich second.
Coyle saw two late shots go close while Josh Eccles fired over a late free kick whilst at the other end Brett McGavin sent a free kick high over Walsh’s bar before Samuel had the game’s final chance – shooting wide from the edge of the box.
The result – which was after all an “improvement” on last season’s four nil reverse in the same competition at Portman Road – leaves a three way tie at the top of Group J with these two sides level on three points with Arsenal’s U23s, although the Premier League side does have a game in hand – which is next Tuesday at Crawley – before the group will finish at Priestfield on November 11th.
IPSWICH TOWN – Cornell, Donacien, Ndaba, Wollfenden, Baggott, Gibbs (Viral), Dobra (Crane), McGavin, Lankester (Siziba), Folami, Simpson
Subs – Holy, Crowe, Smith, Brown
GILLINGHAM – Walsh, McKenzie, Medley, Maghoma, Tucker, Willock (Samuel), Drysdale, Woods, Akinde, MacDonald (Eccles), Coyle
Subs – Bonham, Jackson, Ogilvie, Graham, Oliver