Attendance: 6,407 (175 Gillingham Fans)

             

            Referee - Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire)

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL MATCH STATISTICS AND TEAM LINE-UPS

 

The result should not really have been a surprise.  Rovers record speaks for itself.  The not so Superwhites have failed to win their final game before Christmas since a 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion in 2003.

 

Last season, Rovers lost 4-1 at home to Brentford in the last pre-Christmas game and the season before, they fell to a 6-1 defeat away at soon to be promoted Hull City so today was going to be the same old story right?

 

After just five minutes of the game had passed, it looked as if Rovers pre-Christmas hoodoo was over after three years thanks to goals from Chris Greenacre and Chris Shuker but by half-time the visitors, almost inexplicably, had the advantage and thereafter Rovers never looked like getting back into the game.

 

A brace from Gary Mulligan and a goal from Ben Chorley just before half-time, all three coming from defensive lapses by Rovers and incompetent goalkeeping from Gavin Ward, saw the visitors recover from their early setback and hold on for a somewhat fortunate win.

 

Rovers Boss Ronnie Moore kept the same side that started the disappointing 1-1 draw at Brentford two weeks ago with Gareth Taylor and Chris Greenacre starting upfront.  Danny Harrison joined Calvin Zola, John Achterberg, Carl Tremarco and Steve Davies on the bench.

 

It took Rovers just 20 seconds to open the scoring when Gareth Taylor superbly flicked a forward pass by Ellison out wide into the path of Chris Shuker and the little winger got in a cross that was eventually turned in by Chris Greenacre at the second attempt after it looked like a defender had handled the striker’s first effort.

 

The goal was special for Greenacre in two ways as it was his 100^th professional goal and it also came on the day of his 29^th birthday.

 

Rovers were looking more dominant in the opening minutes of this game as they had done all season in any other game and just four minutes after Greenacre put them ahead the lead with doubled in extraordinary circumstances.

 

Some great determination by Gareth Taylor saw him win a corner for Rovers and after the first corner from Chris Shuker had been cleared away for a second one, the winger curled in an amazing kick that fooled everyone including Dean Brill in the Gills goal and dropped over the line near the far post.

 

2-0 up after just five minutes and Rovers were flying.  There seemed to be no let up from the dominant home side and Shuker was causing the Gills defence no end of problems along with Gareth Taylor who was doing a great job of holding up the ball.

 

After a possible penalty appeal for Rovers for handball had been turned down at one end, the visitors dealt the home side a blow that took the sting out of their tails as they got back into the game.

 

Ian Goodison misjudged a cross from the right and Andrew Crofts was able to head goal-wards from distance.  Gavin Ward in the Rovers goal appeared unnecessarily stranded as the header came back off the woodwork and Gary Mulligan followed up to score.

 

Rovers’ total dominance had lasted all of ten minutes and now began to evaporate as they lost their way.  Despite the setback of being pegged back though, Rovers were still the better side with Shuker continuing to cause problems and Dean Brill in the Gills goal causing himself problems, conceding a corner by smashing the ball into the back of one of his own defenders.

 

Rovers somehow gifted another goal to their guests just eight minutes after doing it once.  Again it was a mix up between Goodison and Ward as a throw in from the right was left by Goodison for his keeper.  However, Ward hesitated in coming out of his goal to collect the ball, eventually decided not to come and Gary Mulligan netted his second goal in eight minutes to equalise against the run of play.

 

John Mullin surged forward for Rovers but his shot was turned behind for another corner and after a couple of chances for the visitors that went harmlessly wide, they managed to gain a lead they definitely did not deserve when a cross from Bas Savage was headed in by Ben Chorley with Ward again looking suspect and static as the ball crept in.

 

From being 2-0 at half-time, two-thirds of Prenton Park were stunned at half-time to find their team 3-2 down against the run play.

 

Rovers began the second half brightly as they chased the game but as the half wore on and the crowd became more frustrated, the game ebbed away from the home side and they never really looked capable of adding to their two goals or indeed saving the game.

 

Just after the hour, Steve Davies replaced Kevin Ellison on the left of midfield but he ultimately struggled as much as Ellison had to make an impression on he game.

 

Rovers had a brief spell of chances that should have seen the ball go in twice in ten seconds but lady luck was not shining on the home side.  With nine minutes remaining Ronnie Moore replaced defender Robbie Stockdale with striker Calvin Zola as Rovers moved to 3-4-3 formation to try to get back in the game.

 

It wasn’t to be though and Rovers’ pre-Christmas jinx continued as the Gills held on for a somewhat undeserved win although their fight-back from being 2-0 down so early on has to be admired.

 

For Rovers it’s on to two tough away games starting with Huddersfield on Boxing Day and then Nottingham Forest in the last game of 2006.  Forest lost their second successive match on Saturday and other result also went Rovers way as they dropped down to sixth place wjth a game in hand on most teams around them.

However if they play like this in their game in hand at home to Crewe, they will struggle to make ground on the rest of the promotion chasers.

 

 

Chris Shuker – On a poor day in which Paul McLaren and Gareth Taylor were the only other contenders, Chris Shuker gets the award for creating one goal and scoring the other before the rot set in for Rovers,

 

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR YOUR MAN OF THE MATCH

 

"We've got to learn from it, simple as that.  We opened up as brightly as we have all season.  It looked to everybody that we were going to go on and win it handsomely.  Unfortunately we've conceded goals from set plays.  We have to learn what went wrong and how to put it right.  We need to be better organised from set plays.”

"Our first goal was a great bit of football, then we scored from a set play where their keeper made a bit of a rick.  Overall I don't think we deserved to win it, but we didn't deserve to lose it either.”

"It was an off day for them, and teams do have off days. But we can't defend the way we did if we're going to get promotion.”

"We go to Huddersfield now and if we open up the way we do but contain it, we'll be ok.  We did some good stuff out there but the defending was woeful at times.”

"We've got two away games and if we defend like that we know there's only one outcome. But we know we're better than that.  The back five have been magnificent for us this season.  I think we had the best defensive record going into today, so to concede three goals here is a bit of a shock for everybody.  It has put a bit of pressure on us now to get results out of the next three games."

Talk About the Game on the Message Board!

 

Click Here!

 

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

SPORTNETWORK SPECIALS

Tranmere Rovers Poll