Gillingham vs Carlisle United Match Report
On the Whistle Analysis
In a new thing to this Substack, I’ll be adding match reports of the games I’m watching live to give a bit of analysis on some games people may not have seen. Given the breadth of football (legally!) available in the UK, these will tend to be EFL or Scottish games rather than games in SE Europe but there’ll be digests of those coming up on a reasonably regular basis over the next few weeks. These are and will be written during the game so there’s a bit of train-of-thought going on alongside it so any comments would be much appreciated to improve these going forward. In short, I’m actually committing to writing regularly on here!
Why this game?
For a start, I’m from the area so Carlisle are ultimately my local side and therefore I’ve the (mis?)fortune of following them but, quite aside from that, Gillingham enter the season fancied by many and Carlisle enter the season as a bit of a mystery given their reshaping and the refurbishment since the nightmare of 23/24. League Two Opening Day’s most intriguing match up.
The story of the game:
As a technical showcase for Sky’s vaunted Sports+ service, there is work to do. The primary camera was sat low, about five yards to the right of the half-way line from the camera side view. It also was not HD. One can only imagine that Sky and the EFL are supporting clubs to put on a minimum standard of footage at each ground and that will, no doubt, be a marathon, not a sprint, of a process. Suffice it to say, Gillingham’s set up needs a bit of work!
Also, whoever at Sky thought Carlisle United should be shortened to “CUN” on the scorebug needs to reconsider.
When it comes to the game itself, in scenes reminiscent of last season, Carlisle had an early defensive shocker as Harry Lewis dropped a regulation cross in, managed to compensate by being part of getting in the way of the first attempt from Rowe but couldn’t save the response from Timothee Dieng, low into the goal as the defence were scrambling in the third minute. Lewis was obviously low on confidence after being under fire more than the frontlines at the Somme in the second half of last term and costing a goal on opening day is the last thing his confidence will have needed.
After that, however, Carlisle settled quickly into the sort of direct wing play that marked their promotion to League One in the first place two seasons ago. Ben Williams, for all he was signed on the day as an emergency and thrown in the side, acquitted himself well in this endeavour, showing plenty of willingness to bomb on down the left and offer supporting balls for the frontline, as well as a handy bit of crossing from free-kicks. It would be his cross that would lead to Carlisle’s first decent chance of the game, a diving header at the far post from a late run from Archie Davies that was headed with fair power but straight into the ground and over on the bounce. A few minutes later, it was Carlisle on the counter twice in quick succession as Mellish drove a low shot from the edge of the box for a regulation save and then Charlie Wyke got his first big chance back at the club, supplied in space in a 3 on 3 but checked his run and tamely shot wide.
His second big chance wouldn’t wait long. A devilish cross in from Davies was given a spectacular air shot by Max Ehmer to land a ball perfectly at Wyke’s feet six yards out. He took a touch that gave Hutton a chance to nip in on him and deflect Wyke’s finish onto the bar. Carlisle went in at half-time one down but wondering how.
They soon found out. Slack control from Terell Thomas, who had looked fine to that point, was punished by Wakeling haring through on the loose ball and calmly passing it beyond Lewis in the third minute of the second half. An early error in each half and punished most effectively. Thomas was caught turning and going back to Lewis and finding Barclay in the way of that option - that delay in thought was all the invitation Wakeling needed. Such are the fine margins of success at the sharp end of League Two.
The game then settled back into the pattern of play of the first half and Carlisle got back into the game with a lot of luck - a Williams ball in was headed out be Ehmer into Wyke and it fell kindly for Mellish to do what he has done so consistently over the years and guide it into the opposite corner.
It would be incorrect to say that Carlisle then had their tails up, given how the game had proceeded, but the match shifted out of that pattern into a considerably more open one. That would soon kill off Carlisle - a throw was half cleared and Jack Nolan picked up the ball on the Gillingham right and he darted for the byline, evading Williams and then seeing the space open up to drive into the box and hammer the ball into the roof of the net. While it was individual excellence causing the goal as opposed to the individual comedy of the first two, it was finished with absolute aplomb and further evidence that Gillingham have goals in them throughout the side.
Nolan soon could have put a cherry on top as a killer ball from Williams saw him running in, rounding Lewis and seeing his shot blocked for a corner. The third goal had not just killed the game, it had sent Carlilse heads down and the Gills were, eighty minutes into the game and 3-1 up, finally able to enjoy their first spell of extended pressure of the game while Carlsie scrambled to avoid a hiding.
It didn’t help. Jonny Williams pulled a Paul Scholes impression out of the bag, returning a strong header out from a free kick with interest with an arrow of a half-volley - unstoppable.
Carlisle were not sent back up to the North with the minimum of fuss - certainly this was as hard work a 4-1 victory as Gillingham could ever have - but we know a lot more about both sides. From what I’ve written, I’m sure it seems Carlisle were very good - they were, except when they weren’t. When they weren’t, they conceded.
Gillingham were resolute enough to handle a lot of pressure and limit Carlisle to 1 goal and only a couple of other real chances. Carlisle didn’t seem sharp enough up top and the mental fragility that carries over from last season saw things go from bad to worse rapidly when they tried to chase the game. They were picked apart by a side with more class, less naivety and less desperation - a desperation borne from a game position that was utterly self-inflicted.
Standout players:
Were I a wing-back, I’d love to play for Paul Simpson - licence to bomb down the wings and just be all-action. Ben Williams was certainly that - an ever present support ball going forwards and diligent defensively. Archie Davies perhaps wasn’t as obvious a standout on the opposite side, with much of his attacking play coming deeper but nothing that would concern anyone and the galloping runs we did see of him were certainly promising.
For Gillingham, their standout was their ruthlessness - Jacob Wakeling had nothing but the first chance he got, he scored. They spent much of the time under the cosh and Max Clark deserves praise for dealing with Davies single handed - where Williams was doubled up on much of the time, Rowe’s booking meant Clark was mainly in one on one duels, with Adu-Adjei and Vela drifting into his zones also, and his concentration in keeping to the task was notable. Jonny Williams, when he came on, was the extra bit of class that they needed to add gloss to the win and to take advantage of the space Carlisle were leaving at the back to chase the game - an excellent cameo.
Analysis:
One thing that concerned me around Carlisle’s transitional play from attack to defence when Gillingham countered was that there was almost always an option to make either a longer pass across the defence or into a player in a pocket between defence and midfield. This may have simply been an availability issue meaning Ben Barclay was a makeshift DM but it was a pocket that the Gills were able to play in or across a few times and, if it becomes a feature of Carlisle’s play, a quick side with box crashing midfielders on late runs will get plenty of joy based on where the space was appearing. That Barclay being caught deep partly led to Gillingham’s second goal perhaps only serves to show that point more and Jonny Williams executed from that area with perfection.
To be fair, however, Carlisle conceded every time Gillingham threatened - they looked like rabbits in the headlights at most set pieces and a more adept side at set pieces would have put more past Carlisle. If Gillingham scoring three flattered them on the patterns of play, it did not flatter them one bit when you consider what Carlisle did when asked to defend.
In attack, Wyke and Adu-Adjei look an interesting partnership insomuch as they seem happy to swap responsibilities in terms of one roving for the ball and acting as a target and one staying centrally for chances. Wyke perhaps fluffed his lines on his composure on finishing in his pair of late first half chances to a point where his sharpness right now is in question but that will surely sort itself out as the season progresses and that must be promising for Carlisle.
Aaron Rowe is a player I’ve seen plenty of in-person last season and, at Crewe, while his talent was pretty clear to see, his productivity wasn’t always there and it seems to be the case that that trend will continue in Kent - needlessly booked for arguing with the referee was perhaps the most visible he was for much of the game. From an attacking perspective, beyond the first five minutes, Gillingham weren’t really seen in the first half and where Rowe should have tried to pin Thomas and neuter that threat, he was anonymous and it was after his booking that Thomas got much of his joy.
Signs for the season:
If Carlisle play to this level week in, week out and cut out the errors, they’ll be very close to promotion this season. Gillingham are a side fancied by many and Carlisle dictated to them on their own patch for much of the game. If they don’t cut out the errors, then who knows - you can’t do much if you’re giving gifts every week and, once things slipped away a little, Carlisle’s chances hurtled downhill
For Gillingham, you’ll be happy with three points, happy with the goals but perhaps not be able to take too much from the game beyond the knowledge that the defence is very good. The Carlisle goal was from bad luck rather than bad play and Gillingham surely can’t take advantage of every slip from their opposition as clinically as they did here. Regardless, their status as one of the dark horses for promotion is certainly enhanced.