Category: Gillingham

FA Cup: Chesterfield and Wrexham lead non-league push into third round | FA Cup


Non-league Chesterfield pulled off a shock 2-0 win at AFC Wimbledon to book their place in the FA Cup third round.

Armando Dobra put the National League high-flyers in front just before half-time and Jeff King’s long-range effort with 15 minutes left made sure of the upset against the League Two Dons.

Paul Mullin scored a hat-trick as National League leaders Wrexham defeated Farnborough 4-1 at the Racecourse Ground. Mullin headed the Dragons in front from a corner early in the second half, but the National League South visitors were level just after the hour through a free-kick from Oli Pendlebury. Elliot Lee put Wrexham back in front with 12 minutes left before Mullin added two more late on to complete his treble.

Forest Green Rovers ended seventh-tier Alvechurch’s hopes of a money-spinning tie in the third round with a 2-1 win. Former Crystal Palace striker Connor Wickham put Rovers, who are bottom of League One, ahead from the penalty spot in the 24th minute. Alvechurch – who play in Southern League Premier Central Division and were the lowest-ranked team left in the competition – equalised three minutes into the second half through Jediah Yeboah Abbey’s free-kick.

However, Josh March put the League One side back in front just two minutes later, scoring against his former club. Forest Green finished the match with 10 men after defender Dom Bernard was sent off for a second yellow card after grabbing Danny Waldron’s shirt as the Church striker looked to break clear.

Connor Wickham celebrates with his Forest Green teammates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot.
Connor Wickham celebrates with his Forest Green teammates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot. Photograph: Graham Hunt/ProSports/REX/Shutterstock

King’s Lynn, second-placed in the National League North, were beaten 3-0 at home by League Two Stevenage. Three goals in five minutes at the start of the second half, with Luke Norris scoring a quickfire brace before Jamie Reid’s strike, ended the Linnets’ hopes of further progress.

National League Barnet’s cup dreams were ended with a 1-0 defeat at Accrington through a late goal from Ethan Hamilton. Otis Khan hit a last-minute winner as League Two Grimsby stunned Cambridge 2-1 at the Abbey Stadium. Khan had put the visitors ahead on the hour, but Sam Smith nodded in a equaliser before the Mariners frontman struck a late second to send the League One Us crashing out.

Myles Hippolyte headed a stoppage-time equaliser as League Two Stockport snatched a 2-2 draw at Charlton to earn a replay. Chris Hussey had given County an early lead but the Addicks led by half-time, Steven Sessegnon’s cross diverted into his own net by keeper Ben Hinchcliffe before Albie Morgan made it 2-1.

Goals from Devante Cole, Adam Phillips and a Josh Benson penalty gave Barnsley victory against League Two Crewe 3-0 at Oakwell. A brace from Josh Umerah helped Hartlepool beat 10-man Harrogate 3-1 at Victoria Park. Town defender Joe Mattock was sent off at the end of the first half for a foul on Umerah, who slotted in the resulting spot-kick.

Billy Bodin grabbed two goals in the closing stages as Oxford beat League One rivals Exeter 4-1 at the Kassam Stadium.

Walsall came from behind to beat Carlisle 2-1 with an 88th-minute Andy Williams equaliser and a stoppage-time goal from fellow substitute Douglas James-Taylor.

Sheffield Wednesday substitute Michael Smith hit two goals in six minutes in a 2-1 comeback win over League Two Mansfield at Hillsborough, while Shrewsbury beat Peterborough 3-1 to also book a place in Monday’s draw.

Colby Bishop scored twice from the penalty spot as Portsmouth came from behind to beat MK Dons 3-2 at Fratton Park.

In Saturday’s late kick-off, National League Dagenham were denied another upset when Scott Kashket scored a stoppage-time equaliser for Gillingham at the Chigwell Construction Stadium after Josh Walker had put the hosts in front with just 10 minutes left.

Carabao Cup: Gillingham beat Brentford on penalties; Everton soundly beaten | Carabao Cup


There was elation in the away end as League Two side Gillingham advanced to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a 6-5 win on penalties over Premier League opponents Brentford. The Bees were ahead inside five minutes when Mikkel Damsgaard’s fine pass found England hopeful Ivan Toney, who tapped in the opener.

Brentford enjoyed 80% possession but the resilient visitors struck back on 75 minutes when the substitute Mikael Mandron headed home Alex MacDonald’s cross at the near post, ensuring the Gills’ only shot of the match counted. A thrilling battle from the spot ended when the Gillingham midfielder Alex MacDonald scored their sixth penalty and Damsgaard saw his effort hit the bar, sealing victory for the underdogs.

Victory capped a memorable a day for the Kent club given that they had to walk the last part of their journey to Brentford, which meant kick-off was delayed by 20 minutes. “We had to walk here, we had to climb over barriers and help each other get over fences,” said the Gillingham manager Neil Harris.

“We got to about a quarter of a mile from Chiswick Roundabout and we got stuck. Fortunately we had a tactics board on the bus. But we couldn’t move and they couldn’t get a police escort to us. So we got in touch with the officials and decided to walk – probably about a 10-minute walk.”

Frank Lampard suffered an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit as his Everton side were thrashed 4-1 by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium. The Toffees were made to pay for a number of defensive mistakes as Bournemouth ended their run of four successive Premier League defeats to ease into round four.

Jamal Lowe, Junior Stanislas, Emiliano Marcondes and Jaidon Anthony were on target for the hosts, with Demarai Gray replying for Everton. Frank Lampard admitted Everton’s fringe players had come up short. “We were poor,” Lampard said. “I made a lot of changes, but the reality of my job is that we want to win every game we play.”

Jamal Lowe of Bournemouth celebrates scoring his side’s fourth goal against Everton.
Jamal Lowe of Bournemouth celebrates scoring his side’s fourth goal against Everton. Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

Lincoln bounced back from FA Cup embarrassment to storm into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a 3-1 victory over Championship club Bristol City at Ashton Gate. The League One side took a seventh-minute lead when midfielder Matty Virtue was allowed time and space 25 yards out to the left of goal and netted with a sweetly struck right-footed drive.

It was 2-0 on 15 minutes as Ben House robbed young defender Joe Low, making his first start for the Robins, and ran through to slot home from inside the box. Four minutes into the second half Lincoln were in dreamland as Paudie O’Connor headed the third from virtually on the goal line after a free-kick was not dealt with.

The substitute Tommy Conway shot home from close range on 80 minutes but Lincoln, dumped out of the FA Cup by non-League Chippenham at the weekend, were in no mood to surrender their advantage.

Two late goals from substitute Anass Zaroury broke Crawley’s stubborn resistance and gave Burnley a hard-earned 3-1 win to reach the Carabao Cup fourth round. The third-round tie at Turf Moor looked as if it might have to be settled by a shootout as the Championship side spurned chance after chance to kill off the League Two outfit, who had taken the scalps of League One Bristol Rovers and Premier League Fulham to earn the trip to Turf Moor.

But Zaroury, who had been sent on as a 56th-minute substitute, eased their frustrations when he tapped the ball home from a couple of yards in the 79th minute after Ashley Barnes had touched on Manuel Benson’s low cross. And he added his second with a similar close-range finish in the 90th minute from his fellow sub Vitinho’s cross.

Goals either side of half-time from Warren O’Hora and Matthew Dennis ensured MK Dons earned a place in Thursday’s fourth round draw as they beat League One rivals Morecambe 2-0. Charlton edged a close contest with fourth-tier Stevenage, advancing with a 5-4 win on penalties. Stevenage went ahead through Luke Norris’s 22nd-minute penalty and defended their lead deep into the second half, when Chuks Aneke equalised to take the match to penalties.

FA Cup roundup: Alvechurch shock Cheltenham; Chippenham beat Lincoln | FA Cup


Danny Waldron was the two-goal hero as seventh-tier Alvechurch pulled off an FA Cup first-round giant-killing by triumphing 2-1 at Cheltenham of League One.

The Southern League Premier Central outfit, the lowest-ranked team in the first round, took the lead through Waldron’s 19th-minute finish, and he then struck again five minutes into the second half. Cheltenham’s Ryan Jackson replied four minutes later, but Alvechurch were able to see out a famous victory.

Sixth-tier Chippenham also celebrated an upset against League One opposition after they won 1-0 at home against Lincoln thanks to Joe Hanks’ 44th-minute goal. Farnborough and King’s Lynn, two other sixth-tier teams, both produced shocks at League Two sides, beating Sutton 2-0 and Doncaster 1-0 respectively.

Chippenham Town’s Joe Hanks backheels what turned out to be his side’s winner against Lincoln.
Chippenham Town’s Joe Hanks backheels what turned out to be his side’s winner against Lincoln. Photograph: Chris Vaughan/CameraSport/Getty Images

Farnborough scored twice late on via Michael Fernandes and Francis Amartey, and Gold Omotayo was the matchwinner for Doncaster with an 83rd-minute header.

Other sixth-tier teams registering eyecatching results were Ebbsfleet, who defeated National League Halifax 2-1 at home, and Weymouth, Fylde and Chelmsford, who all earned replays against teams from higher leagues.

Weymouth held AFC Wimbledon to a 1-1 draw, Fylde secured the same result against Gillingham, and Chelmsford drew 1-1 at Barnet thanks to Charlie Ruff’s equaliser in added time.