Wembley beckons for Gills
Gillingham v Rochdale
On Sunday evening these two face each other for the third time in eight days, with a place at Wembley the prize for the winners.
They met at Spotland in the final game of the season, with Curtis Weston netting a first-half winner, but both managers rested key men ahead of Thursday’s play-off first-leg.
On Thursday, despite welcoming Adam Le Fondre and Chris Dagnall back to the squad, the pair, who have 24 goals between them this term, couldn’t find a way past Simon Royce in the Gillingham goal.
While the Gills were equally wasteful in the final third, as the game ended in stalemate.
Dale boss Keith Hill declared himself pleased with the clean sheet ahead of the weekend’s trip to Kent, and he is likely to stick with the same back line, though in attack, Dagnall may force his way into the starting line-up.
However, Hill’s charges are a little short of confidence after a dismal end of season run, which brought just one victory from their final seven games, form which saw the men from the north-west finish five points below their play-off opponents.
Meanwhile Gillingham ended the campaign strongly, winning three of their last four fixtures, and Mark Stimson remains confident of his side’s chances in the second leg.
Stimson can boast a menacing front-line, which includes 17-goal top scorer Simeon Jackson and former Spurs youngster Andy Barcham.
Though they are often forced to operate in wide areas to accommodate burly forward Dennis Oli, who is another likely starter at the Priestfield.
And creative midfield man Adam Miller will also be hopeful of a return to the 16, after failing to make the bench on Thursday.
Otherwise, the two teams have almost full strength squads from which to pick, as they battle to face either Bury or Shrewsbury, who meet in their second-leg on Sunday afternoon.
Rochdale have struggled for goals of late, and Le Fondre hasn’t found the net in his last six outings, so in front of a vocal home crowd, the Gills’ three-pronged attack should prove too much for the visitors to handle.
Verdict: Gillingham 1-0 Rochdale