Gillingham 1 Walsall 2
"A game of two halves" as the late Brian Moore would often say. How fitting then that this should be the case at Brian Moore's lifelong club, Gillingham. As I'm working in Kent and staying nearby I took the chance to book a hospitality package and go to see a top-of-the-table League One game - to see what we'd be up against should we make League One at some stage.
What a complete contrast in fortunes. In the first-half Walsall were awful. They struggled to put two passes together and Gillingham should have been 2-0 or even 3-0 up at the break. The reason they weren't was Walsall keeper Neil Etheridge, who saved a Luke Norris penalty and a 25 yard screamer from Bradley Dack. Walsall offered precious little and their only noteworthy effort was a free-kick that clipped the crossbar.
But missed chances often come back to haunt you. Walsall in the second half were unrecognisable from the previous 45 minutes. They stroked the ball around on the deck and pulled the home side all over the place. They took the lead through Milan Lalkovic who picked up the ball in midfield, ghosted past two defenders and curled a beauty into the far post. The home side were stunned after all their first half efforts and it was no surprise when a neat finish by Jordy Hiwula doubled the visitors lead. As the home fans streamed out Luke Norris scored a consolation for Gillingham right at the death.
A crowd of 6,246 saw the game including 204 visiting fans. So what is the difference? It's probably marginally quicker in League One but ball retention is better. There is a lot less hit and hope and the moves are a lot slicker. There was precious little time-wasting and the 90 minutes seemed to fly past. Not impressed with referee Stuart Attwell who made far too many mistakes (e.g. goal kicks that should have been corners etc and vice-versa).
For those that don't know Priestfield it's an all-seater ground. It's £21 for an adult behind the home goal but only £15 at the open away end (no surprise there!). Along the side it's £24. If Wycombe did go up there's precious little extra to be gained from admission prices going up. I went for the cheaper hospitality package: a good seat, programme and pre-match meal. I thought it was good value for £40 (Wycombe's equivalent is £45 for League Two fayre). The staff were very helpful and everyone I met was very friendly. A carvers meal with a choice of beef or turkey (note WWFC - not red meat every time!). When you look at what clubs charge for lower league football nowadays you've got to be very slick at what you do and always be looking to push your standards up, even if it's at no additional cost. There are so many competing opportunities to relieve you of your money these days that you simply can't afford to be second-best.
I look forward to League One football at Adams Park "in the fullness of time".
Comments
Very interesting Andy, especially the wider context and I'm sure Andrew Howard is very mindful of the need for high quality customer service and decent entertainment. Sounds like you had both last night.