Gillingham’s youth team will hope to impress under the lights at Priestfield in the FA Youth Cup.
The Gillingham under-18s are in action against Eastleigh tonight (Thursday) having progressed past Ware in round one – a game academy manager Bryan Bull admitted was far from straightforward.
A 2-1 win over Ware was described by Bull as “the most eventful youth cup tie in my 24 seasons here.”
He added: “Speaking to the players afterwards, the overall feeling having eventually won the game was one of relief, rather than elation.”
The Gills, managed by Mark Moss, took the lead from an early corner, Josh Bayliss firing home into the roof of the net, and after dominating the first half hour added a second through Harry Waldock.
Home side Ware pulled a goal back before the interval and a penalty save from keeper Tobey Smith with an hour gone maintained their 2-1 advantage.
The Gills gave away another penalty which led to a second yellow card and a dismissal for Josh Woodliffe but the Ware player blasted the spot-kick over the bar.
Gillingham went down to nine men as Leighton Murray was also sent off – an offence that was later quashed on appeal. Despite the disadvantage the Gills hung on in the final 20 minutes for the win.
“The remaining players showed excellent resilience to not concede and take their place in round two,” Bull added.
Thursday night’s visitors Eastleigh beat Portsmouth 2-1 in the previous round. Winners of the tie will face Oxford United at home in round three.
Tickets for the match in the Medway Stand lower section cost £5 for adults and £3 for under-18s. Kick off is 7pm.
On the same evening the Gills are hosting a ‘Sportsman’s event’ with former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy the guest speaker, along with ex Premier League referee Jeff Winter. Danny Kedwell and Jack Payne are also on the guest list.
Gillingham’s under-18s head into the game off the back of a 4-1 defeat against Cambridge United on Saturday, a consolation for the Gills coming late on through leading scorer Kai Garrett.
