Gillingham are expected to field a youthful side again as they look to win a place in the Kent Senior Cup semi-final.
The Gills play Tonbridge Angels away in the quarter-final at Longmead Stadium tonight (Tuesday).
Chatham Town will play the winner in the semi-final, with Maidstone United already claiming one of the places in the final, after they beat Ebbsfleet United back in January.
Gillingham manager Gareth Ainsworth hinted at fielding some senior members of his team, but it’s expected that under-18s and young pros will make up the bulk of the side to face Tonbridge.
Gills beat Sevenoaks in the last round, with recently departed youth boss Joe Dunne taking charge of a young team. Zac Whitelock and Sullivan Booth scored in a 2-0 win
“We’ll take it seriously,” said Gills boss Ainsworth. “We’re at Tonbridge and there’ll be a decent outfit.
“There will be people who need minutes to play in that game. We’ll make sure that we put out the right people.
“It’s on 4G, which again is an issue for some players, but we want to win every game whether it’s the Kent Senior Cup, or away at Barrow on a Saturday afternoon.”
Sheppey have already confirmed that Gills have requested loan players Louie Dayal and Michael Luxton are available for the Kent Cup match, rather than their Swale derby against Sittingbourne.
Several others players are out on loan but could feature. Harry Webster is at Ramsgate, Damien Theodore has been playing at Hastings United and Cruz Beszant is on work experience at Ashford United.
The Gills have a few injuries among their young players with Logan Dobbs among those out. Goalkeeper Taite Holtam has been in the treatment room recently and Nayan Grant is away on international duty with Bermuda under-20s.
Tonbridge boss Alan Dunne has said he’ll be naming a strong team for the game.
He said: “We want to progress in a competition we haven’t won for many, many years. I’ve always said I want to create memories at this club and see this as another competition in which to do so. I will be putting a strong team out.”
Kick-off is at 7.45pm. Tickets are available online or on the gate, priced at £12 for adults, £10 concessions, £5 youth (12-17) and free for under-12s accompanied by a ticket-buying adult.
