14th February 2000   

4 games for Tipton
Stitch not best "chuffed"

MATTHEW TIPTON will be hit with a four-match suspension after landing in more disciplinary trouble against Gillingham on Saturday. The teenage striker, who was sent off in shame at Millwall the previous week, now has an extra ban after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season. Tipton's dismissal for violent conduct had already forced him out of next weekend's trip to Wrexham, plus the home games against Wigan and Bristol Rovers. The local derby at Bury has been added to his sentence, meaning Tipton will be out of action for the best part of a month. Tipton's latest caution — given for a late challenge on a defender — was his second in the senior side but came on top of three in the reserves. Scott McNiven is also out of Saturday's match, while Shaun Garnett, Lee Duxbury and John Sheridan are only one booking away from bans of their own. The sudden rush of disciplinary problems is making life difficult for Athletic manager Andy Ritchie. 

He lashed out at his players after the defeat by Gillingham — accusing them of producing "total rubbish" in the second half — and could still dip into the transfer market to sign a striker on loan. Craig Dudley returned from a month-long absence on Saturday, but top scorer Mark Allott remains on the injured list. Allott has a hamstring pull and, with Tipton now out of their plans, Athletic are facing a shortage of options up front. Ritchie said: "We will discuss signings today, but the first thing to do is see how Mark is progressing. "He is young and has time on his side when it comes to healing, so he could even be OK for next weekend." Athletic also hope to have Sheridan back from the neck problem which has seen him miss two games. More youngsters could come into the frame at Wrexham, so Thursday's reserve-team game with Manchester City will take on a vital extra dimension. 

ATHLETIC weren’t so much off-colour on Saturday as struck down by plague and awaiting the last rites. From an awful beginning to an end which smacked of submission, their display against Gillingham was a stark reminder of how much work lies ahead if they are to become serious challengers for promotion. This was a collective off-day to rank with the worst of them, culminating in a second half which was the most dire of a roller-coaster season. Athletic did find a hint of rhythm before the break, but Gillingham’s FA Cup giant-killers didn’t have to be at their best to take three valuable points in the chase for the play-offs. The turning point of the game — a goal by Barry Ashby which restored the visitors’ lead — was an unlucky setback from a highly-dubious free-kick. Athletic, however, failed to respond positively.

They didn’t function in any area of the pitch and gave Gillingham too easy a ride on the way to a first away win since November. Athletic had a death wish early on, giving the Gills’ forward line some help they didn’t need. Not only was the opener a catalogue of mini-disasters, but Athletic squandered possession far too easily around their own box. Tackles were missed, passes sent astray and yawning gaps left unattended. Only when those suicidal tendencies were put to rest did they begin to find any of the cohesion required against a team with burgeoning self-belief. Manager Andy Ritchie argued otherwise, but the absence of John Sheridan was surely a big factor. It brought an enforced change to Athletic’s style of play — one they had overcome well at Millwall the week before — and meant there was no natural outlet. In short, Athletic looked lost without their main influence, especially as Richard Graham is clearly still lacking in fitness. Although Danny Boshell is a complete novice in first-team terms, there may have been a case for pitching him in from the start and exploiting his excellent form in the reserves.

Athletic’s most costly mistake was a failure to make the most of their first-half domination. Gillingham weren’t quite on the rack, but the thumb screws were applied for a while as the hosts enjoyed their best spell of the game. But once the visitors plundered their controversial second goal, Athletic were never the same again. What little impetus they had disappeared, leaving an error-strewn mess and, towards the end, an apparent acceptance of defeat. With Sheridan still injured, Ritchie named an unchanged line-up with Boshell preferred to Mark Innes on the bench. Craig Dudley was back in the 16, but Matthew Tipton kept his place in attack. Gillingham were looking for a tonic in the build-up to their FA Cup quarter-final at Chelsea — and they were gifted the perfect start after four minutes thanks to a hideous defensive mix-up in the home penalty area. Shaun Garnett’s poor back-pass put goalkeeper Gary Kelly under pressure on his own line. His fluffed clearance fell to Graham, who could only knock the ball square to Ty Gooden and present the midfield man with a simple finish from 10 yards. But Athletic atoned for the error three minutes later with Garnett’s first goal of the season.

The big centre-back stayed up front after a corner was cleared and, when Lee Duxbury delivered a fine cross from the right, Garnett headed the ball beyond goalkeeper Vince Bartram from six yards. The early goals set the tone for the first half, with both sides looking more assured in attack than defence. Gillingham’s Andy Hessenthaler had penalty appeals waved away after a challenge from Andrew Holt, while Bartram was kept busy by Tipton’s header and a quick turn and shot from Steve Whitehall. Tipton’s cracking 25-yarder again had Bartram at full stretch as Athletic tried to step up a gear. But, after 41 minutes, Gillingham made it two goals from two attempts when they swept back into the lead. Athletic were furious when Neil Adams was penalised for handling the ball by the corner flag, even though it hit him at point-blank range. Gooden whipped over a wicked free-kick and the menacing Ashby glanced a near-post header in off the underside of Kelly’s crossbar. The goal rattled Athletic, whose passing became careless and disjointed on the bumpy pitch. Gillingham, with Hessenthaler prompting busily and their defence tightening up, needed little invitation to take the upper hand.

Ritchie’s answer was to move Tipton into midfield and bring on Dudley, who shot wide when given a good sight of goal after 65 minutes. Almost immediately, however, The Gills grabbed their killer third from a breakaway which caught Athletic dangerously short-staffed at the back. It was four against three in Gillingham’s favour as a long ball was played over the top and, when Roland Edge crossed low from the left, Rodney Rowe nipped in at the near post to finish from close range. For the most part, Athletic spent the rest of the match with concrete in their boots. The bright spot was a confident late debut for 18-year-old Boshell, but only a deflection prevented Paul Smith’s drive beating Kelly to provide a repeat of Gillingham’s 4-1 win at Boundary Park last season:

ATHLETIC: Kelly, S McNiven, Garnett, Hotte, Adams, Holt, Rickers (Dudley 56), Graham, Duxbury, Tipton (Boshell 71), Whitehall (Sugden 71). Subs (not used): Miskelly, Jones.

GILLINGHAM: Bartram, Southall, Edge, Ashby, Butters, Smith, Hessenthaler (Saunders 82), Lewis, Gooden, Rowe, Onuora (Nosworthy 73). Subs (not used): Mitten, McGlinchey, Thomson.

ANDY RITCHIE blasted his players after seeing Athletic slump to their first home defeat in six games. “The second half was total rubbish,” stormed the manager. “It all comes down to attitude — and, believe me, some harsh words have been said in the dressing room.” Ritchie thought all three Gillingham goals should have been prevented and accused his side of waving the white flag when faced with defeat. He said: “The first goal was a comedy of errors. We should have launched it out of danger, but we just gave it to them and asked for trouble. “For the second, I couldn’t believe the handball decision. The ball was smashed at Neil Adams from five yards and I don’t see how that can be intentional. “But, having said that, our marking was poor. And it was bad defending for Gillingham’s third as well, so maybe we were having a give-out day. We were certainly very generous. “After that goal, we just threw in the towel. We gave up in terms of ideas and we gave up physically. “I’ve had my say in the dressing room and I’m not the only one. Some of the players aren’t happy either. “To be fair, one or two of them really grafted and, even though it wasn’t going for them, they didn’t give in. “But too many others thought `I’ve made a mistake and I don’t want the ball’. I’m not telling tales out of school because that’s what was said in the dressing room. “The performance in the second half was the worst we’ve played all season. “It wasn’t brilliant in the first either, but at least we were making chances.”

Ritchie refused to accept John Sheridan’s absence as a contributory factor. “We didn’t miss him,” he insisted. “I knew everyone would say that and obviously you do feel it when someone of his quality isn’t there. “But we have enough players at this club to be able to perform without John Sheridan. We played well without him at Millwall last week and there are other people who should make sure we do it again.” There was no temptation to include Danny Boshell from the start, but Ritchie did feel the teenager played well as a substitute. He added: “We just gave Danny a game because, from the way we were playing, it was obvious we weren’t going to get back into it. “It was good for him to make his debut. He wanted the ball, he tried to pass it and he looked quite bright.” 

For Gillingham boss Peter Taylor, the result was perfect preparation for Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Chelsea. Taylor said: “People think cup runs take something away from the league, but this was more important. “It’s a very good victory for us because I said beforehand that we needed to start winning more away games. “We gave Oldham their goal when we didn’t clear properly, but it’s nice to score three times away from home.“We were very solid at the back, which we needed to be because Oldham is a difficult place to play.”