https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/s ... rt-310200/
"Jayden Clarke nets quickfire double for Gillingham at Dartford"
Gillingham got the better of Isthmian Premier Division Dartford after a dominant second half display.
Jayden Clarke scored twice for Gillingham in the space of three minutes during a relentless start to the second period from the League 2 side. Youth team striker Harry Bridle added two more goals for the visitors to complete a 4-0 scoreline.
Gillingham handed a start to their new striker Marcus Wyllie, signed on Monday from Enfield Town, and he impressed on his first showing.
Wyllie had an early shot saved by Dartford keeper Jacob Marsden, had a headed effort ruled out for offside, did all the hard work for Gills’ second goal and went close on a couple of occasions just before mass changes after the hour mark.
Dartford boss Ady Pennock and his assistant Roland Edge - former teammates at the Gills - had overseen a major rebuild in the summer after relegation to the Isthmian Premier Division.
Their summer recruits included former Gills under-18 player Ben Allen - named on the bench for the Darts.
Gillingham - playing their third pre-season game of the summer - included new signing Wyllie upfront along with former Charlton player Euan Williams, who is on trial.
A handful of youth players helped fill the Gills squad with a number of senior players out injured. Josh Andrews and Elliott Nevitt were both missing from the weekend.
Also out were Jonny Williams, Ethan Coleman, Armani Little, Alex Giles and George Lapslie.
Neither keeper was overly tested in the opening half with Marsden denying Wyllie with an early opener, saving with his legs to deny the new Gillingham striker.
Jayden Clarke had plenty of the ball down the Gills left side while on the opposite flank Jack Nolan fired wide after the visitors worked an opening from the edge of the box.
Dartford youngster Olly Box put a couple of corners in the box but keeper Glenn Morris wasn’t troubled despite Callum Jones and Duane Ofori-Acheampong keeping the Gillingham defenders on their toes.
Nolan had an early second half chance for the Gills but couldn’t get a decent connection to an angled pass allowing Dartford’s trialist keeper to gather.
The Gills continued to find spaces to attack at the start of the second half, spreading the ball around the pitch, and they got an opening goal in the 54th minute.
Remeao Hutton hit a crossfield pass to Clarke and his deft finish beat the Dartford keeper who had come out to close the gap.
Three minutes after his opener Clarke had another. Wyllie won possession on the edge of the box and when his shot was blocked, he ball fell kindly to the Gills winger to convert.
Gillingham made changes but continued to enjoy space down the right flank and Joe Gbode picked out Ashley Nadesan - making his first appearance of pre-season - but he was unable to convert at the back post.
Dartford’s replacement keeper was certainly busier in the second half and made saves to deny Aaron Rowe and a couple of efforts from Bridle, before he made it third time lucky.
Youth striker Bridle found himself in space after the Darts lost possession close to goal and he made them pay with a clinical finish.
Gbode was denied by the Darts keeper late on, out-muscling his marker to win a ball over the top, as the Gills threatened to extend their advantage. Bridle also headed wide from Robbie McKenzie’s cross.
Bridle added Gillingham’s fourth with the last kick of the game from Harry Waldock’s cross.
Gillingham: Morris (Turner 62mins), Hutton (Webster 62mins), Clark Gale 62mins), Hawkins (Ehmer 62min), Masterson (Ogie 62mins), Dieng (McKenzie 62mins), Skipper (Waldock 46mins), Nolan (Gbode 62mins), Clarke (Rowe 62mins), E Williams (Bridle 62mins), Wyllie (Nadesan 62mins).
Dartford: Marsden (Trialist 46mins), Whitefield, Odaudu, Hill, Jones, Pinder, Nayler, Olapade, Box, Williams, Ofori-Acheampong. Subs: Allen, Day, Campbell, Christian-Law, Proctor, Kepka, 4xtrialists.
Referee: Ben Atkinson
Attendance: 1,008
Pre season friendly Dartford v Gillingham Tue 23 Jul 2024 @ 7.45pm
Re: Pre season friendly Dartford v Gillingham Tue 23 Jul 2024 @ 7.45pm
Shame the Gills keeper didn’t get tested at all, but Ade’s starting XI is starting to take form. Marsden in goal with Hill and Whitefield in front, Box and Carruthers through the middle with DOA and Jones up top completing the spine of the team. This leaves full backs and wingers, of which Odaudu should occupy one place on the left. Pinder and Olapade have turned out pretty well so far as have Ben Allen and Ashton Day.
It’s no mean feat for Pennock to build an almost entirely new squad with just three young lads rolling over and three known returnees, but what has been served up so far ought to be a reasonable force in the IPL and rightly so. We do not expect to win every game from the off, and should expect some bumps & shakes at the beginning as our new team begins to gel, but let’s be clear - Dartford FC is below its natural level here and we must be looking for promotion and nothing less.
It’s no mean feat for Pennock to build an almost entirely new squad with just three young lads rolling over and three known returnees, but what has been served up so far ought to be a reasonable force in the IPL and rightly so. We do not expect to win every game from the off, and should expect some bumps & shakes at the beginning as our new team begins to gel, but let’s be clear - Dartford FC is below its natural level here and we must be looking for promotion and nothing less.
Re: Pre season friendly Dartford v Gillingham Tue 23 Jul 2024 @ 7.45pm
Interesting comments on the pitch, we were talking about that last night and why it wasn't watered prior to kick-off?
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/spo ... rd-310201/
Bonner: A nice evening's work for Gillingham
Gillingham bossed the second half against non-league Dartford and the manager wants his team to be just as dominant from the off.
There’s plenty more to work on for the Gills in pre-season but Tuesday night’s game at Dartford - a 4-0 win - was another positive step following two games against Championship sides, a goalless draw with Millwall and a 2-0 win over Watford.
Manager Mark Bonner was pleased with the second half performance but not so much with the way they started the game.
“I thought the first half was slow,” he said.
“In the first 15 minutes of the second half there was much more intensity in the game, probably a few technical errors in the first half, a little bit of that was that (the pitch) was a bit dry, a bit slow, a very different kind of game to the two that we’ve played (before).
“We knew nothing about them before the game. There were a few things we needed to do a bit better from the first half and we started the second half very well, much more intent, more direction in our game and more options of who to play with.
“We don’t want to start in first (gear). That is the big point, we want to be really dominant as early as possible in games and we want to find a level.
This was a different game, you get a bit more time, a bit more space, we got stuck in some areas and it gets caught under you a little bit, it was a bit dry and slow at times. It is exactly what you probably expect the game to be.
“It was a decent contest at times and we are still mix and matching teams and putting everyone together and getting fit and getting a better understanding.”
Gillingham’s new signing Marcus Wyllie played his first match for the club and he had an early effort saved and another ruled out for offside.
Two second-half goals from Jayden Clarke in the space of three minutes were just reward for Gills’ dominance after the restart. Youth striker Harry Bridle scored two of his own in the final 15 minutes.
Bonner said: “(It was a game) where we had a bit more of the ball, it wasn’t just counter-attack for us, there were solutions for us to find of how we build and how we create chances but a nice evening’s work for us.
“The boys who did the 60 minutes, physically brilliant, the games a bit more open so you have some big distances to cover. We have ticked a good box there physically.
“For the lads who went on, it was a long old day and night waiting to do 30 minutes at the end, but they’ve went on and did well.
“The team is still mix and match and we have a few missing but for everyone here, good, no problems, another night boxed off in pre-season before we get ready for Saturday (at Southend United).
“Some of the boys will do big minutes again and some of the ones who have done the smaller side of that (game at Dartford) will do the bigger side Saturday.”
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/spo ... rd-310201/
Bonner: A nice evening's work for Gillingham
Gillingham bossed the second half against non-league Dartford and the manager wants his team to be just as dominant from the off.
There’s plenty more to work on for the Gills in pre-season but Tuesday night’s game at Dartford - a 4-0 win - was another positive step following two games against Championship sides, a goalless draw with Millwall and a 2-0 win over Watford.
Manager Mark Bonner was pleased with the second half performance but not so much with the way they started the game.
“I thought the first half was slow,” he said.
“In the first 15 minutes of the second half there was much more intensity in the game, probably a few technical errors in the first half, a little bit of that was that (the pitch) was a bit dry, a bit slow, a very different kind of game to the two that we’ve played (before).
“We knew nothing about them before the game. There were a few things we needed to do a bit better from the first half and we started the second half very well, much more intent, more direction in our game and more options of who to play with.
“We don’t want to start in first (gear). That is the big point, we want to be really dominant as early as possible in games and we want to find a level.
This was a different game, you get a bit more time, a bit more space, we got stuck in some areas and it gets caught under you a little bit, it was a bit dry and slow at times. It is exactly what you probably expect the game to be.
“It was a decent contest at times and we are still mix and matching teams and putting everyone together and getting fit and getting a better understanding.”
Gillingham’s new signing Marcus Wyllie played his first match for the club and he had an early effort saved and another ruled out for offside.
Two second-half goals from Jayden Clarke in the space of three minutes were just reward for Gills’ dominance after the restart. Youth striker Harry Bridle scored two of his own in the final 15 minutes.
Bonner said: “(It was a game) where we had a bit more of the ball, it wasn’t just counter-attack for us, there were solutions for us to find of how we build and how we create chances but a nice evening’s work for us.
“The boys who did the 60 minutes, physically brilliant, the games a bit more open so you have some big distances to cover. We have ticked a good box there physically.
“For the lads who went on, it was a long old day and night waiting to do 30 minutes at the end, but they’ve went on and did well.
“The team is still mix and match and we have a few missing but for everyone here, good, no problems, another night boxed off in pre-season before we get ready for Saturday (at Southend United).
“Some of the boys will do big minutes again and some of the ones who have done the smaller side of that (game at Dartford) will do the bigger side Saturday.”
Re: Pre season friendly Dartford v Gillingham Tue 23 Jul 2024 @ 7.45pm
Mark Bonner Post-Dartford
https://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com/ ... 0_ob3q4w23
Jayden Clarke Post-Dartford
https://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com/ ... 0_fzaipcrj
https://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com/ ... 0_ob3q4w23
Jayden Clarke Post-Dartford
https://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com/ ... 0_fzaipcrj