Only two establishments in the Good Beer Guide and dark skies and a little drizzle greeted us in Gillingham. Hence nine of us took refreshment in the 'Frog and Toad' (located a little off the beaten track), with over seven hundred faithful elsewhere, probably supping some Aussie lager, given the morning gloom at Old Trafford.

But by kick off, thankfully it was sunshine (and a fifty for Bell and Peterson) and a carnival atmosphere as almost 800 of us climbed into the temporary open stand reserved for the U's fans. Sadly, only one young lady serving in the burger bar meant its queue was longer than that outside a single lavvy at a weight watchers convention where some laxative fruit juice was in abundance.

I was wrong expecting Pappoe and Olefumi to start. Our back four was Wilson, Eastman, Magnus and the impressive Dickson. Joe Dunne had evidently elected to go for safety and solidity at the back rather than adventure. Equally, Martin Allen had left new Gills signing Akinfenwa on the bench. I thought that decision odd, given Sanchez Watt was injured and hence we might not have enough width to steer the ball around the much travelled striker's ample girth.

Indeed, after his introduction, it was soon evident that in the heat, Akinfenwa wasn't intending to travel much further. But he has always been a thorn in our side and he did provide a few anxious moments, but perhaps more so to the lady in the burger bar, who, by now, had received his post-match order.

BBC Sport reports that “the reigning League Two champions should have taken the lead in the first half but Danny Kedwell crashed his shot off the woodwork.” But here there was closer similarity with events at Old Trafford. Both 'Hotspot' and 'Snicko' confirmed what we always knew, that it was a magnificent save by Sam Walker. Indeed it was one of those days where all independent observers seemed to be blinded by the sunlight. Referee, Mr Hill had his usual awful game, whilst the assistant to our left missed numerous (long) foul throws as the Gills tried to steal an advantage by the encroachment of the throwers feet onto the pitch. His interpretation of the offside and 'the ball's out' laws also seemed to justify the introduction of 'DRS' and the intervention of a 'fourth official' (but then one of those didn't help us at Charlton two years ago, when Gillespie scored a perfectly good goal, I digress)...

The game progressed in one of those grind them down, cat and mouse type formats. Neither side gaining much conclusive control of the match, but the U's domination of possession perhaps suggested we were the classier side. But for all the slick passing, we looked tame up front. Freddie Sears, playing wide, ran and chased hard, but the situation cried out for an Olefufi and Drey Wright to dazzle the Gills defence. Frankly, I don't reckon the Ibrehe and Sears combination has enough venom. Sears couldn't hit a barn door at the moment, and Ibrehe and Massey seem reluctant to shoot and want to walk the ball into the net. We did miss Sanchez Watt.

Craig Eastmond showed his class, suffice to be repeatedly scythed down by clumsy tackles, but Mr Hill seemed reluctant to reach for his book. Marcus Bean and David Wright ran their legs off in front of our defence, and to my mind their protective effort offered a little more scope for adventure down the flanks, but I won't be critical of Joe Dunne's initial tactics given that his subsequent Plan B then worked. The tiring Bean was replaced by Gilbey (n.b. I had previously said don't be surprised by his introduction) and Alex had two glorious 'free header' opportunities to wrap up the points for the U's.

Up to this point, most of the travelling U's fans would have been content with a goalless draw and shared points. Gillingham were sufficiently dangerous to have stolen a win in a game that was always going to be devoid of opportunities and goals. But Joe Dunne evidently sensed exactly what we did. The Gills had used their three subs very early, and upon a Death Valley like stamina sapping day. Ultimately, it was reminiscent of Brentford away last season, except that here it was the U's that introduced the fresh legs and hence stole the points in the 89th minute. Substitute Drey Wright looked like Ursain Bolt compared to the other twenty one now running on empty. He seized the moment to cleverly beat his full back and cross low and hard. Andy Bond managed one lung bursting run and showed the others how to shoot on sight, this was possibly his only touch of the ball.

My Man of the Match? Sam Walker for a number of magnificent saves. Let there be no doubt, whichever side had won, it would have been 'smash and grab'.

Martin Allen please eat your pre-match words... as you won't get a burger.

Photo: Action Images

Colchester United Polls