Priestfield Stadium

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Gillingham 2-2 Port Vale

Aerial shot of the Priestfield Stadium (Bing Maps)

Programme - £3.00

Ratings

Overall Ground Quality : 6/10

Ease of getting there : 8/10

Atmosphere : 5/10

Programme : 9/10

View of Action : 9/10

Quality of the game : 8/10

The "football" feeling : 7/10

Chances of coming here for a random game : 1/10

Legroom : 10/10

Surrounding area : 2/10

Overall : 65/100

Chatham Naval Memorial

Rochester and the River Medway

Chatham and the River Medway

Chatham, Rochester and the River Medway

Fort Amherst

Brian Moore Stand

Gordon Road Stand

Brian Moore Stand

Gordon Road Stand

Rainham End

Conference Centre at Priestfield

Medway Stand

The Port Vale team coach in the designated area

Medway Stand and the players enterance

Medway Stand

Rainham End

Gordon Road Stand

Brian Moore Stand

Rainham End

The sun setting on the Priestfield Stadium

Gordon Road Stand

Brian Moore Stand

Rainham End

Gordon Road Stand

Brian Moore Stand

Rainham End

Gordon Road Stand

Brian Moore Stand

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Gillingham 2-2 Port Vale

Saturday 29th November 2014

A momentous day from a personal point of view as this was the day I (Ross) completed my 92 league ground visits. The vision started in February 2004 at an FA Cup tie at The Valley and was finished just under 10 years later a short distance away in west Kent.

In between I have travelled 100’s of miles by car, coach, train and in the case of the Keepmoat Stadium taxi as well!
Our long journey to the South East of England started with at 7:30 am going down the M1 southbound before using the A14 and M11.
We thought it would be fitting to visit The Valley where it all started. An early kick off against Ipswich Town meant upon our arrival at 10am, stewards swarmed the area around the stadium. Unfortunately we were not granted permission to take photos inside the stadium but instead got a few from the outside through the gates and the surrounding area.
With time pressing ahead of their kick off, we continued our journey down the A2 visiting Welling United's Park View Road which is also shared with Erith & Belvedere. Park View Road is typical run down football ground which has probably seen better days. The ground is half shared by both clubs with Welling United being based on one side of the ground and Erith & Belvedere based on the other.
Not too far down the road was our next stop VCD Athletic who play at Old Road. As we made our way there through various housing estates, we stumbled across Phoenix Sports so we decided to make a quick stop there before continuing to VCD Athletic.

Considering VCD Athletic who currently play in the Ryman Isthmian Premier, the ground looked very small and lacking in facilities considering they were playing the likes of Kingstonian and Maidstone United.

Following our stop at Old Road, we made our way to the Medway town of Strood where Rochester United play at Rochester United Sports Ground. With the gates being locked and the ground located fairly set back from the main road, taking photos proved to be difficult.

Adrian paid a visit to Chatham Town a few years back yet the ground that day was locked up and similar to Rochester United, proved to be difficult to photograph. Two years on and he is back again and this time taking photos inside.

As we left Chatham Town, Adrian noticed a big bank with a tower at the top. Being curious and with time in our favour, we drove up to the top. The tower was actually a naval war memorial with an old fort placed upon the hill side looking towards the River Medway observing some wonderful views.

Ironically the Great Lines Park where we visited was only across the road from our hotel, The King Charles Hotel, where we left the car, checked in and walked 1 ½ miles to the ground through the grotty high street of Gillingham via an equally grotty cafe for a mug of tea.

When we arrived at the Priestfield Stadium, we took photos around the outside where the ground is surrounded around terraced houses.

Once we finished taking our photos, we went in where I (Ross) took a photo of the Main Stand from the corner of the ground near the tunnel.
Meanwhile, Adrian asked a steward if they could make a surprise announcement of my achievement reaching my 92nd ground over the PA system.
We then made our way up to the seats in the upper tier which was submerged in the glorious sunshine (even though it's winter!).
The Priestfield Stadium has been the home of Gillingham Football Club since the club's formation in 1893, and was also the temporary home of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club for two seasons during the 1990s. The stadium underwent extensive redevelopment during the late 1990s, which has brought its capacity down from nearly 20,000 to a current figure of 11,582. It has four all-seater stands, all constructed since 1997, although one is only a temporary structure. There are also conference and banqueting facilities. Despite having invested heavily in its current stadium, Gillingham F.C. has plans to relocate to a new stadium.

Owner Paul Scally took over at the club in 1995 and soon instigated a programme of redevelopment which completely transformed the formerly run-down ground. The closed stand was replaced with a new Gordon Road Stand in 1997 at a cost of more than £2 million. Two years later the Rainham End terracing was replaced with a new all-seater stand, with the sports centre behind it demolished and replaced with a car park. The main stand on the northern side of the pitch was demolished in 1999, along with a section of away terracing, to be replaced with a new state-of-the-art facility dubbed the Medway Stand, but the work was beset by problems. Due to serious delays with the building of the new stand, the club was forced to spend most of the subsequent season first with that side of the ground completely empty, then later with building work ongoing. Supporters were not able to sit in the new stand until the latter stages of the 1999–2000 season, and even then many of the facilities had not been finished. The stand also caused severe financial problems for the club, as its facilities eventually cost significantly more than the original estimate. The fourth side of the ground was redeveloped in 2003 when the Town End terracing was removed and a temporary stand put in its place, named after the late football commentator and Gillingham supporter Brian Moore. It was hoped that work would begin on a permanent Brian Moore Stand in 2004,but due to talk of relocating the club to a new ground and the club's current financial problems, this has been put on hold.

Chatham has its dockyard, Rochester a cathedral and castle, Gillingham? Absolutely no re deeming features! The only reason you would ever visit this part of the Medway is to go to the football which was backed up when a member of staff at our hotel agreed!

And doing that proved to be an afternoon of great entertainment. Neither side have really got going this season so it was never going to be a game of the day, however it turned out to be a good advert for League One football.

Helped by an early goal by Port Vale’s Dany N'Guessan, the game was end to end. The Vale wide man coming inside found space received the ball from Michael O’Connor and firing a low right foot shot past Nelson.

The visitors were looking the more assured so it was against the run of play when Gillingham equalised. Irish central defender John Egan having a day to remember with a brace, his first a left foot shot from 30 yards after a run and exchange of passes with Jake Hessenthaler.

Gillingham then started to pose Vale problems with both Dickenson and Loft forcing good saves from Chris Neal, while just before the break Vale could have scored a second, Dodds being denied by a smart save by Nelson.

The second half continued in similar vein, Egan scoring again powering a header home for 2-1 following a Doughty corner. Gillingham then opened up Vale on several occasions but couldn't find the elusive finish to kill the game off.

Credit must be given to the visitors who never gave up and always believed they would get something from the game.

Substitute Colin Daniel hit the post, Michael Brown shot wide and Louis Dodds hit the bar as Gillingham rode their luck.

Just when you thought the Gills would hold out for a narrow win, former top flight player Michael Brown drove a shot which took a deflection spun in the air and nestled in the corner of the net for an equalising goal in stoppage time.

I'm afraid a bad error by Gillingham goalkeeper Stuart Nelson, it should have been a routine save and it cost his team dearly.

For the 131 Port Vale supporters that travelled from the Potteries, a long trip home but a satisfying one with a deserved share of the spoils.

Port Vale looked like a decent side and on that performance should have no problems staying in the division. Gillingham are fifth bottom looking over their shoulders at the bottom four, they look as if they are in for a tough season.

Following the match, we would normally make a quick dash out of the town or city but on this occasion took a leisurely walk back to our hotel.
After catching up on the final scores, we decided to get the train to Rochester from Gillingham for an Indian meal and a few drinks.
Whilst we were there, we observed the cathedral and the castle which were both lit up for all to see and looking rather festive with Christmas only around the corner.
Only a 6 minute journey on the train meant that we were back at our hotel in no time and after an exhausting day, in bed shortly after!

Sunday 30th November 2014

Our start to the day began with a good breakfast in the hotel where we found once hosted David Bowie live during the 70's when it was called the Aurora Hotel. Following breakfast, we handed our key in and made our way out of Gillingham.

Our first stop of the day was Bromley who play at a fog submerged Hayes Lane which proved to be difficult to photograph which saw us making our way through bushes and climbing fences in order to get a few good photos.

We then made our way to Beckenham Town who play at an equally foggy Eden Park Avenue which also hosts Millwall Ladies. Their ground featured an unusual yet qwirky clubhouse and changing rooms yet some rather average stands surrounding the field of play.

Our next stop was Carshalton Athletic who play at Colston Avenue. We found the ground was locked up and therefore made the most of gaps in fences to get the best photo opportunities. Considering it was locked up, we certainly made the most and got some great photos of Colston Avenue.

The famous giant killers of 1989, Sutton United still play at Gander Green Lane where they beat FA Cup holders Coventry City. The ground has seen very few changes with the biggest change being the stand behind the goal where a previous curving bank is now hidden away by a new terrace structure.

Since moving away from Sandy Lane, Tooting and Mitcham United now play at Imperial Fields which was built in 2002. Considering the ground is well over 10 years old, it’s already starting to look worn in places with paint peeling and weeds growing around the stadium. Imperial Fields holds around 3,500 supporters within the main stand, the partially covered terraces behind both goals and a small handful of steps running the length of the pitch. Being a Sunday afternoon, we found the ground was locked up therefore making our intention to take photos rather difficult with limited gaps around the perimeter wall.

With all our stops finished we made our way to our final destination, Wembley Stadium, the home of English Football. Even though Adrian and I have been on Wembley to see a League Two Play off Final back in 2007, we wanted to take part in their tour as we did with Old Trafford and Anfield.

The tour consisted of a rather annoying tour guide (obsessed about the Gooners!), foreigners and kids who only support the top 4 Premier League teams!

On a lighter note, visiting behind the scenes of Wembley was brilliant and the sight of 90,000 empty seats was staggering.

Before we made our way back to the East Midlands, we visited Morrisons in Kingsbury to have a coffee and gingerbread man looking back at our busy yet enjoyable weekend.

With a fairly straight forward journey back up the M1, we were home in time for dinner.

What can I say, it’s now all complete! During our travels we’ve heard some great stories, met some interesting people and not forgetting watching a whole range of football in different surroundings.

I suppose all Adrian and I can do now is continue watching football locally, continue to support Leicester City and wait for the new season for new teams coming up from the Conference.