FA Cup: Gillingham vs WHUFC -- January 5th, 2019

Here we go... the reason I spend $4.99 a month a subscribe to ESPN+

it's the big old 'do I cancel or keep' dilemma... based entirely around West Ham's cup performances. This usually the last month I have to keep it as we frequently dump ourselves out of the cup at this stage to lower league opponents... will today be any different?

We shall have to wait and see...

Here is the guardian's pre-amble on the match-up...

Gillingham v West Ham
Sunday 6.16pm Venue Priestfield BT Sport 1
Referee Andrew Madley VAR No Odds H 9-2, A 3-5, D 3-1

West Ham have made a perfect start to the second coming of David Moyes, thrashing Bournemouth on New Year’s Day, and they will be keen to keep spirits high here. Moyes could do with a good FA Cup run, after Manuel Pellegrini suffered a couple of memorable humiliations against lower league opponents. The Hammers were dumped out of the competition by Wimbledon last year, and thumped 4-0 by Oxford in the Carabao Cup earlier this season. Jacob Steinberg


The lack of VAR will be nice, a chance to return to the heady days of a year or so ago...

Some match facts from the BBC:


This is the first ever FA Cup meeting between Gillingham and West Ham United.

West Ham and Gillingham have met four times previously, all in the second tier in 2003-04 and 2004-05 - the Hammers won three of those four matches, losing the other at the Priestfield Stadium in September 2003.

Gillingham have reached the FA Cup fourth round just once in their previous 15 seasons, doing so last season - they last did so in consecutive seasons in 2003-04 (five in a row).

In each of the past two seasons, the side eliminating West Ham from the FA Cup has been from League One - Wigan in 2017-18 and AFC Wimbledon in 2018-19.


Yup... for those with short memories... we usually do get dumped out of the cup early on by pretty piss-poor opposition... but let's not get too negative too early, eh? it does tend to upset the locals.

what about a team line-up? I mean... it's the FA Cup, I hate to see it disrespected (although I'd see us lose 8-0 if it guaranteed us Premier League survival this year)

Fabianski

Fredericks
Balbuena
Ogbonna
Diop

Masuaku
Rice

Snodgrass
Lanzini
Anderson
Haller


I mean... when you look at it on paper... that's pretty damn near our full strength first team line-up (sans the injuries... I mean can anyone explain exactly what Antonio was doing to get into a car crash on Christmas Day?????)

Noble is injured

Fornals, despite playing really well in his past two games is relegated to the subs bench where hs is joined by...

Roberto
Zabaleta
Reid
Sanchez
Ajeti
holland

so it looks like if the players on the pitch can't but it, we not only have no excuses, but nowhere else to really go.

they're waving blue and white (or is it white and blue) checkered flags around the edge of the itch and a very dejected looking horse mascot stumbles around as applause rings out and the players take to the pitch...

they're doing the line-up and shake hands bit.

Side note: adrian did really well for Liverpool this morning... kept them in the game in the first half against Everton.


We enter this game having lost 10 of 15

according to the line-ups on the telly we'll be going with a 3-5-2 which is pretty adventurous for us.

no idea about the Gillingham players although they do have former West Ham academy in 'Lee' - so expect him to bag a hatful against us.

comms is already saying 'we're due an upset' - so no pressure.

I mean, it's the cup... that's the point.... anything can happen.

a minute's silence for Gary Rhoades... which has turned into 45 seconds of applause...

West Ham will lay in all white

the final game in this weekend's FA Cup ties...

West Ham kick-off playing left to right.

you forget what a small stadium is like, even on TV... the camera angles will take a bit of getting used to.

Gillingham attack... a corner after 50 seconds...

Ogbonna sat out training on friday... so did Fabianski...

Noble, Cresswell, Antonio and Martin all injured...

as 'strong' a line-up as this is for us we're kinda on the edge of a crisis if any more get injured or the players out there get too battered about.


The 'Lee' in the gillingham line-up is Robert Lee's kid

pressure from the Ghills... Ogbonna's header causes a scare and goes out for a corner...

more pressure..

Balbuena clears for another corner

11 minutes gone, it's been almost all gillingham - they win another corner...

and that one was a chance as the ball was uncontested (by either side) all the way across the 6 yard box)

I appreciate it's the cup... bur being our strongest line-up... you'd hope for at least one chance on goal for us by now...

69% possession to Gillingham

West Ham give the ball away again, this time Masuaku...

free kick to Gillingham right on the edge of the penalty area as we try to win the ball back

Free kick can't get through the wall... the ball out goes straight to Gillingham and they keep on attacking...

so far we've done pretty much nothing.

ooooh... we had the ball in gillingham's half of the pitch...

terrible looping cross from the right lands safely in the keeper's hands.

but taking a positive tack, it's brought the possession stats down to 64-33

5 midfielders is not exactly dominating the center area of the game...

Gillingham are still busting through on a regular basis

point blank save by Fabianski from the corner...

gillingham manage another couple of follow ups until a shot goes straight to Fab's safe hands.






almost a chance at the other end as the Gills defense mishit the ball and Haller trips over running for it... in a very positive step, it somehow gets awarded as a free kick to us...

but as a less than positive, Snoddy slams the ball straight not the wall and all danger is gone.

Halfway through the half...

gills have had 4 shots - 3 on target.

we've had none, at all

but being positive, we've cut the possession stats down to 64-36%


Balbuena is down being treated - the positive aspect being that he's getting someone to look at it.

Balbuena finally gets to his feet.

Here's the Guardian's view of our midfield...

"20 min: Ogbonna floats a ball down the left wing towards Anderson but it runs out of play. West ham’s midfield has been anonymous so far. No one is showing for the ball."

this is the view from the Twitterati...


"We always seem to make lower league teams look like Brazil. This is a team that should wipe the floor with Gillingham but we are so poor. Rice is having a mare so far #GILWHU"

"It's a good thing we have Fabianski in the box we'd be down by 2 already #COYI #GILWHU"


"Good to see that the performance against Bournemouth was a one off and the real
@WestHam
are back!
Getting out fought by a League One club #GILWHU "


"Just over 20 minutes gone at Priestfield and West Ham putting in a performance reminiscent of their recent Cup showings so far.
That's not a good thing.
#GILWHU | #FACup"

and one more twitter perspective...

"HATE with a passion games against lower league teams! Ever since
@mansfieldtownfc
clobbered us 3-0 in 1969 when we had Moore, Hurst, Peters playing, The Irons have been deplorable & odds on to be 'Giant Killed'! 1 shot in 30 mins not looking good for
@WestHam
#GILWHU #COYI #WHTID"


none of that less than positive commentary is mine I hasten to add...

Good to see you being Postive again then .

At the end of the day whatever team we put out tonight we are always going to be in for a Tough game - This is a Cup final for them and they will be well up for the fight so we are never going to have it all our own way tonight.

apparently my eye sight is going to the dogs quicker than we are... I've been reading the possession stats wrong... thinking we wreathe team on the left (as we're playing left to right) but I forgot they show them in the same format as the home and away team... so it's actually West Ham that have been enjoying the massive majority of possession...

so my positivity at us clawing back ownership of the ball is actually totally wrong and it's the plucker lower league side that are getting more and more into the game... although I have to say... those stats don't equate with the game I'm watching.

although I'll take it as positive that I'm capable of pointing out my own mistakes...

36 minutes gone... will this be yet another half where we don't actually manage a shot on goal?