Brentford 2 Gillingham 2

Last updated : 21 October 2006 By Footymad Previewer
Brentford played for over an hour with ten men after having goalkeeper Clark Masters sent off but still managed to secure a point from a lively encounter against Gillingham.

After a low key start, the game burst into life in the 23rd minute when Gills striker Gary Mulligan found himself clean through on goal. He took the ball round Masters before referee Jonathan Moss adjudged the goalkeeper to have brought him down.

With no reserve keeper on the bench, John Mousinho, who normally plays as a right-back or in midfield, came on and went in-between the sticks, but was powerless to prevent Michael Flynn from converting the resulting spot-kick.

A man down and a goal down, Bees boss Leroy Rosenior made a tactical change, taking off striker Clyde Wijnhard and replacing him with Calum Willock.

The move paid immediate dividends when Gavin Tomlin's cross into the box was expertly headed in by Matt Heywood to draw the scores level.

With the crowd now fully behind them, it was the home team who looked like they were playing with the man advantage.

They crowned a remarkable first-half comeback when, in stoppage-time, a defence-splitting ball from Oli Skulason sent Willock through and his pace saw him get to the ball before Gills keeper Scott Flinders to toe-poke it in via the inside of the post.

The second half saw Brentford remain in control and but for a last-ditch clearance off his own line from Leon Johnson, Willock would have given them a 3-1 lead.

However, just as it looked as if they could pull off an unlikely victory, the Gills struck back in the 74th minute. Flynn again found the target with a neat turn and shot that gave Mousinho no chance.

As the match drew to its conclusion, Gillingham piled on the pressure and their Congo striker Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu had a glorious chance to win it at the death, though saw his low shot kept out by the outstretched foot of Mousinho to ensure the game ended all square.