QPR v. Gillingham (5 April: Championship - Match 40) [R]

[Atouk]

QPR - 9th, 39 GP, -1 GD, 56 Points
v.
Gillingham - 22nd, 40 GP, -20 GD, 43 Points
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5 April 2005 19:45
Loftus Road
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Rangers News:

It's likely that Matthew Rose, Richard Edghill, Martin Rowlands, and Dean Sturridge will be unavailable. Ouch. Rose is listed as "doubtful" and is the most likely to feature. The others are out (Edghill has the mumps!).
http://www.qpr.premiumtv.co.uk/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10373~647793,00.html

The Opponent:

Gillingham is fighting to avoid relegation. They're in the top relegation spot and they've drawn even with Cardiff on points (although Cardiff has a game in hand), plus they're just one point behind 19th & 20th and two points behind 17th & 18th, so a result of any sort would go a long way for their hopes of remaining in the Championship.

The Gills haven't lost since 22 February against West Ham, a streak of six straight without a loss. Impressive wins against Wigan and Stoke and draws with Preston (away) and Ipswich show they're in their best form of the season. Their last six (most recent first):

A Preston D, 1-1
H Ipswich D, 0-0
H Stoke W, 2-1
A Leeds D, 1-1
A Rotherham W, 3-1
H Wigan W, 2-1

The First Meeting:

Back on August 27th, the R's won on Sky via a controversial goal by Marcus Bean, 1-0.

The Series:

The R's have doubled the wins by the Gills, leading the series 26-21-13.

[doolittledog2]

I see that BBC London is broadcasting the Millwall game and that QPR is on their digital band...can you get that part over the internet or am I screwed here???

[Atouk]

1-1. Grrr. The Gills scored in the first half and a Furlong strike in the 53rd evened it up. With today's results, we remain in 9th, but fall to 7 points behind the last play-off spot with just six games remaining. Not looking good, although a top half finish is... we're 4 points ahead of 13th place Wolves.

With the draw, Gillingham pulls itself out of the last relegation spot. The Gills are even with Brighton and Coventry on points with 44, but goal difference means Coventry is 20th, Gillingham is 21st, and Brighton falls into the relegation spot at 22nd. Forest is 23rd with 39 points (and two games in hand they'll likely have to win), while Rotherham's fate is sealed with 28 points.

[Maczebus]

The time has come for me to watch the lads play again. I haven't been to see them since the pasting Leeds gave us.
Next up, Sheff Utd. Who are coming off the back of a 4-0 win at Elland Road.
I won't hold much hope of a satisfactory result.
Still, a top half finish is more than we could have hoped for at the beginning of the season. As they say in the post-match interviews. We'd have taken that result before the season started.