RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO – Gillingham aka The Gills
DATE – Tuesday 4th November
KO TIME – 7.45pm
THE GROUND – The Priestfield Stadium, Gillingham, Kent– click here and here for maps of the area – the arrow points to where the ground is.
The Priestfield Stadium is close to the centre of Gillingham, close to the M2 and also to Gillinhgam railway station.
Visiting supporters are accommodated in temporary, uncovered seating……so if it’s raining, yer’ll get wet.
Tickets are still on sale from SAFC’s ticket office priced at £16 adults, £10 for OAPs and U16s.
GOING BY CAR?
A bit of a bugger for such a long-haul trip on a weeknight but it’s all due to the original fixture on Saturday 11 October being postponed due to international call-ups. You can “look forward” (ahem) to a 600 mile round trip but the vast majority of it is on motorways.
Travelling from the north east, get yourself onto the A1/A1M southbound and stay on for about 190 miles – until you get into Cambridgeshire, past Peterborough and just before Huntingdon.
Look for signs for the A14 and stay on that road for 15 miles – look for signs for the M11 southbound.
Stay on the M11 for 42 miles until jcn 6, then join the dreaded M25 signposted ‘Gatwick Airport (M23)(M25), Dartford Tunnel’. Stay on the M25 for 16 miles.
Leave the M25 at jcn 30/31 and head onto the A282 then after a mile, turn left onto the A2.
After 8 miles pick up the A282 again, signposted ‘Rochester, [A2] Gillingham, Gillingham [A289], Grain [A228].’
After the Medway Tunnel continue to the roundabout – take the 3rd exit onto Maritime Way.
At the next roundabout take the second exit onto Dock Road
At the next roundabout take the first exit onto A231 Wood Street for 1 mile
Continue straight onto Balmoral Road then straight ahead to Priestfield Road.
The following roads are residents’ parking by permit only: Balmoral Road, Windsor Road, Ferndale Road, Linden Ave, Priestfield Rd, Gordon Rd, Livingstone Rd, Coulman St, Beaconsfield Ave, Harold Ave, School Ln, Toronto Rd, Redfern Ave, and parts of Sunnymead Ave.
Suggested areas for street parking are: furthest parts of Sunnymead Ave, Chicago Ave, Canadian Ave, Valley Rd, Sturdee Ave, Woodlands Rd, Carlton Ave, Alexandra Rd, Larkfield Ave, Third Ave and Fourth Ave.
Gillingham FC tell us that traffic wardens are out and about on matchdays!
GOING BY TRAIN?
There’s a railway station only quarter of a mile from the ground. From Sunderland go up to Newcastle Central Station then change for a train to London Kings Cross – the 12.56 GNER service will get you there for 4pm or the 1.27pm will get you there for 4.47pm.. From there you have two options – either walk round to the Kings Cross Thameslink station then catch a service to London Bridge then a connection to Gillingham (service run by Connex), OR get a tube to London Victoria train station then catch a connection to Gillingham, again the service is run by Connex.
Coming home – this is when it gets tricky. The last direct train out of Kings Cross heading to Newcastle leaves at 10pm – which is only roughly when you’d be getting out of the stadium after the game. So unless you’re prepared to miss the second half of the match, getting the train back to the north-east isn’t an option.
You can get a train to London Charing X leaving Gillingham at 10.19; alternatively you can get a train from Gillingham to London Victoria at 9.59pm, 10.10pm, 10.59pm, 11.13pm and 0.07am.
Alternatively ALS are running their usual coach service – click here for details.
For train times for that day, check the National Rail website.
STOPPING OVER?
Travelodge Medway, M2 motorway Rainham – tel 0870 0850950
The Railway Hotel, Balmoral Road, Kent – tel 01634 577735
SCRAN AND BOOZE
Plenty of pubs in Gillingham town centre, within walking distance of the ground. The ‘Will Adams’ is in the good beer guide and serves food too. Or there’s the ‘Southern Belle’ opposite the station and the ‘Livingstone Arms’ on Gillingham Road welcomes away supporters – although travelling supporters should avoid ‘The Cricketers’ in Sturdee Avenue.
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
There’s a Woolwich ATM at Gillingham Railway Station, or an Alliance & Leicester one at the ‘One Stop Community Store’ on Sturdee Avenue. Failing that if you’re in Gillingham town centre before the match, there are a good few ATMs there including Abbey, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide and Nat West.
IN THE NEWS
The Priestfield Road is hosting England U16s vs Wales U16s on Friday 31 October.
Like Sunderland earlier this year, the Gills are in discussions with the PFA about their precarious financial position.
Gills’ chairman Paul Scally says he’ll see the club go into administration “over my dead body” and says the club’s current financial restrictions is the biggest problem he’s faced in his time at the club.
LAST SEASON
Finished 11th out of 24 with 62 points.
THIS SEASON
Currently 20th of 24:
P15 W4 D4 L7 F14 A23 Pts 16 GD -9
HOME FORM
P7 W3 D1 L3 F8 A10 Pts 10 GD -2
HEAD TO HEAD
We’ve only played the Gills 4 times in recent years, beating them twice, drawing once and losing once.
LAST 4 MEETINGS
30/01/88 Sunderland 2 Gills 1 (old Div 3)
15/09/87 Gills 0 Sunderland 0 (old Div 3)
17/05/87 Sunderland 4 Gills 3 (old Div 3 playoff)
14/05/87 Gills 3 Sunderland 2 (old Div 3 playoff)
TRIVIA
– Best league win: 10-0 vs Chesterfield in 1987.
– Worst league defeat: 2-9 vs Nottm Forest in 1950.
– Record transfer fee received: £1.5m from Man City for Robert Taylor (Nov 99)
– Record transfer fee paid: £590,000 to Reading for Carl Asaba (Aug 98)
Famous ex-Gills: Steve Bruce, Ade Akinbiyi, Gavin Peacock, Tony Cascarino, Carl Asaba.
Credits: Gillingham FC, Medway Council, Link, Rough Guide to English Football, Soccerbase, streetmap.co.uk, RAC, BBC, National Rail.