RUFC CALAIS v GILLS - EXCLUSIVE VIDEO REPORT ©
Saturday 17 July - pre-Season Friendly - Exclusive GillsConnect video
Gills comfortably won their European encounter against RUFC Calais 4-0 in a bad tempered match that was the equal to last year’s pre-season ‘friendly’ in what was a rough, tough affair with a lot of heavy tackles resulting in four bookings.
GillsConnect exclusive videos (right) show some of the action and atmosphere at the Julien Denis Stadium as the Gills took on a very similar physical RUFC Calais team.
The top right video shows an exasperated Andy Hessenthaler expecting a 15.00 local time start but the Calais players and officials had originally been told the kick-off not until 17.00. The game eventually started at 16.05 after Hess protested.
The top right video also features a couple of the Gills goals, and the build up, scored by Luke Rooney after two minutes and Dennis Oli in the 49th minute.
RUFC Calais 0 v Gills 4 (Rooney, Payne, Palmer & Oli)
The bottom video features the referee, who certainly looked unfit and also gave an extraordinary performance as the official man in the middle, booking seven players. Five Gills players, Stefan Payne, Tony Sinclair, Luke Rooney, Alan Julian and Barry Fuller were all shown yellow card, all for minor offences, plus the ref showed two to RUFC Calais.
Stefan Payne in the bottom video, scorer of the Gills second goal, was booked early on for an innocuous foul but then committed a another tackle chasing back within seconds prompting the referee to ask for his removal from proceedings or be sent off.
Gills manager Andy Hessenthaler was very upset at the decision, as can be seen in the bottom video, but possibly this was one decision the referee got right as Stefan was showing too much aggression following his initial and possibly unjust yellow.
The bottom video also features an unseemly mass skirmish, involving everyone but the Calais keeper, that came shortly before the interval as tackles and crude lunges, from Calais in the main, were ignored by the referee and inevitably tempers flared.