Gillingham 3 Charlton 2The delirious whoops and chants of the home supporters had long since drifted into the bitter January night when Alan Curbishley paid Gillingham perhaps the biggest compliment of all.
"They did a Charlton on us," the visitors' manager admitted, his words tinged with respect and regret. "They got after us, got on top and never let go. It's what we've been doing to teams for the last five or six years - and they did it to us today."
At 3.01 p.m., however, you would not have put a penny on an upset. Moments before kick-off the stadium announcer, in a rather curious display of cheerleading, had shouted: "Remember, we haven't beaten Charlton since 1929." Gillingham promptly responded by conceding the sloppiest of own-goals after only 34 seconds. From then on, though, they were sensational.
For all their tactical tinkering, Charlton never got to grips with Gillingham's adventurous 4-3-3 formation, which created countless overlaps on both wings, or the strength and guile of the Mali striker Mamady Sidibe. Nor did they appreciate just how much Andy Hessenthaler's side, 15th in the first division, wanted it.
As the visitors sat back - cosy, content, oblivious - they were punished by the Kent side twice in two minutes. First by Tommy Johnson's sliced shot which somehow evaded Dean Kiely, then after 19 minutes by Sidibe's brilliant looping header from a cross by Nicky Southall.
In the dug-out, Charlton's substitute Paolo Di Canio gestured like an Italian traffic warden in rush hour: urging, cajoling, fuming. But his team-mates continued to defend too deep, and went further behind in the first half when Kiely allowed Paul Smith's 25-yard shot to squirm through his fingers.
At this point Gillingham might have been expected to realise the immensity of their situation, to fret or at least sit tight. But they continued to charge forward, and only a series of second-half saves from Kiely kept the score-line from becoming embarrassing.
"We've had a bad time in the cups," Curbishley admitted. "We just can't get over the early hurdles. You could see how badly we missed Scott Parker, but, saying that, eight of the team that lost here beat Chelsea on Boxing Day.
"At half-time I could have kicked the tables over or spilt a few drinks but I don't think that would have made my players get closer to the opposition, win a few more tackles or pass it better," he added. "We are very disappointed. I hope it doesn't affect our league form."
Only when Di Canio came on did Charlton escape the confines of their regimented 4-4-2 formation and show signs of a dramatic comeback, hitting a post and forcing the Gills' fourth-choice goalkeeper Bertrand Bossu into a stupendous triple save before Carlton Cole made it interesting at the death. But Gillingham, whose play was as pugnacious and tenacious as their player-manager, fully deserved their place in the fourth round. "People may say Charlton were poor, but we made them look poor because of the amount of effort we put in," Hessenthaler rightly pointed out.
"Afterwards I've gone through every single player and talked about the game," he added. "And I said to Bossu, 'I can't praise you enough' and he bursts into tears. He was very emotional. And to be fair, I was at the final whistle because it gets to you."
It is little wonder, then, that Hessenthaler is anxious for a repeat of Saturday's excitement, preferably with an even bigger scalp.
"Who do I want in the next round? Manchester United at home," he said, not missing a beat, though he will have to do it without Sidibe, who will be on African Nations Cup duty with Mali. And on this evidence, Gillingham would put up one hell of a fight.
GILLINGHAM: Bossu, Nosworthy, Cox, Hope, Hills, Southall, Smith, Spiller, Shaw, Tommy Johnson (Henderson 75), Sidibe. Subs Not Used: Leon Johnson, Rose, Jarvis, Awuah. Goals: Tommy Johnson 17, Sidibe 19, Smith 34.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC: Kiely, Kishishev (Euell 64), Fortune, Perry (Di Canio 57), Hreidarsson, Stuart, Holland, Jensen, Konchesky, Johansson, Cole. Subs Not Used: Fish, Royce, Hughes. Goals: Cox 1 og, Cole 90.
Referee: J Winter (Cleveland).
