Featured Article Summary #288

In the 1986–87 season, Gillingham F.C. played in the Football League Third Division, their 55th season in the Football League and 37th since being voted back in 1950. They started well and were at the top of the table just before the middle of the season, but their form dropped during the second half. To reach the promotion play-offs, Gillingham needed to win their last match while Bristol City and Notts County both failed to win; a win over Bolton with both other results turned into draws meant they finished fifth. After beating Sunderland in the semi-finals, they met Swindon Town in the final, but although the tie ended 2–2 on aggregate, Swindon won the replay 2–0 to secure promotion. Gillingham also had cup runs including reaching the third round of the FA Cup, and they played 63 competitive games, winning 31 and drawing 12. Tony Cascarino scored 30 goals in all competitions, while Howard Pritchard and Paul Haylock both appeared in 62 matches, and their biggest home attendance was 16,775 for the play-off final home leg. The 1986–87 season was Gillingham’s 55th year in the Football League and their 13th straight season in the Third Division, where they had been close to promotion before—finishing fourth in 1978–79 and 1984–85, and fifth in 1985–86. Keith Peacock continued as manager, with changes to the captaincy and staff, while a board dispute over the club’s debts and potential insolvency led to Charles Cox resigning and Roy Wood becoming chairman, followed by assurances that money was available. After settling these issues, Peacock signed several new players, including Trevor Quow and Paul Haylock, while some players left, and the team also arranged friendly matches and updated their home and away kits. Gillingham started the season with a 2–1 win away at Newport County, and quickly built a strong league run that included unbeaten stretches, multiple wins, and four straight goals from Dave Shearer. Their first defeat came against Mansfield Town, but after further postponements they remained near the top, finishing November in second place. In December they beat AFC Bournemouth 2–0 to go top, then lost 3–0 to Bolton before recovering with a 4–1 win over Bristol Rovers and ending 1986 in third after results against Fulham and Swindon. Gillingham started 1987 strongly, beating Walsall 4–0 on New Year’s Day, but then slipped with four losses in their next six games and dropped to sixth by 21 February. Several new players were brought in during February and March, including Colin Gordon on loan, goalkeeper Phil Kite, and defender Les Berry, and Gillingham later had a run of three straight wins in March. In April they had mixed results, and with one game left they were seventh. After a 1–0 win over Bolton Wanderers on the final day, helped by rivals drawing, Gillingham finished fifth and qualified for the new play-offs, with Cascarino scoring the winner to tie him with Shearer as the club’s top league scorer. Gillingham’s match results are listed with the team’s score shown first in each result column. “H” and “A” indicate home and away games, while “pen.” means a penalty kick and “o.g.” means an own goal.