Scally takes on troublemakers

Gillingham chairman Paul Scally announced his intention to issue temporary bans to supporters under investigation over trouble during the 2-1 loss to Sunderland.

A number of fans critical of Mr Scally’s stewardship arranged for a banner to be flown over Priestfield. The ‘Time for Change Scally Out’ banner was flown over the ground during the first half and there were protests throughout the match. One fan was arrested after trouble inside the club’s Factory Bar at half-time and there were anti-scally chants in the Rainham End. The chairman was defiant, however, and insisted he would not quit. “This was organised thuggery to the extent that these people only came to the stadium for trouble,” he said.

“They came here with the intent of disrupting people’s enjoyment of the game. They were behaving worse than animals in some instances and those that were and that we could were ejected from the ground.”

Graham Perry, a fan named by Mr Scally as being partly responsible for the disorder, revealed he paid towards the cost of the banner, but insisted he had nothing to do with the disorder inside the ground. The romance of the FA Cup was alive and well at Cheriton Road as Isthmian Premier Folkestone knocked out National League North Gloucester City in the third qualifying round. Former Gravesend Grammar School pupil Fikayo Tomori won his second England cap. The AC Milan defender was a substitute in England’s 5-0 World Cup qualifying win against Andorra. Another Kent lad plying his trade in Italy was Luis Binks. The Gillingham-born 20-yearold former Spurs defender made his first start for Bologna against Udinese. There were Ashes call-ups for Kent batter Zak Crawley and Margate-born Sussex paceman Ollie Robinson, while Crawley’s Kent teammate, Heino Kuhn, left St Lawrence after four seasons, the county moving to sign Ben Compton. Kent’s player-of-the-year went to Darren Stevens for the third season in a row. Stevens, 45, hit more than 800 runs across all formats and took 52 wickets. Folkestone’s Jack Nixon won the National Junior Superstock title on the last lap of the final race at Brands Hatch, while Goudhurst’s Jake Hill finished fifth in the British Touring Car Championship. Chatham Olympian Kat Driscoll announced her retirement from trampolining. Driscoll represented Team GB at the London and Rio Games, as well winning World Championship gold twice.