Football: Taylor headline news

Gillingham 1 Taylor 90 Preston North End 1 Gregan 10 Half-time: 0-1 Attendance: 9,581

GILLINGHAM HAVE not had many heroes down the years, but on the ground where the names of Steve Bruce and Tony Cascarino still evoke fond memories, that of Bob Taylor was being added to them yesterday after he followed up his extraordinary five-goal performance at Burnley the previous week by rescuing his team as defeat loomed against one of their rivals for promotion from the Second Division.

There was only a minute of normal time left when the Gillingham substitute John Hodge swung a deep cross to the far post. Preston, who had given away almost nothing in the air up until then, were powerless to stop Taylor from climbing above everyone else to guide a header beyond the Preston goalkeeper, David Lucas.

If that was hard on Lucas, who had earlier made two outstanding saves, it was no less than the Kent side deserved as they extended a remarkable run of only one defeat in 26 matches. The result maintained the seven- point gap between Preston in second place and Gillingham in fourth, the latter having a game in hand.

The 27-year-old Taylor, who joined Gillingham from Brentford at the start of the season, is a proven goal-scorer at this level, his bulk and cumbersomeness belying a great deal of skill and an astute footballing brain. He was the front-page lead in Kent Today last week after his Burnley exploits set a record for a Gillingham player, and were it not for a dispute with the Gillingham chairman, which has resulted in the paper being banned from the ground, he would probably be there again tomorrow.

Taylor nearly gave Gillingham the lead after six minutes but Lucas somehow kept out a fierce 20-yard shot that followed a cleverly-worked free-kick. Four minutes later Preston went ahead with a soft goal, a shot from Mark Rankine being deflected in by Sean Gregan more by accident than design.

For a long time it looked like staying that way. Neither team were doing themselves justice as tension mounted, possession was squandered, and the referee dished out unnecessary yellow cards. Preston, somewhat surprised to be ahead, remained on their guard as Gillingham gradually asserted themselves.

In the 54th minute Lucas flung himself low to his left to keep out a header from Carl Asaba, the Gillingham forward who would have been starting a four-match ban but for an FA reprieve. As it is he will miss one game after picking up a yellow card. Still, with Taylor in his present form and the evident spirit within the team, Gillingham still look worth backing to reach the higher level for the first time in their 106-year history.