Nationwide Division One, 30/08/03, 3.00pm
Watford
versus
Gillingham
 
Previous encounters

Last time: 0-1 (18/03/03)
Lingering memory: Hessie's overdue ovation
Previous results: See Watford Versus...

Our opponents

Background: See season preview
Last match: vs. Burnley (H, 25/08/03, L0-3)
Last line-up: J.Brown, B.Ashby, I.Cox, C.Hope, J.Hills, N.Southall, D.Spiller, D.Perpetuini, P.Shaw, T.Johnson, N.Nosworthy (Subs: L.Johnson, R.Rose, M.King, M.Sidibe, V.Bartram)
Ex-Gills at Watford: None
Ex-Hornets at Gillingham: Barry Ashby, Andy Hessenthaler, David Perpetuini
Mutual friends: Dennis Bailey, Peter Beadle, Steve Butler, Richard Hill, Liburd Henry, Andy Kennedy, Glenn Roeder, Neil Smillie, Rod Thomas
Web sites: Gills Connect (Rivals), Official

Shorts, Scarf or Souwester?: See Met Office (London)

On this day

Previous reports: Leicester City 1 Watford 0 30/08/99, Preston North End 2 Watford 0 30/08/97
Celebrity birthdays: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797), Cameron Diaz (1972)
Historical events: Cleopatra, the seventh queen of Egypt, committed suicide (30 BC), European leaders outlawed the crossbow (1146)
Saint of the day: Saint Fiacre, an Irish hermit, made his home in France, where after his death his relics were used to cure sexually transmitted diseases. His name was also used for many years as a French term for taxi cabs, because the first firm in Paris to hire out coaches in the 17th Century was based near the Hotel Saint-Fiacre.