Notable Matches

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Birthdays

Howard Girling (1922); 90 appearances, 10 goals

Outside forward Girling joined us from Crystal Palace in February 1947 to help our fight to stay in the First Division. Dickie, as he was known, had initially guested for us during the Second World War but had limited impact back in League football. He scored the winner against Leeds in April but that was the only one of the 15 league games Girling played that we won as we dropped out of the top flight. He netted six times in 35 games back in Division Two the following season before slowly fading out of the team. He made 26 and 14 appearances over the next two campaigns ahead of joining Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic in July 1951.

Ben Strevens (1980); 29 appearances, 7 goals

One of three players, the other two being Sam Saunders and Danny Foster, signed from Dagenham and Redbridge following promotion in 2009, forward Strevens had to wait until November for his first Bees action. He netted twice in his opening four matches and followed that up with the Boxing Day winner away at Gillingham. Without doubt his most memorable goal for Andy Scott’s side came away at Elland Road in March, his touch deflecting the ball home during a 1-1 draw against Leeds United.

Further late season goals against MK Dons, Tranmere Rovers, and Swindon Town followed before he departed in the summer of 2010 to Wycombe Wanderers. His two seasons at Adams Park saw promotion to, and then relegation from, League One with another Fourth-Tier promotion at Gillingham coming the following term.

Emmanuel Ledesma (1988); 2 appearances, 0 goals

Ledesma, a winger who had previously worked with Dean Smith at Walsall, was signed as short-term cover at the beginning of the 2016/17 season. He made his debut away at Exeter City in a 1-0 EFL Cup First Round defeat with his Sky Bet Championship bow at Rotherham United ending the same way. He departed at the end of August 2016 to sign for Greek side Panetolikos.

Nico Yennaris (1993); 157 appearances, 12 goals

Nico joined us from Arsenal in January 2014 with just six professional appearances to his name. He featured eight times that term as promotion was achieved but his only league outing the next season came in a 3-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic. He spent the rest of that season on loan at Wycombe Wanderers, appearing in a Play-Off Final defeat at Wembley. He enjoyed his first run in the team under Lee Carsley in October and November 2015 and became a key part of the team under Dean Smith. He made 33 appearances in total that campaign, netting his first goal in a 3-0 win at Nottingham Forest.

Nico featured in all 46 league matches during the 2016/17 season, getting on the score sheet six times, with a further four goals in 41 appearances coming the following campaign. Last term Nico played 20 times in all competitions, passing the 150-game mark, before moving to Chinese Super League Club Beijing Guoan in January 2019.

League Debuts

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