Walsall were back in League Two action on Saturday afternoon as they welcomed near rivals Port Vale to the Poundland Bescot Stadium for what could prove to be a crucial clash in their bid to gain promotion to the third tier.
Walsall thought they'd opened the scoring within twenty seconds of kick-off when Jamille Matt headed home, only for the referee to call play back for a foul on a defender.
It was in fact Port Vale who would open the scoring as Laurent Tolaj put the ball into the back of Sam Hornby's net. A frantic start at the Bescot.
The Saddlers didn't allow the visitors' goal to get them down, as they were soon back on level terms when Taylor Allen netted his third goal in as many games, with this one coming via the penalty spot.
Walsall went into the lead after eleven minutes of play as Levi Amantchi tapped the ball home at the back post, following a goalmouth scramble.
Vale captain Ben Garrity levelled the scores with under five minutes of the first-half remaining as the match looked to have reached the halfway point all-square.
However, the scoring didn't end there as the visitors went into the lead in first-half stoppage time as Tolaj scored from the spot after being felled inside the area by Oisin McEntee.
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO
| WALSALL | 2-3 | VALE |
| ALLEN [P] (7') AMANTCHI (11') |
GOALSCORERS |
TOLAJ (4') GARRITY (41') TOLAJ [P] (45+2') |
| McENTEE (11') | ASSISTS | TOLAJ (41') |
| 45 | POSSESSION (%) | 55 |
| 10 | SHOTS (TOTAL) | 14 |
| 5 | SHOTS (ON TARGET) | 4 |
| 3 | BLOCKED SHOTS | 4 |
| 1 | GOALKEEPER SAVES | 3 |
| 4 | CORNERS | 3 |
| 16 | FOULS | 12 |
| 4 | YELLOW CARDS | 2 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
| AT | BESCOT STADIUM |
| ATTENDANCE | 8,446 (1,988) |
| REFEREE | LEWIS SMITH |
WALSALL
Hornby; Okagbue 🟨, McEntee 🟨, Weir (G. Hall, 46'); Stirk; Asiimwe (C. Barrett, 46'), Jellis (Adomah, 74'), Allen, L. Gordon 🟨; Amantchi 🟨 (Johnson, 85'), Matt (Wheatley, 74')
Unused: Simkin; Daniels
PORT VALE
Amos; Clark, C. Hall, Smith, Garrity, Stockley (Curtis, 72'), Croasdale, Tolaj 🟨 (Hackford, 86'), Debrah, John (Hart, 36' 🟨), Walters (Byers, 86')
Unused: Broome, Shorrock, Richards
