Bescot Banter columnist Sam Wright previews this weekend's big local derby versus Shrewsbury Town;
After the great win in midweek against Carlisle United we move onward to another huge game, this time both in terms of points and pride. We of course meet the old rivals Shrewsbury Town at the Banks's Stadium, looking for revenge for the defeat we fell to live on sky sports earlier in the season. The meeting at the Greenhaus Meadow resulted in a 1-0 loss, largely against the run of play, and made headlines off the pitch for the crowd trouble. Let’s hope the extra policing added for tomorrow’s game can ensure this doesn't happen again.
We go into the Darby off the back of an unbeaten February, winning 3 and drawing 2, keeping us ninth placed in the table and now just six points off those playoffs we have longed to reach for such a long time. Will Grigg's hat trick in the week yet again hammered home how far our young team has come since the start of the season, when he was struggling to score. Another great bit of news we received this week is that Ben Purkiss is back in training and has a good chance of returning to the bench for Saturdays game. Most people are still saying we need lots of luck to make the playoffs, who’s to say we are not getting it now as Purkiss returns at a vital part of the season, with huge games against Swindon and Tranmere coming up.
Shrewsbury are currently sitting seventeenth, in the NPower League One, five points off the relegation zone and now twelve points behind the Saddlers. On loan striker Chris Porter is due to have a late fitness test ahead of the clash, and is expected to miss out and replaced by Marvin Morgan up front. Dave Macalister will be part of the squad after having the red card he received during 2-1 defeat to Doncaster Rovers overturned.
Personally I feel that this game means a lot more to us than the game earlier in the season, despite it being on sky. This game is about the pride you get with any local Darby, combined with the desperation both teams have to gain points, so we can push for the playoffs and so the Shrews can pull away from relegation. My predication would be a win for Walsall but I feel it will be a close nervous one. I fancy a Febien Brandy goal in the second half to snatch it 2-1. Good luck to the boys and everybody going to the game, lets hope all the talk is about what happens on the pitch in this rivalry clash.
By; Sam Wright
After the great win in midweek against Carlisle United we move onward to another huge game, this time both in terms of points and pride. We of course meet the old rivals Shrewsbury Town at the Banks's Stadium, looking for revenge for the defeat we fell to live on sky sports earlier in the season. The meeting at the Greenhaus Meadow resulted in a 1-0 loss, largely against the run of play, and made headlines off the pitch for the crowd trouble. Let’s hope the extra policing added for tomorrow’s game can ensure this doesn't happen again.We go into the Darby off the back of an unbeaten February, winning 3 and drawing 2, keeping us ninth placed in the table and now just six points off those playoffs we have longed to reach for such a long time. Will Grigg's hat trick in the week yet again hammered home how far our young team has come since the start of the season, when he was struggling to score. Another great bit of news we received this week is that Ben Purkiss is back in training and has a good chance of returning to the bench for Saturdays game. Most people are still saying we need lots of luck to make the playoffs, who’s to say we are not getting it now as Purkiss returns at a vital part of the season, with huge games against Swindon and Tranmere coming up.
Shrewsbury are currently sitting seventeenth, in the NPower League One, five points off the relegation zone and now twelve points behind the Saddlers. On loan striker Chris Porter is due to have a late fitness test ahead of the clash, and is expected to miss out and replaced by Marvin Morgan up front. Dave Macalister will be part of the squad after having the red card he received during 2-1 defeat to Doncaster Rovers overturned.
Personally I feel that this game means a lot more to us than the game earlier in the season, despite it being on sky. This game is about the pride you get with any local Darby, combined with the desperation both teams have to gain points, so we can push for the playoffs and so the Shrews can pull away from relegation. My predication would be a win for Walsall but I feel it will be a close nervous one. I fancy a Febien Brandy goal in the second half to snatch it 2-1. Good luck to the boys and everybody going to the game, lets hope all the talk is about what happens on the pitch in this rivalry clash.
By; Sam Wright