In the latest of his regular blogs, Hillary Street-Ender takes a quick look back at the last week at Walsall Football Club before sharing his views on Saturday afternoon's Sky Bet League 1 victory over Doncaster Rovers, a match that saw the debut of 'Transfer Deadline Day' signing Jordy Hiwula.
Bescot Stadium saw scenes like never before on Friday when tickets for the JPT final went on sale with people reporting standing in the queue for six hours and more before getting served. We have ours and it’s now just a matter of waiting with our train tickets having been sorted out for well over a week. In the meantime we have to get on with the business of trying to improve our points total in the league so it’s probably a good thing that we’re on the road today, with our away form being so much better than that for home games. We stop off at the Keepmoat Stadium to face Doncaster Rovers and I’m hoping for a similar result to that achieved on my only previous visit here two years ago. Andy Butler gave us an early lead to help us to a two-one victory but he lines up against us today so we’re all hoping that, for once, he has a stinker. We line up for kick off without Bradshaw who’s expected to be out for around ten days with a recurrence of his hamstring trouble, meaning we’ll be without him for Tuesday night’s visit of Rochdale and when Vale stop off at Bescot on Saturday. Grimes netted his first goal for the club against the Gills last Sunday and he now has the chance to knock in a few more knowing that he’ll be in the starting eleven for the foreseeable future. One man who won’t be featuring is Manset, who left the club during the week halfway through his twelve month contract having contributed the goal that won us the game at Rochdale in the JPT and very little else. We brought in just one player before the transfer window closed in the shape of Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila from Manchester City, who’s said to be an exciting attacking prospect and he stands a chance of making an immediate impact, beginning the game on the bench.
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We took the lead in the very early minutes on our last visit here and we repeat the feat in just the third minute when Forde swings over a corner from the right for Cook to fire in a side-foot volley from just a few yards out, via the fingertips of the diving keeper. At first the ball seems to have hit the bar and bounced away but the net then bulges and the leaping around in the away end begins. It’s not the start Donny are hoping for but it doesn’t really knock them out of their stride and they go on to look dangerous up front for the entire game. Indeed, an equaliser almost comes along not long after we’ve gone in front when an effort by Furman is on its’ way past O’Donnell only for Purkiss to clear off the line. It’s the nearest they come to a breakthrough before half-time even though they keep our defence under pressure and give O’Donnell much to do. Our back four copes well, particularly the pairing of Downing and O’Connor in the middle, and it’s actually the Saddlers who come closest to scoring again when a long-ranger from Forde is deflected over the keeper and onto the crossbar, with Grimes running in hopefully only to see the dropping ball fall onto the roof of the net. The end-to-end first half is an enjoyable one and we rise to applaud as the lads leave the pitch half way to another away victory. Donny begin the second period in determined mood and might well be level if not for first O’Donnell and then the foot of the post denying the towering Ikpeazu the goal his performance on the afternoon probably deserves. As in the first half it’s Sawyers who sets up our attacking plays in mid-field and what a player he would be were he just a little more prepared to get in where the boots are flying. If he were to add that to his game we’d have someone who’d scare the living daylights out of defences up and down the country but he is what he is and we’d be a worse side without him, frustrating though he can be at times. We double our lead when the impressive looking Hiwula-Mayifuila heads in off the post from a Cook cross for a goal on his Saddlers debut right in front of the travelling Saddlers and our former captain is fortunate to be shown just a yellow card when his intentional handball prevents a through-on-goal situation. A third goal almost arrives when Forde bends in the resulting free-kick and we’re half out of our seats before the ball flashes narrowly wide of the far post.
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The final whistle sounds and we have our fourth away win on the bounce and our fourth clean sheet in those games. Why, oh why, can’t we reproduce form somewhere near this level at Bescot? We have two home games coming up and we’d find ourselves in a very promising position were we to win both. Somehow, I just can’t see it. I turn up for home games these days hoping for a victory rather than in expectance of one but today’s win leaves us just three points – but six places - short of a play-off place to ensure that there’s still a tantalising hope that we’ll be able to step up our home form and maybe clinch a second Wembley appearance. If we’re to achieve that we need to win regularly at Bescot so what better time to begin to make the place a stadium where opponents fear to tread?
By: Hillary Street-Ender.
