Earlier this evening, Walsall Football Club played host to Chesterfield in the latest Sky Bet League 1 fixture of the season. Pete Sadler was in attendance, and shares his match report below.
A week in which I read that the current League 1 offered the best chance in recent history to be promoted from due to the lack of a runaway leader, culminated in the visit of Chesterfield this afternoon.
The pre-match chat around me was pretty positive in that the Saddlers should continue their fine start to the season against an unpredictable and inconsistent Chesterfield side. As quietly as possible I reminded myself that we were due a bad game and unfortunately this proved to be the case. Not that I'm patting myself on the back at all.
From the team that performed so well against Burton Albion last time out; in came Neil Etheridge and Jason Demetriou returning from international duty in place of Craig MacGillivray and Liam Kinsella. The other change saw Matt Preston start in the centre of defence, replacing James O'Connor who I have to assume was injured.
As the match began in earnest the Saddlers seemed to make a positive start without making a clear cut chance of note. That was turned on it's head in the seventh minute as a ball whipped forward into the Saddlers box from the right found the head of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake who powered a header firmly past Etheridge. A sucker punch for the home fans, but everyone was happy to see the former Dingle finish something other than a supersize dinner.
After the goal I saw visions of Bury earlier this season all over again as Dean Saunders' men sat behind the ball and dragged every man back to defend every corner resolutely. There were however sparks of hope for the home faithful.
First there was a chance as a low ball from the right found it's way to Tom Bradshaw arriving at the near post, only for the Welsh striker to have his effort denied by a fantastic reflex save from Tommy Lee in the Spirites goal.
Next was a rasping effort from Sam Mantom after a nice piece of interplay between Mantom and Romaine Sawyers mid-way into the Chesterfield half, however it rattled against Lee's left-hand post before ricocheting across the face of the goal and then being cleared.
The final real chance of the half came from a free-kick on the edge of the area as Bradshaw was upended. Step up Reece Flanagan. Chance gone. Chesterfield fan injured. From laughing.
As the half came to a close with only one minute added on as extra time I struggled to understand how these teams get away with time wasting week after week, season after season? After 10 minutes. Really?
Anyway, half-time. One down but the problems seemed obvious to me. Stop giving the ball away in the middle of the park and more movement in the final third. Speed up the tempo, not many teams at our level can cope with our levels of fitness, hence the slowing-down tactics regularly expelled against us.
At least we were treated to some decent tunes at the break. Thanks Baxo.
As the second half began a change in personnel, Reece Flanagan making way for Jordan Cook, obviously also bringing a change in system also. Sawyers dropping deeper and Cook partnering Bradshaw as a duo up top.
Completely unrelated to the changes in formation or players on the pitch came Walsall's first chance to restore parity. A shot from Adam Chambers which seemed to take a slight deflection, striking the left-hand post before being cleared. Maybe it wasn't going to be our day.
At the other end of the field, a punted ball forward was chased down by Lee Novak but was cleaned up by a mixture of Paul Downing and the advancing Etheridge. This however came at a cost, a significant delay for the keeper to be tended to due to a deep gash.
Things went from bad to worse for the Saddlers as the resulting corner was flighted towards the back post and met by Ian Evatt who slammed the ball into the back of the net with his massive bonce. An even deeper gash.
Surely this was as bad as it gets. No. Next up to scupper my day was a serious injury to Sam Mantom resulting in him being carried off on a stretcher. He looked in real pain as he exited the field and I fear the worst. On came Milan Lalkovic and another switch in formation. It seemed a 4-3-3 to me.
The final change for the Saddlers came shortly after and it appeared to be another forced change, Andy Taylor limping off to be replaced by Kieron Morris. 4-4-2.
The Spirites defended resolutely and suffocated the offensive Saddlers' players of space, thus stifling their play and forcing them backwards, much to the discontent of the home fans. Added to the further time-wasting meant the locals were restless. Fair enough.
When the breakthrough finally came it was from a cross on the left which was headed onto the crossbar by Jordan Cook, for the ball to bounce back and be bundled into the back of the net by defender-come-striker Matt Preston. Unfortunately it proved too little too late for the home side.
A bad day at the office for the Saddlers. Looking back at the game however it seems that it may have much further reaching consequences than the dropping of three points on the day. Hopefully the injuries to Mantom and Taylor are not too bad. Hugely missed James O'Connor at the back through injury today also.
I hate to dig out any player, I don't think it helps, but if I don't mention Flanagan's performance then I'm ignoring the elephant in the room. Maybe he is amazing in training, maybe he has some gossip on Deano that he is trying to keep under wraps, or maybe I'm blind and is doing a fantastic job. Simply I don't believe he is good enough to play centre midfield and I'm shocked he retains his place. He was awful today.
That being said I'm not blaming Reece for the defeat. We missed O'Connor and injuries weren't helpful either. We got bullied by a physical side and were not good enough defensively.
Let's not forget how good we can be though. One defeat doesn't make us a bad side and let's draw a line under this and move on together. I saw a wonderful banner in the ground today which read 'To Succeed, First We Must Believe'. I really like that. Let's do it. Up the Saddlers.
The pre-match chat around me was pretty positive in that the Saddlers should continue their fine start to the season against an unpredictable and inconsistent Chesterfield side. As quietly as possible I reminded myself that we were due a bad game and unfortunately this proved to be the case. Not that I'm patting myself on the back at all.
From the team that performed so well against Burton Albion last time out; in came Neil Etheridge and Jason Demetriou returning from international duty in place of Craig MacGillivray and Liam Kinsella. The other change saw Matt Preston start in the centre of defence, replacing James O'Connor who I have to assume was injured.
As the match began in earnest the Saddlers seemed to make a positive start without making a clear cut chance of note. That was turned on it's head in the seventh minute as a ball whipped forward into the Saddlers box from the right found the head of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake who powered a header firmly past Etheridge. A sucker punch for the home fans, but everyone was happy to see the former Dingle finish something other than a supersize dinner.
After the goal I saw visions of Bury earlier this season all over again as Dean Saunders' men sat behind the ball and dragged every man back to defend every corner resolutely. There were however sparks of hope for the home faithful.
First there was a chance as a low ball from the right found it's way to Tom Bradshaw arriving at the near post, only for the Welsh striker to have his effort denied by a fantastic reflex save from Tommy Lee in the Spirites goal.
Next was a rasping effort from Sam Mantom after a nice piece of interplay between Mantom and Romaine Sawyers mid-way into the Chesterfield half, however it rattled against Lee's left-hand post before ricocheting across the face of the goal and then being cleared.
The final real chance of the half came from a free-kick on the edge of the area as Bradshaw was upended. Step up Reece Flanagan. Chance gone. Chesterfield fan injured. From laughing.
As the half came to a close with only one minute added on as extra time I struggled to understand how these teams get away with time wasting week after week, season after season? After 10 minutes. Really?
Anyway, half-time. One down but the problems seemed obvious to me. Stop giving the ball away in the middle of the park and more movement in the final third. Speed up the tempo, not many teams at our level can cope with our levels of fitness, hence the slowing-down tactics regularly expelled against us.
SKY BET LEAGUE 1 - HALF TIME
WALSALL 0 CHESTERFIELD 1
At least we were treated to some decent tunes at the break. Thanks Baxo.
As the second half began a change in personnel, Reece Flanagan making way for Jordan Cook, obviously also bringing a change in system also. Sawyers dropping deeper and Cook partnering Bradshaw as a duo up top.
Completely unrelated to the changes in formation or players on the pitch came Walsall's first chance to restore parity. A shot from Adam Chambers which seemed to take a slight deflection, striking the left-hand post before being cleared. Maybe it wasn't going to be our day.
At the other end of the field, a punted ball forward was chased down by Lee Novak but was cleaned up by a mixture of Paul Downing and the advancing Etheridge. This however came at a cost, a significant delay for the keeper to be tended to due to a deep gash.
Things went from bad to worse for the Saddlers as the resulting corner was flighted towards the back post and met by Ian Evatt who slammed the ball into the back of the net with his massive bonce. An even deeper gash.
Surely this was as bad as it gets. No. Next up to scupper my day was a serious injury to Sam Mantom resulting in him being carried off on a stretcher. He looked in real pain as he exited the field and I fear the worst. On came Milan Lalkovic and another switch in formation. It seemed a 4-3-3 to me.
The final change for the Saddlers came shortly after and it appeared to be another forced change, Andy Taylor limping off to be replaced by Kieron Morris. 4-4-2.
The Spirites defended resolutely and suffocated the offensive Saddlers' players of space, thus stifling their play and forcing them backwards, much to the discontent of the home fans. Added to the further time-wasting meant the locals were restless. Fair enough.
When the breakthrough finally came it was from a cross on the left which was headed onto the crossbar by Jordan Cook, for the ball to bounce back and be bundled into the back of the net by defender-come-striker Matt Preston. Unfortunately it proved too little too late for the home side.
A bad day at the office for the Saddlers. Looking back at the game however it seems that it may have much further reaching consequences than the dropping of three points on the day. Hopefully the injuries to Mantom and Taylor are not too bad. Hugely missed James O'Connor at the back through injury today also.
I hate to dig out any player, I don't think it helps, but if I don't mention Flanagan's performance then I'm ignoring the elephant in the room. Maybe he is amazing in training, maybe he has some gossip on Deano that he is trying to keep under wraps, or maybe I'm blind and is doing a fantastic job. Simply I don't believe he is good enough to play centre midfield and I'm shocked he retains his place. He was awful today.
That being said I'm not blaming Reece for the defeat. We missed O'Connor and injuries weren't helpful either. We got bullied by a physical side and were not good enough defensively.
Let's not forget how good we can be though. One defeat doesn't make us a bad side and let's draw a line under this and move on together. I saw a wonderful banner in the ground today which read 'To Succeed, First We Must Believe'. I really like that. Let's do it. Up the Saddlers.
SKY BET LEAGUE 1 - RESULT
WALSALL 1 CHESTERFIELD 2
GOALS | Preston (90+3) - Ebanks-Blake (5'), Evatt (54')ATTENDANCE | 4,766 | (399 Chesterfield)
REFEREE | Mr. Chris KAVANAGH | Lancashire
BY | PETE SADLER | @Pistol_PeteS9