Managed by Mat Sadler, a young Saddlers XI made the trip to the Castle Vale Stadium with a view to securing a place in the Second Round of the competition.
ROMULUS TEAM
Hill; John, Harrison, Ky.Burke, Zia, Lee, Carty, Williams, Ellis, Bertie, Watkins
Substitutes: Degville-Cross, Parsons, Ko.Burke, Whelan, Ticha
Substitutes: Degville-Cross, Parsons, Ko.Burke, Whelan, Ticha
WALSALL XI TEAM
Jackson; Simcox, Coogan, Bates, Leak, Angafor, A.Trialist, Willis, Willock, Maher, Onabirekhanlen
Substitutes: Kilroy, Baldwin, Shaw, Christofaro, Derry
Substitutes: Kilroy, Baldwin, Shaw, Christofaro, Derry
The Saddlers started the game well and went on to create the first effort of the game after around five-minutes of play as Marvellous Onabirekhanlen saw an under powered effort drift just wide of Connor Hills' goal. Nothing ground-breaking, but an effort nonetheless.
Walsall continued to enjoy the majority of the attacking play, but were unable to convert any of their early opportunities as the scores remained level.
Midfield man Alfie Bates was the next Saddler to go close to opening the scoring as, with just under twenty-minutes on the clock, he saw a free-kick rise over the Romulus crossbar.
The home side weren't without their opportunities, as Owen Watkins forced Saddlers stopper Tommy Jackson, who was part of the Walsall tea which defeated Brighton in the EFL Trophy last week, into a save with a shot from close-range.
Watkins was soon back at the centre of attention as he forced Jackson into another save a few minutes before the break.
The teams reached half-time without any goals scored, but both had created some promising openings during an entertaining opening forty-five.
HT
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RFC
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0-0
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WFC
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The second-half started with little incident as the two teams settled back into action, with both looking to find the back of the net and secure potentially a spot in the Second Round.
The first goal of the game arrived shortly after the hour mark, as Under-18s prospect Ronan Maher, who entered a few promising displays during pre-season, slipped the ball past Hill to put his side into a deserved lead.
The home side weren't behind for long, however, as, with under twenty-minutes of the game remaining, goalkeeper Tommy Jackson was unable to prevent a Khail Harrison header from finding the back of the net.
Romulus weren't done there either, as they went on to take the lead with Deshon Carty rounding off a neat passage of play to slip the ball into the back of the net, much to the frustration of the Saddlers, as their place in the Second Round looked to be slipping away.
There were no further goals as the Saddlers exited the competition at the first time of asking. Plenty of work ahead of the second string.
FT
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RFC
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2-1
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WFC
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Harrison (71') Carty (76')
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Maher (61') |
REF
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Guy Thrower
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AT
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Castle Vale Stadium
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