Walsall Under-18s returned to action on Saturday as they made the trip to Lancashire where they took on Preston North End U18s in their latest EFL Youth Alliance - North West outing of the 2022/23 campaign.
It's fair to say that the young Saddlers have struggled so far this season, winless in the league and without much in the way of positives on the pitch, they reached Saturday morning's match in the back of a 7-1 reverse at the hands of Oldham Athletic.
Unfortunately for the Reds, their struggles continued as North End enjoyed a strong start to the contest as Finlay Cross-Adair was able to get on the end of a Jacob Slater cross - his header opening the scoring with just four-minutes on the clock.
The second goals of the game also went Preston's way as Kitt Nelson capped off a fine attacking move to slide the ball under the Walsall goalkeeper and into the back of the net. The hosts had dominated much of the play leading to the goal, with Cross-Adair and Lewis Leigh combining to create the opening.
The Lilywhites' dominance continued as Leigh added his name to the scoresheet once again as, following Nelson's short pass, he unleashed a low, driving effort into the back of the net. Walsall's defence having a tough time with the movement of their hosts' attacking line.
Following on from his assist Nelson went on to put his name on the scoresheet for the second time as, after Slater had done well to win the ball following a Walsall goal kick, the ball fell to Kitt, who was able to progress up the field before lashing the ball home from outside the area.
There were no goals during the second forty-five, though this wasn't for the want of trying as the home side saw a few efforts go wide of goal, as well as forcing the Saddlers' stopper into action with just a few minutes played.
Another disappointing result for Walsall, though there were some positives to take for the second-half as they frustrated their often-dominant opponents who were unable to extend their lead.
The Saddlers' next outing will see them make the trip to Greater Manchester where they are due to take on Stockport County at 10.30am on Saturday, 1st October.
FULL-TIME
| PRESTON NORTH END | 4-0 | WALSALL |
| CROSS-ADAIR (4') NELSON (20') LEIGH (26') NELSON (30') |
|
| AT | SPRINGFIELDS |