Walsall Under-18s returned to action on Saturday morning as they made the trip to the campus of Lancaster & Morecambe College and took on fellow strugglers Morecambe in their latest EFL Youth Alliance (North West) outing of the season.
After taking a welcome point from Salford City last weekend, Walsall's Under-18s made the trip to Morecambe on Saturday afternoon, with Ben King's side hoping to take three much-needed points.
The draw with the Ammies saw the Saddlers take just their eighth point of the league campaign, and saw them fail to win for a fourteenth time in sixteen games.
Opponents Morecambe have also struggled for form over the course of the campaign, with the Shrimps winning just four of their fifteen previous outings, which includes a four-nil defeat to Oldham Athletic last weekend.
Sadly for the Saddlers, they were unable to add to last weekend's welcome draw as the home side bagged two goals, more than enough to take all three points.
Their first goal arrived after twenty-eight minutes and saw Seb Bolton find teammate Cameron Rooney, with the latter smashing the ball into the back of the Saddlers' net.
Morecambe's second goal arrived some eleven minutes later, and it was a familiar face who got it as Rooney was once again on hand to put the ball into the back of the net following a poorly-dealt-with looping cross.
The home side, who saw convincing shouts for a penalty ignored by the referee, went on to add to their tally in the second-half as Jamie Nicholson weaved his way through the Walsall backline before slipping the ball over the line.
Walsall were able to get a goal of their own as the match entered the final ten minutes as Ronan Maher bagged his second in as many games, but that was nothing more than a consolation as Morecambe soon reinstated their three-goal lead with Dan Foden slotting the ball home.
Morecambe piled on the misery for the young Saddlers in the dying stages of the game as Ben Jarvis got on the end of a Nicholson pass to make it five for the Shrimps, his powerful effort giving the 'keeper little opportunity to move.
Another disappointing defeat for the young Saddlers, who continue to sit at the foot of the table as we enter the final few months of the campaign.
FULL-TIME
MORECAMBE | 5-1 | WALSALL |
ROONEY (28') ROONEY (39') NICHOLSON (78') FODEN (85') JARVIS (90') |
MAHER (81') |