Walsall made their way to the Broadfield Stadium on Tuesday evening as they took on Crawley Town in their latest League Two outing of the 2023/24 campaign.Both teams took time to settle into the game, with few early chances on goal, although Crawley did see a Liam Kelly effort from distance blocked in the fourth minute.
As we neared the quarter hour mark, the hosts finally found themselves in shooting range again, with Jeremy Kelly working the ball to Klaidi Lolos, who fired a low effort goal-wards from outside the box, sending the ball sailing narrowly wide.
Walsall were quick to work the ball up to the other end after that, winning a corner as Nicholas Tsaroulla put the ball out of play. Isaac Hutchinson swung the ball in from the flag-kick for Donervon Daniels, who headed the ball on for Jamille Matt, whose effort on goal was easily dealt with by the Town defenders.
Dion Conroy picked up the first yellow card of the game, just seventeen minutes into the contest, as he was cautioned following a foul on Matt.
The Saddlers continued to press, with Daniels working the ball to Hutchinson in the nineteenth minute, but the Walsall number eight was unable to beat Crawley 'keeper, Corey Addai, who did well to make the save.
Jay Williams joined Conroy in the referee's notebook in the twenty-first minute, as the midfielder was shown the yellow card for a foul on Josh Gordon.
Crawley went close in the thirty-first minute, as Lolos worked the ball to Ronan Darcy, who drilled the ball across the face of goal under pressure from Walsall shot-stopper, Jackson Smith, allowing Liam Gordon to clear the danger.
Walsall were awarded a penalty in the thirty-sixth minute, as Jack Earing was felled inside the area by Williams. Hutchinson stepped forth to take the spot-kick and duly converted, firing his side into the lead.
The Saddlers almost added to their tally in the forty-third minute, as Earing played in Hutchinson, whose low, powerful strike was turned behind by an alert Addai, with the resulting corner coming to nothing.
Brandon Comley became the first Walsall player to see yellow, as he was cautioned in the forty-fourth minute following a foul on Darcy.
Three additional minutes were added to end the first-half, during which time Laurence Maguire saw his name taken by the referee, earning himself a caution with a foul on Ton Knowles.
There was little further action of note though, and the sides headed off to enjoy their half-time refreshments with Walsall leading by one-goal-to-nil.
The teams returned unchanged following the break, and play resumed. Crawley began the second-half brightly, seeing lots of the early ball, though they were unable to find their way through the Walsall defences to make the pressure pay.
After a quiet fifteen minutes, Crawley opted to make their first change of the evening, with Klaidi Lolos making way for Jack Roles.
Crawley levelled the scores with sixty-four minutes on the clock. The change having the desired effect as Roles combined with Danilo Orsi to work the ball to Liam Kelly, who picked fired a powerful shot past Smith.
Walsall responded to the goal with a double change in the seventieth minute, as Jamille Matt and Josh Gordon were replaced by Mo Faal and Douglas James-Taylor. The hosts also took the opportunity to introduce some fresh legs, with Ronan Darcy and Jeremy Kelly making way for Harry Forster and Adam Campbell.
Roles continued to cause problems for the Walsall defences, finding space in the seventy-third minute to fire an effort goal-wards, but his shot, fortunately for the Saddlers, trickled narrowly wide of the target.
The visiting side opted to make a third change to their line-up in the seventy-fourth minute, with Jack Earing making way for Ross Tierney.
Walsall looked to restore their earlier lead in the seventy-sixth minute, but Hutchinson was unable to convert Liam Gordon's cross, firing wide from the centre of the box.
Isaac Hutchinson then saw his name added to the referee's notebook in the seventy-seventh minute, as he was cautioned for dissent.
Ten minutes from time, Crawley chose to make their final two changes of the game, as Nicholas Tsaroulla and Jay Williams made way for Kellan Gordon and Mustapha Olagunju.
Jackson Smith joined those already listed in the referee's notebook in the eighty-first minute, as the shot-stopper was cautioned for time wasting.
Walsall continued to seek a second goal as the game continued, with Knowles seeing a shot deflected wide by Conroy in the eighty-third minute, with the resulting corner coming to nothing.
Town won a corner at the other end just one minute later, which was swung into the box by Liam Kelly for Maguire, but the defender's effort was saved by Smith.
Another Walsall flag-kick followed moments later, as Olagunju turned the ball out of play, but Tierney sliced an effort wide, after initially seeing a strike blocked.
Four additional minutes were added to end the match, during which time Smith was called into action to prevent Forster securing a winner for the hosts, fortunately the 'keeper was alert to the danger and able to stop the move at the second time of asking.
There was a brief halt to proceedings three minutes into added time, allowing Maguire to receive treatment, but he was soon back on his feet and able to continue.
Crawley created one final chance in the last seconds of the match, as the ball fell to Forster outside the area, but the strikers powerful effort on goal sailed narrowly wide of the upright, and with that the game was brought to it's conclusion, with the sides sharing the points.
| L.KELLY (64') | HUTCHINSON [P] (38') |
| AT | BROADFIELD STADIUM |
| REFEREE | JOHN BUSBY |