Praise for Walsall stalwart

Defender Ian Roper earned boss Richard Money’s praise after grabbing the last-gasp equaliser against Crewe.

Roper has been under pressure in recent weeks and had another difficult game at Leeds on Saturday, but he proved his worth by scoring in the dying seconds of injury time to earn a vital point for the Saddlers.

“Let’s give the goal to Ian, because he’s had a tough weekend,” Money said.

“Beckford was a real handful for both centre- backs on Saturday and Ian came in against Crewe and did what Ian Roper does – he stuck at it and  good on him for getting the equaliser at the death.

“Ian Roper gives his all for the shirt every time he plays.

“Their attacker was a little bit too quick for him in the first few minutes.

“That obviously put him under a little bit of pressure because he got a yellow card, but he does what he does.

“He stuck at it and that’s all we can ask for from him.”

The player was happy to notch his first goal of the season, although he didn’t know too much about it.

“I just went up and tried to get my head on the ball and it sort of hit me really,” Roper said.

“The keeper came out to punch it and I just managed to get in front of him, headed it and it hit someone on the line but still went in. It was my first of the season, so it was welcome.”

Roper is convinced that Saddlers can still finish in the play-off places, but expects a tough test at Southend on Saturday.

“The lads are pretty confident of still making the play-offs,” he said.

“We’ve had a bit of a dip lately, but hopefully we can pick up and carry it through.

“Southend will be a big game. It’s a hard place to play, but hopefully we can go there and get a result.

“We’re still right in there, so three points and we’ll be right back in there.”