Dramatic end for Walsall

Anyone expecting this to be an end of season kickabout couldn’t have been more wrong, writes Sean Calvert.

A lengthy and vocal protest against the club’s chairman; Tommy Mooney bowing out of English football with a goal; one of the best 45 minute spells of football seen all season; four goals and a conga led by a topless Saddler. What more do you want on a balmy spring afternoon?

With both teams coming into the match on the back of poor runs of three consecutive defeats and seemingly with very little to play for in terms of league points, you would have been forgiven for anticipating a dour 90 minutes between two sides low on confidence and incentive.

However, as soon as a sizable banner was unfurled in the upper tier of the Floors-2-Go Stand prior to kick off, the stage was set for an afternoon of high drama at the Banks’s.

The banner, protesting against the January sales of Scott Dann and Danny Fox and calling for the resignation of chairman Jeff Bonser, was revealed at the start of each half and again towards the end of the match, at which point a 200 strong group stayed behind to voice their frustrations.

The proposed end of season lap of honour by the players had to be cancelled, due to crowd unrest and one of them, the departing Mooney, said afterwards that Walsall had missed possibly their best chance to get into the Championship for the foreseeable future with the departure of the star pair. Whether the protests will have any effect at board level remains to be seen, as the chairman wasn’t at the ground to witness it and has, of course, seen it all before during his 20 years with the club.

Bonser’s immediate task is the pressing one of finding a new manager. However, the sum total of players remaining at the club by the time the new man arrives looks like it will be a small one after the departures of Darren Wrack, Edrissa Sonko, Bertrand Bossu and Aaron Brown.

Brown’s departure is particularly intriguing, given the fact that he was signed just before the deadline to strengthen the centre back position.

However, barring a few runouts in the reserves and an appearance in Wrack’s testimonial match on Tuesday, the Reading man failed to get a look in, which begs the question exactly why was he signed?

Further departures are expected tomorrow when the players reconvene after the Bank Holiday weekend, at which point the scale of the summer rebuilding programme will become clearer.

What is clear is at the moment though is that at the absolute minimum, Walsall have the nucleus of a talented young side, particularly in defence and this was in evidence again on Saturday when the back four, despite conceding two goals, excelled again.

With the exception of Manny Smith, all are contracted to the club for next season and they once again stole the show with blocks, tackles and full-length dives that showed admirable commitment in an end of season fixture.

Indeed, the entire Saddlers line up were on song straight from the kick off, displaying the kind of fluid, attacking football that the supporters were hoping for when there was something at stake a few weeks ago.

Richard Taundry began a fine display with an excellent forward run down the left flank and his pass found Mooney, whose instant control and quick ball to Michael Dobson allowed the midfielder to open his account for the season with a great strike into the top corner after eight minutes.

Walsall could have added the second on a couple of occasions before they actually did, notably when Mooney put the ball agonisingly wide from a tight angle, However, they didn’t have to wait long to double their advantage.

Dobson returned the earlier favour with a right wing cross to Mooney, who scored the 208th and final goal of an outstanding career in English football with a low drive into the bottom corner with only 14 minutes gone.

Saddlers threatened to run riot with Mooney and Betsy linking up as they had only sporadically managed to do in the past and Alex Nicholls enjoying a return to right wing. But the visitors pulled themselves back in it with a Michael Mackay goal against the run of play.

Walsall could have increased their lead in a highly entertaining first half performance full of purpose and vigour but the fact that they failed to strike the killer blow counted against them in the end.

Hartlepool were a different side in the second period and Walsall were unable to get out of their own half for the last 20 minutes of normal time as the visitors created a string of half chances, all of which were spurned.

Many Saddlers fans had long since lost interest in the result and were intent on creating a party atmosphere, which culminated in a topless supporter merrily dancing his way from the Floors-2-Go Stand, through the Health Stand and up to the manager’s dugouts before returning to start a conga.

The Pools fans in fancy dress latched onto the spirit of things by initiating a conga of their own, which was briefly halted when Mackay blazed their best opportunity over Clayton Ince’s crossbar from five yards out. But their party was back in full swing when James Brown converted Foley’s left wing cross to earn the visitors a share of the spoils with only seconds of injury time remaining.

As for Walsall, the result of the match was largely irrelevant, of course, but whoever takes over in the Banks’s hotseat has the unenviable task of creating a new squad of players and appeasing the fans with his signings, all in the space of what looks set to be an intriguing summer.