There is a certain je ne sais quoi about Walsall.

Dismal cup performances and mediocre home form one week is rivalled by a composed away performance and a second straight league win another.

For all the furore surrounding the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and FA Cup exits, which deserved criticism, the Saddlers have won their last two league games.

While a 2-0 win against a poor Colchester side, who had already lost five home games prior to the Saddlers’ Saturday visit, isn’t going to have the League One pacesetters trembling, it at least kept Jimmy Mullen’s men within touching distance.

Visits of MK Dons on Saturday and Swindon seven days later represent a chance to restore some faith and belief Walsall can indeed challenge this season.

With the two home games on the horizon it now becomes imperative for them to continue on the upward curve.

Just two wins in the last nine games cannot be labelled as promotion form and murmurings of discontent were becoming more audible by the day.

Mullen had acknowledged he was feeling the pressure and his team delivered. They were efficient without being classy, they were professional without the need to become exuberant.

It was no frills stuff from the Saddlers but what they were was clinical. Their two decent chances of the game came and were taken.

Dwayne Mattis slid the ball in after 16 minutes after good work from Troy Deeney and on the hour Michael Ricketts sealed the game with his eighth goal of the season.

Goals win games but clean sheets don’t go amiss either and Rhys Weston’s return coincided with the Saddlers’ first clean sheet in nine matches, a stat which does not owe much to coincidence.

The defender was a little ring rusty as the game wore on and suffered from cramp at the end but the cheer which greeted his name from the Walsall faithful was just a little bigger than those afforded to his teammates.

Weston was one of two changes as Sofiene Zaaboub dropped to the bench and Alex Nicholls came in for the suspended Jabo Ibehre to allow Ricketts to plough a lone furrow up front.

The hosts started purposefully and tried to make the early running but were finding it somewhat tricky to fight through the massed ranks of Walsall bodies.

Plenty of possession but little end product seemed to be the theme of United’s play and they were made to pay when the Saddlers look the lead with their first meaningful attack of the game.

Deeney chased Anthony Gerrard’s diagonal ball and stretched for what seemed a lost cause but pulled it back to the unmarked for Mattis, who made a late run into the box, to slide home from 16-yards.

A simple as the goal may have been, it owed a huge amount to Deeney’s persistence and Mattis’ late run.

The former Barnsley man had been given licence to support Ricketts, as Stephen Hughes and Richard Taundry sat back to shield the defence.

It was a move which had paid off early but, their slender lead was wiped out almost immediately when Sam Williams wriggled free to knock the ball over his shoulder for Clive Platt to plant a header just wide.

Platt may have all the airs and graces of a baby elephant but what he lacks in style, he makes up for in substance.

The powerful striker was a constant thorn in the Saddlers’ side in the first half as he huffed and puffed and cut the ball back from the byline for Dean Hammond to scuff his attempted shot.

Clayton Ince had been rarely troubled but Mark Yeates finally had the stopper earning his money when he tested him with a 30-yard free kick which Ince palmed away midway through the first half.

The Saddlers’ five man midfield were beginning to frustrate the hosts who, for all their possession were getting nowhere fast, but they were almost handed a leveller thanks to Gerrard’s mistake.

Phil Ifil swept the ball down the right and Gerrard ducked to allow the ball run through to Ince but only succeeded in allowing Platt to nip in.

Luckily for the Saddlers the angle was too acute for the striker, who could only hit the side netting. A let off? Almost certainly but the U’s should have equalised on the stroke of half time when Platt knocked down a bouncing ball to Jonnie Jackson.

The midfielder looked certain to net but sliced his 12-yard volley to give Ince a more than comfortable save.

The dreaded half time break came and with the Saddlers’ previous second half performances, there would have been more than a little trepidation from the small pocket of travelling supporters.

Again the hosts started the half on top and a 40-yard rocket from John White stung the palms of Ince but the goalkeeper was having one of those days where he was claiming everything.

It was a small reprieve for Colchester, who were struggling to find any ingenuity and initiative and they fell further behind on the hour.

The Saddlers won a corner and when Palmer swung the ball in, goalkeeper Mark Cousins came and missed allowing Ricketts to head in from eight yards.

As the preceding hour had shown, United had little get up and go, despite their eagerness to retain the ball, but now they needed to act to salvage anything.

They came close but were never going to seriously trouble the Saddlers.

Yeates, who was by far the liveliest Colchester performer, danced his way past three challenges before seeing Ince deny time at the near post.

Substitute Anthony Wordsworth, who at least showed some desire, saw his volley deflected just wide before Sunday Wasiu skidded a shot wide late on.

By Nick Mashiter