Richard Taundry today paid an emotional tribute to his dad and dedicated his first Walsall goal to him after the Saddlers ended their barren streak at Bristol Rovers.

The midfielder scored a 32^nd minute winner in the 1-0 victory at the Memorial Stadium last night – his first in 78 games for the club – for the Saddlers’ first win in nine games.

Clayton Ince saved Jeff Hughes’ second half penalty to safeguard the points and after his father Steve died last year Taundry says his strike was for him.

He said: “Not long ago my dad passed away so I thought if I scored I’ll look up to the heavens and give him a little thanks. It’s a shame I couldn’t have done it a bit sooner but it’s come now.

“He was a Walsall lad and loved the club so it’s brilliant to get one for the club he loved.”

And Taundry, a Walsall fan and former trainee, admits finally breaking his duct for the team – two-and-a-half years after making his debut – was a dream.

“It’s a brilliant feeling. For every young fan you always dream of scoring for your club. It’s ticked off now and hopefully there’s many more to come,” said the 20-year-old.

“I’ll aim for five goals this season, I want to push on now and aim for that. It was a great feeling because we won and that was the most important thing.”

It was the Saddlers’ first win since December 1 but stretched their unbeaten run to four games and Taundry believes the victory was coming.

“We feel we’ve been playing well in the last three or four games and it’s good to have a bit of fortune again, especially with Clayton saving the penalty,” he said.

“It’s been a long time coming and it’s a great feeling, we want to push on now and get some more.

“We were composed and compact and there was always someone going to close the ball down. Everyone looked solid.”

And Taundry hailed the Saddlers’ defence after they kept their third clean sheet in four outings.

He said: “It’s a great effort from all the lads and a great effort from Clayton (Ince). Netan (Sansara) and Westy (Darryl Westlake) are two really young players and were excellent but it’s always great to have the experienced heads.”