My favourite game: When Walsall made it a happy new year!

The 6-0 EFL Trophy win and the 3-1 victory over Exeter – the club’s last game before lockdown – both spring to mind.

Equally, there have been some poor moments too.

The 2-0 loss away at Oldham, where Mat Sadler was sent off for a comical handball, and the 2-0 defeat at home to Morecambe are two examples of poor showings this campaign.

Although the first half of the season was far more inconsistent than the second half, it’s never been boring for the Saddlers faithful – and they’ve been impressive on their travels.

After a decent festive period, in which the club picked up four wins and two draws in seven games – they followed it up on January 4 with their first ever trip to Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium.

It wasn’t just another footballing Saturday, it was an event – a perfect storm.

Walsall fans had the chance to travel to the outskirts of a big city, pick up cheap away tickets and tick off a new ground in a journey that took less than two hours.

All of those ingredients meant the Saddlers travelled with a very impressive 1,291 fans in a stadium that only holds 5,106.

From the first minute to the last the fans were excellent, making it feel like a home game.

There’s been several examples this season where the Walsall fans have travelled in numbers, but this one felt pretty special. As the ground was fairly small, it only enhanced the aesthetic of the away end, as red shirts packed out a full standing area behind one goal, supporting by a small seating area next to it.

The atmosphere was brilliant, and as a writer who loves football, it only adds to the excitement before a game.

On the pitch, it was the team’s first away game since the 3-3 draw away at Exeter – when they blew a 3-0 lead – and the 2-0 win away to Scunthorpe on Boxing Day.

Starting in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Walsall actually allowed Salford to play a little bit too much at the beginning of the game.

Darrell Clarke often sets his team up to be hard to beat away from home, but up until Walsall took the lead it was mostly Salford putting the pressure on – with chances through Craig Conway, Brandon Thomas-Asante and Luke Armstrong.

Liam Roberts – who had a superb game – actually made a brilliant save with his feet at close range to deny Armstrong when the game was locked at 0-0.

Walsall eventually took the lead with a scrappy finish after some good build-up play.

Rory Holden played in Wes McDonald on a counter-attack, who crossed for Caolan Lavery.

The striker’s original effort, sliding in at the back post, was saved by Chris Neal before the ball bounced back off Lavery and in.

Walsall then ended the half as the better side and took that momentum into the second half where they scored within 10 minutes.

McDonald, again, was at the heart of it with another cross and Neal did extremely well to produce a double save from both Lavery and Josh Gordon.

But the latter then followed up to smash into an empty net in front of the travelling fans.

Those supporters went mad, the scenes of celebration were brilliant and would make even the most professional journalist sit back and watch for just a moment.

From there Walsall sat back and invited some pressure, which is perhaps the only criticism of their performance.

Thomas-Asante scored 10 minutes after Gordon and Walsall had to hang on for around 30 minutes to earn the win.

They defended resolutely and put their bodies on the line – it was a proud display.

In many ways, it was the perfect away performance and result. Those travelling fans were rewarded for their efforts and they spurred on the team to an impressive win.

At times, however, they had to call upon Roberts to bail them out and if it wasn’t for him, they may have blown another lead.

He made several incredible saves, including one in injury time from Joey Jones.

The midfielder met a free-kick and directed his header towards goal from less than 10 yards and with the ball destined for the bottom corner, Roberts threw himself at it and finger tipped it around the post.

With injuries going against them and three academy players named on the bench, Walsall battled through for the three points.

It was enjoyable for many reasons, the fans, the heart shown on the pitch and the final result.

It is always a pleasure to write about good news in football, and this match will live long in the memory, not only for what happened on the pitch.

With games currently suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, looking back at a game that was just under four months ago, makes it seem like four years.