Huddersfield 1 Walsall 0
Saturday 30th October 2010, 5:05PM BST.
Walsall sunk back to the bottom of League One after a limp defeat against 10-man Huddersfield.
The Saddlers are five points from safety following just one win in 12 games, despite the hosts playing 66 minutes with 10 men after Alan Lee’s dismissal.
Travelling supporters again chanted for manager Chris Hutchings’ dismissal during a lifeless second-half, where Walsall failed to put their hosts under pressure.
Anthony Pilkington’s first-half screamer won it for the Terriers to leave the Saddlers boss on the brink.
Jimmy Walker made an instant return after re-signing for the club until January, as Jonny Brain was axed following the 4-1 defeat to Tranmere last week.
Martin Devaney was missing while Reuben Reid had to settle for a place on the bench, with Andrew Davies already out with a thigh tear.
Darryl Westlake made his first appearance since mid-September, while Julian Gray and Clayton McDonald also returned.
Aaron Lescott was deployed as a holding midfielder as the Saddlers lined up in an unfamiliar 4-1-4-1 formation, with Jonathan Macken a lone striker.
Steve Jones skimmed an early drive wide and it took Huddersfield 20 minutes to create their first effort, when Graham Carey acrobatically volleyed over.
But the game suddenly sparked into life four minutes later, when Lee was sent off for elbowing Smith as the pair challenged for the ball.
The striker’s dismissal gave the Saddlers hope but they fell behind on 36 minutes despite their man advantage.
Pilkington was allowed time and space 30-yards out and unleashed a rasping low drive into the corner.
It was the winger’s sixth goal in his last five games and stunned the Saddlers who failed to respond, Macken struggling with little support.
But within three minutes of the re-start Lescott had goalkeeper Ian Bennett diving to push his low drive behind – the Saddlers’ first shot on target.
Peter Clarke blocked Westlake’s 57th minute effort but the Saddlers couldn’t force the issue, despite their man advantage.
Huddersfield continued to dictate the tempo and Hutching threw Nicholls and Reid on, switching to 4-4-2 in the process.
But they were unable to put the Terriers under pressure, their powder-puff attack failing to make a dent.
Richard Taundry’s ambitious effort sailed wide seven minutes from time, as Huddersfield held onto the points with ease.
UK Sport
Latest Blog — A week is a long time in football
This time last week we were staring down the barrel, third from bottom with a worse record than at the same stage last year, writes Saddlers blogger Mark Jones.
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As express and star stop putting what i really think.
what a Joke of a club from top to bottom!!!!!!
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this is the worse time under any manager even merson i have known since supporting the saddlers. mr hutchings you have to go. you have already made yourself look a fool with walsall fans, now opposition fans are talking about how bad you are your reputation as a failure is growing faster than facebook. QUIT NOW before the damage is Irreversible.
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looks like bonser is going to bleed the cash cow dry and then sell the land the ground is on, because it doesn’t look like he’s interested in the football anymore otherwise CH would have been sacked by now.
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Yet more misery for us Walsall fans. The club is faceless, leaderless and heading for oblivion.
These directors are responsible, every single one of them:- Jeff Bonser (Chairman), Richard Tisdale, Clive Welch, Roy Whalley, Nigel Bond, Peter Gilman, Stefan Gamble, Leigh Pomlett
and yet Stefan Gamble,the much heralded ‘new face’ of Walsall FC presented to us in the summer, is still silent.
Chris Hutchings has probably presided over the least successful period of any manager at this club and he continues to trot out, week after week, his mindless cliches and excuses of bad luck.
Perhaps Mr Gamble would care to let us know the clubs strategy for dealing with the demise this season or failing that can we carry on assuming he and the rest of the board just don’t care.
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the manager can only do so much…what else can he do with the lack of cooporation from Bonser and the players.
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Oh Jimmy, what have you come back to! Happy Halloween everyone.
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if chris is here on monday there is someting very wrong,,,,as if its not wrong enough now,,WALSALL board ACT ACT ACT NOWWWWWWWWWWW
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Didn’t go and won’t till Chris leaves
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I feel like i’m stuck in groundhog day on 1st April. How can this fool not be sacked already? Hardly an effort on goal against 10 men, regardless of their league position. Next Saturday must be his last game against an in-form Fleetwood.
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My guess is that whatever is written by the fans here or any where else JB just takes no notice our more likely he never reads and of the fans feedback.
He must I would hope by now know that the fans want him and CH out… How thick skinned is this guy?
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“a lifeless second-half, where Walsall failed to put their hosts under pressure”
I was at the game and I can’t say I agree with this. We were unlucky not to score in the second half. Jimmy Walker on the other hand hardly had anything to do all game and let in a good goal.
Still, the first substitute from CH was not the right one, and I was amongst the fans calling for his exit.
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As a Walsall lad born and bred, although not a Walsall supporter, I have followed the fortunes of the team for over 50 years as far back as the Clarke brothers.
I was at Cardiff when you won promotion to the Championship. Happy days eh? That golden opportunity to push on and do greater things has been frittered away
The common thread throughout as been the lack of ambition by the management in its attitude to the supporters and commitment to the team.
When the old ground was sold to Morrisons there was a golden opportunity to invest in the club by finding a site to hold, say 20,000 with enough room for expansion as success dictated. The current ground holding less than 6000 will never generate enough cash to bring in quality players. In addition, I think Mr Bonser likes the idea of owning a football club but does not have the financial clout or the inclination to invest his cash in it.
The only salvation for Walsall is for an astute manager to find gems of players from non-league clubs and win promotion. The cash earned from the football league could then be spent on improving the squad.
A sorry state of affairs for such an old club. The management should be ashamed of themselves.
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It’s been heard from the horses mouth that the owner of the football club thinks Hutchings is the best manager he has employed. Believe me it is true.
We’re going to have our work cut out to make him change his mind.
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