Walsall’s basement battle at Swindon ended in stalemate as the strugglers failed to break the boredom.

But only a magical save from goalkeeper Jimmy Walker secured the Saddlers a point, when the veteran tipped Michael Rose’s fierce drive onto the underside of the bar in stoppage time.

A point kept the Saddlers above the drop zone, although Dagenham & Redbridge’s 2-0 win at Bristol Rovers means the Daggers are just three points behind with four games in hand.

Manager Dean Smith will be happy with Walsall’s fourth clean sheet in five games but, in truth, neither team deserved to win a drab affair.

Marc-Antoine Gbarssin was handed an immediate debut after joining on loan from Carlisle – replacing Paul Marshall – in the only change from the midweek win over Southampton.

Walker had to be alert to save at Rose’s feet early on but, for all Swindon’s possession, they created little.

It was a worry, though, that the Saddlers hadn’t slipped into second gear as they allowed their hosts to boss the early stages.

Matt Ritchie flashed one wide, before Mike Grella turned Andy Butler only to fire off target after 17 minutes.

Ten minutes later, Richard Taundry had the Saddlers’ first serious effort when his scuffed shot deflected behind for a corner.

But the visitors hardly threatened in a poor first-half, where they failed to mount any pressure and allowed the Robins to dictate the tempo.

Jon Macken and Emmanuel Ledesma were too isolated, while the service couldn’t penetrate the comfortable Swindon backline.

Julian Gray was booked for dissent to cap a frustrating first-half, but it hardly got better after the break.

Jonathan Douglas hit the bar with a six-yard header, before Grella skied wastefully over after Oliver Lancashire’s desperate slip-up.

Gray was then hauled off, to be replaced by Alex Nicholls, before he was dismissed when he lost his cool after two petulant fouls.

The Saddlers continued to frustrate the hosts – without actually creating anything themselves – but were lucky Swindon were completely toothless going forward.

Darren Byfield replaced the tiring Ledesma but neither side looked like breaking the deadlock as the game entered the final 10 minutes.

Matt Ritchie’s shot bounced harmlessly into the arms of Walker eight minutes from the end, before the goalkeeper earned his spurs with a super stoppage-time save.

Rose broke clear on the left and unleashed a rising drive, which clipped Walker’s fingertips and crashed onto the underside of the bar, as the Saddlers held on.