Jason Demetriou out to end goal drought

Jason Demetriou claims he is desperate to break his Walsall scoring duck – if only to silence his team-mates.

The 27-year-old's advances down the flanks have been a major factor in the Saddlers new found attacking flair this season but he is yet to net for the club he joined in the summer.

Now, after scoring his first-ever international goal for Cyprus earlier this month, Demetriou – who has played at either right full-back or wing-back – revealed he is coming under increasing pressure to repeat the feat at club level.

"There was a lot of banter them telling me I was never going to score," said Demetriou, whose goal, on his 28th cap, earned Cyprus a 2-1 win over Israel and sealed Wales' passage to Euro 2016.

"Now these boys are hammering me a bit, especially the gaffer," he said. "He keeps going on about it. That's why I really need to score."

Demetriou scored ten goals during a four- year stay at Leyton Orient between 2006 and 2010, before spending five years in the Cypriot League.

Boss Dean Smith meanwhile believes his team have been handed a tough assignment after being drawn at home to fellow League One outfit Fleetwood Town in the FA Cup first round.

It was yesterday confirmed the tie will take place on Saturday November 7, with a 3pm kick-off.

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Walsall were knocked out of the competition by Shrewsbury in the first round stage last season and Smith is eager to do better this time around.

"We'd love to have a good run in the FA Cup," he said.

"We had two decent results against Nottingham Forest and Brighton in the League Cup and ended up with Chelsea at home so we know what's at the end of it.

"There's prize money at stake and we want to go as far as we can."

"You want a home draw in any cup competition but it's going to be a tough game because we're playing a team from our league."