Orient 0 Walsall 1 - analysis

Mark Bradley's emphatic finish on half-time set Walsall on the road to their fifth away win of the campaign, as one moment of quality punctured an agricultural encounter with Leyton Orient.

Alex Nicholls, Jabo Ibehre and Troy Deeney swapped passes with the latter, clipping a delightful ball through to the onrushing Bradley, who buried with aplomb for his second goal in two games.

The Saddlers proved they can battle and, with the only passage of fluent football all afternoon, demonstrated the ability to bring a bit of quality to the table to snatch a result.

Battle-weary fans will now be forgiven for thinking 'what if.' Two defeats in their last 11 games would have put the Saddlers among late play-off contenders, had they not been so woefully inconsistent prior to Chris Hutchings' arrival.

One loss in six away trips also represents a drastic improvement and there can be no accusations of weariness from the team.

The context of the game was thus. The Saddlers wanted to build on their 3-0 win over Brighton in their previous outing, as they bid to finish the season on a high.

Orient were looking to make it four successive wins and claim just their fifth victory at home all season.

As they were still threatened by the lingering spectre of relegation, three points for the O's were slightly more necessary than they were for Walsall.

In the end it was the Saddlers who took the points, in a more comfortable manner than was expected.

Clayton Ince had to be at his acrobatic best to stop Jimmy Smith from levelling matters early in the second half but, for a side at the wrong end of the table, Orient showed a surprising lack of fight.

That said, they started brightly, although soon wilted as the Saddlers rode out any pressure which the hosts tried to exert.

Walsall recovered from a sluggish start with the O's finding joy down their left flank, as Chris Palmer struggled against the threat of Sean Thornton.

The former Sunderland winger was a danger, but the Saddlers were their own worst enemies with indecisive clearances.

Scott McGleish forced Ince into a low save after seizing on some particularly hesitant defending, as Orient looked to make an early breakthrough.

It was a decidedly tardy start from the Saddlers but, burdened by their poor home record, the hosts soon fell away as Walsall started to find their feet.

Deeney shot over, Ibehre headed weakly at Jamie Jones before Deeney followed suit but the Saddlers had to wait until the 23 minute before they really tested the keeper.

Then Sofiene Zaaboub drove inside and forced Jones to tip his curling effort over.

That was almost that for the half but, just as the sides were set to go in all square, in one beautifully constructed move the Saddlers stole the lead.

Charlie Daniels gifted the ball to Nicholls, he found Ibehre who popped a pass to Deeney, who picked out Bradley steaming through the middle and he sent a rising drive past Jones.

Not bad for someone who hadn't scored in 16 months prior to last Tuesday. Cue the pre-conceived celebration to show at least the Saddlers were having fun.

The only downside for Bradley is that he is hitting form just as he goes away with Wales under-21s. Two games against Luxembourg beckon, before he returns for the next London clash at Millwall in two weeks and they come at exactly the wrong time.

With Stephen Hughes ready to return, there is hope he won't be missed but Hutchings has already demonstrated he loathes changing a winning side.

Bradley had worked well with captain for the day Dwayne Mattis, who was impressive as he rose to the challenge of leading from the front.

The message from the dressing room at the break would have been to keep it tight early on, but the Saddlers were almost undone soon after the restart.

Smith was left unmarked and, while his connection with Jason Demetriou's cross wasn't clean, Ince needed to make the save, superbly tipping over the bar.

A huge let-off on an afternoon where the keeper had been given adequate protection, aside from the first 20 minutes.

Manny Smith and Rhys Weston resumed acquaintances in the centre of defence to stand firm and deal with the double threat of McGleish and Simon Church.

Orient, with increasing frequency, launched long balls forward which were gobbled up, one way or the other, by Smith and Weston.

The Hutchings method of defending – the 'kick it, head it' philosophy – may not be pretty but it's effective as a record of six clean sheets in his first 15 games – after just five in the previous 28 – proves.

McGleish fired wide and, as Walsall's defence stood firm, the attack tried to find the killer second. Nicholls' 18-yard volley skidded straight to Jones from a knockdown by Ibehre, who was finding it difficult on his return to Brisbane Road.

The striker spent eight years with the O's, making 243 appearances and scoring 41 goals, and received a standing ovation from the home faithful when he was substituted.

Even then the 26-year-old only mustered a muted response after toiling away all afternoon. Just one strike in his last 12 appearances has eroded his confidence and a goal is so desperately needed.

There was one late scare for the visitors when Demetriou escaped the attentions of the Saddlers defence but Ince stood firm to block.

Leyton Orient (4-4-2): Jones, Purches, Mkandawire (Thelwell 74), Spence, Daniels, Smith (Wayne Gray 62), Thornton, Terry (Melligan 62), Demetriou, McGleish, Church.

Subs not used: Morris, Morgan.

Booked: McGleish.

Walsall (4-4-2): Ince, Palmer, Weston, Smith, Boertien, Nicholls (Taundry 69), Mattis, Bradley, Zaaboub, Ibehre (Shroot 84), Deeney.

Subs not used: Gilmartin, Hughes, Sansara

Booked: Weston, Deeney.

Attendance: 3,969.

By Nick Mashiter