Brighton 0 Walsall 1 - Analysis

Saturday's win means the Saddlers been beaten just once in their last 11 opening day outings. Consistency has been a problem in recent seasons, if only they could bottle this first day formula success would be another certainty.

Though it wasn't all easy as they relied on a Whing and a prayer for the three points. Andrew Whing to be precise.

The right-back's 30th minute own goal sealed the game, as the Saddlers had a few words with the man upstairs when Brighton pressed in the second half.

Mind you, Chris Hutchings' men lived dangerously and, as the boss conceded afterwards, they must improve. Failure to build on Saturday's win and it will become all but meaningless.

A Carling Cup trip to Accrington Stanley is a perfect chance to continue the groundwork laid down in pre-season and at the Withdean Stadium.

Winning at the Fraser Eagle Stadium is vital ahead of the impending visits of Southend on Saturday and Leeds on Tuesday.

The Saddlers home form in the last two years has been nothing short of awful.

With League One as it is, there are precious few who have, or will, predict an epic season for the club – something which they will use to their advantage.

Outside Essington there are no weekly expectations, no undue pressure from demanding sources.

Can they surpass the national media's prediction of a season of struggle? Yes. Can they compete at the top? Probably not. Can they stake a claim for sixth place? That is open for debate.

History suggests there is always one unfancied team who breaks though. The problem being is, this season, half the division falls into that category.

The freak results at the weekend show anything is possible. There is no reason why the Saddlers cannot be that team, but ask the same question at Southend, Gillingham and Colchester and you'll get the same affirmative answer.

The title favourites suffered mixed fortunes and the language spoken at clubs such as Leeds and Charlton will be different to that at the Banks's Stadium.

Promotion - and nothing less - is expected. Falling short will cost Simon Grayson and Phil Parkinson their jobs.

That is the difference between the haves and the have nots. The Saddlers fall into the latter category and the players, alongside the manager, can only increase their standing this year.

Laying it on the line a play-off challenge is improbable but not impossible. On paper, in black and white, they shouldn't have a chance. But football is seldom black and white.

Saturday was a good place to start confounding. Brighton, despite escaping the drop on the final day last year, are expected to challenge this season.

They did little to live up to that tag at the Withdean as they were first outplayed and then out thought by their plucky visitors – fielding six debutants.

The Seagulls simply ran out of ideas, playing to the Saddlers' strengths at the end. High balls were easily dealt with as the hosts were stifled.

First-timers Sam Parkin and Peter Till were, at times, the pick of the bunch as Jamie Vincent, Mark Hughes, Matt Richards and Steve Jones also made their bow.

Richards and Parkin had already seen effort drift wide before the visitors took a deserved lead on the half hour.

Troy Deeney found Till on the right who in turn fed the overlapping Rhys Weston to deliver the type of cross strikers crave.

Unfortunately for the Saddlers it missed Deeney and Parkin. Unfortunately for Whing it didn't miss him as he could only plant a perfect header into the far corner.

Whing, a Villa season ticket holder, has been constantly linked with a move to the Saddlers in recent years.

Even before the end of last season, south coast reports touted him with a switch to the Banks's so perhaps he was trying to engineer his long-mooted move to the West Midlands.

He may even have had a sneak preview of the Saddlers' training routines as the goal came straight from the pitches of Essington.

Till, a willing outpost on the right, impressed when on the ball – although he became too peripheral as the game wore on – but there are signs of a strong right-sided partnership with Weston.

Their pre-season work had paid immediate dividends and confidence was rife through the team.

But, with Brighton boss Russell Slade delivering a masterful speech at the interval, his side returned with renewed vigour.

The manager threw on Nicky Forster and the tide changed.

For all their good work in the first half, the Saddlers almost undid it in the second. The midfield pair of Richards and Dwayne Mattis lost their way after their previous snappy and sharp half.

Brighton were allowed too much time with the visitors sitting deeper and deeper as the Seagulls probed for an equaliser.

The evergreen Ince had to be alert to smother at the feet of Andrew Crofts, just after claiming a low strike from Mark Wright.

The Trinidad and Tobago man misses tomorrow's Accrington trip because of international duty again but showed why - even at 37 - he is first-choice, although was left standing as Liam Dickinson's 30-yarder whistled wide.

Dickinson was the Saddlers' tormentor-in-chief and had the beating of Hughes for pace as he linked well with Forster, who headed one narrowly over.

Substitute Richard Taundry skewed a couple of efforts wide in rare second-half forays, as Brighton continued unabated but ultimately unsuccessful.

By Nick Mashiter