Saddlers boss rues late mistakes
Chris Hutchings blamed two costly mistakes for Walsall's late heartbreak in their 2-1 defeat to League One Leeds last night.
The Saddlers fell to two goals in the final seven minutes after Bradley Johnson and Jermaine Beckford wiped out Sam Parkin's 79th-minute penalty following Rui Marques' trip on Steve Jones.
Johnson headed in unmarked after 83 minutes and Beckford stole a yard on Manny Smith for the winner three minutes later – leaving manager Hutchings to rue the loss of focus.
He said: "We've just got to switch on. We conceded from a corner, which I'm really disappointed about – we didn't pick up the people we're supposed to be picking up.
"There was a flaw there and that has to be rectified.
"I'm very disappointed, we gave a really good account of ourselves against one of the most fancied teams in the league. To go 1-0 up with 11 minutes to go and then concede from a corner was bitterly disappointing. We didn't pick up correctly and then Beckford scores – that's why there are a lot of clubs after him."
And the Saddlers chief also felt his team should have had a first-half penalty after Parkin was felled by Marques. He said: "I thought we had good cause for a penalty. I haven't seen it again but it would be interesting to look at it. I thought we had a good shout."
