McDonald: We blew our chance

Clayton McDonald admits Walsall blew their chance to shock Norwich last night and told his team-mates they must learn from the disappointment.

The Saddlers slipped to an undeserved 2-1 defeat at the Banks's Stadium as the Canaries hit back with two late goals.

Troy Deeney had given the hosts the lead before Chris Martin and Cody McDonald won it for the visitors in the final 14 minutes.

And McDonald, who had a header cleared off the line in the second half, says the Saddlers missed their chance.

He said: "I thought it was our game, we threw it away. It's gutting, considering the lads put everything in to concede two sloppy goals is very disappointing. The first goal was very sloppy and for the second a couple of the lads fell asleep.

"Against quality in this league you get punished. They are top of the league for a reason and for us to aspire to that we've got to concentrate for 100 minutes, not just 90.

"If you want to go forward you've got to look at your mistakes and what you've done wrong."

And the 21-year-old admits defeat was difficult to take after a battling performance which saw Walsall match Norwich.

He said: "Everyone is working hard in training, we've played worse and nicked a win. It was one of our better performances this season and we've come away with a bitter taste in our mouths.

"It's a good job there's a game on Saturday at Gillingham so we can make it right."

It was McDonald's first Walsall appearance since October and he admitted he will fight to keep his spot after replacing injured captain Mark Hughes.

He said: "I want do well for Walsall and play. It doesn't matter where the game is I want to play every time.

"The first five or ten minutes I was nervous but then I was like a duck to water."