Walsall 0 Tranmere 1 - match analysis

Rover and out but not down. Walsall still have a season to play.

Defeat to Tranmere last night - and another early Carling Cup exit - is merely a rite of passage for every Walsall season.

The jeers which greeted the final whistle and the barracking from the stands were understandable but two home defeats in the first two games isn't cause for a full blown panic attack.

It comes to something when you have to preach realism just 180 minutes into a new season.

Granted, the two performances were well short of what is expected - and certainly what was witnessed at the back end of last term - but with new players and a departed target man it hardly comes as a surprise.

There was asense of gloom after the final whistle, reasonable to some extent - after all the Saddlers have now lost their last four Carling Cup first round games.

But there has got to be something to hold on to. The campaign is barely in its infancy and already consternation is rising among those who watch the Saddlers regularly.

Undeniably it was poor, Walsall looked like a team struggling to gel and had all the composure of a monkey in a banana factory.

Passes went astray, the widemen were again shunted to the fringes and the strikers struggled to develop an understanding.

A repeat performance at Brentford on Saturday would see a heavier defeat but with new signings imminent isn't it just a little too soon to be judging?

August should be about hope and anticipation - not despair and exasperation.

The acid test is usually after 10 games, not two. If Walsall are struggling in September, then judge.

The fact is we know where they are in the pecking order and, while this isn't an excuse for going out of the Cup, it is what the Saddlers do.

But had Alex Nicholls buried his one-on-one with Rovers goalkeeper Joe Collister we could have been talking in a different tone.

As it is, the Saddlers are left to contemplate another early exit. They had started well enough after just one change from Saturday's 2-1 defeat to MK Dons.

Ryan McGivern was missing after being called up for Northern Ireland's friendly in Montenegro tonight.

Darryl Westlake replaced the Manchester City loanee with Aaron Lescott switching to left-back.

Steve Jones tested rookie goalkeeper Collister early but the Saddlers lost any early momentum in a first half littered with errors from both sides.

Westlake and Julian Gray tried their luck without success before Manny Smith headed wide.

But, in reality, they were merely half chances as the hosts failed to create anyclear cut openings.

And they paid for slack defending when Rovers took a shock lead six minutes before the break.

Paul McLaren tossed in a long free-kick for ex-Albion youngster Joss Labadie to direct across goal for the unmarked Goodison, who bundled past Jonny Brain.

The Saddlers' defence had gone AWOL and, despite dominating possession, they found themselves one goal behind and facing an anxious crowd.

McLaren's late block denied Gray an instant equaliser before Rovers let their hosts off the hook immediately after the break.

Ian Thomas-Moore's effort was saved by Brain and from the corner Wood powered over from 10 yards.

It was a massive scare for the Saddlers and one they should have recovered from but Nicholls squandered his golden chance on 48 minutes.

Byfield robbed McLaren and Liam Darville and unselfishly squared to Nicholls but the striker's low effort was superbly turned behind by Collister.

While the save was impressive Nicholls' finish wasn't and from then the Saddlers struggled to force another clear opening.

Byfield smashed over but there was an air of inevitability as the time ticked down and the hosts ran out of ideas.