Express & Star

Notts County 1-2 Walsall: Saddlers stage comeback to register seventh straight win

Nathan Lowe's 82nd-minute winner saw Walsall come from behind to register a seventh league win on the spin with a 2-1 success at fellow promotion rivals Notts County.

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Alassana Jatta opened the scoring for Notts County inside 26 minutes when he raced clear of the Walsall defence to confidently finish past Tommy Simkin. 

Walsall turned the tide after the break with substitute Jamille Matt hauling them level in the 65th minute to extend his season tally to seven goals with a smart stooping header. 

Lowe completed the turnaround with eight minutes remaining as he extended his tally to 17 goals across all competitions with his 14th league strike.

County forward David McGoldrick had a goal ruled out for offside at the death as Walsall maintain their lead at the summit to 12 points.

Mat Sadler made two changes from the 2-0 win over Newport County in final game of 2024 on Sunday. 

Evan Weir was handed his first league start in over four months as Taylor Allen dropped to the bench to end a run of 38 consecutive starts in League Two. 

Jamille Matt celebrates his equaliser for Walsall. (Image by Owen Russell)
Jamille Matt celebrates his equaliser for Walsall. (Image by Owen Russell)

Albert Adomah partnered Nathan Lowe in attack at the expense of Matt and was handed the armband on his second league start of the season. 

Meanwhile, Notts County also made two alterations with Rod McDonald replacing the injured Lucas Ness in defence while McGoldrick was recalled to spearhead the front line.

County had a flurry of chances in the opening exchanges with Tommy Simkin called upon twice in quick succession inside four minutes. Rod McDonald glided past Charlie Lakin and down to the right to find Sam Austin in behind but Simkin dived to his right to deny the Magpies wing-back. 

The hosts eventually carved out another chance from the resulting corner as Simkin needed two bites of the cherry to gather Dan Crowley's tricky effort from the edge of the box. 

At the other end, Adomah was just unable to connect with Liam Gordon's inviting cross into the six-yard box but County came even closer when Weir capped only his second league start with a miraculous goal-line clearance. 

Jatta raced on to a smart ball in behind from David McGoldrick before rounding Simkin and firing towards goal. But just as the ball appeared to be trickling over the line, Weir slid to the rescue at the vital moment.

The runs in behind from Jatta were eventually going to prove costly for Walsall and the Gambian forward made no mistake when he sprinted through on goal again to dispatch an unerring finish beyond a stranded Simkin. 

That was the first time Walsall had conceded a first half goal in just under three months and ended a run of five consecutive league clean sheets. 

The Magpies came close to a second when Crowley's swerving effort from the edge of the box whistled just over the crossbar with Simkin rooted to the spot. 

Walsall were second best across the pitch and spent the majority of the first period chasing shadows as County masterfully controlled possession with Crowley running the show in the centre of the park.

Sadler responded with two half-time substitutions as Oisin McEntee and Jamille Matt replaced Lakin and Adomah. McEntee almost made an immediate impact when his header from Ryan Stirk's cross nestled into the top corner but his celebrations were cut short by the offside flag. 

Nathan Lowe. (Image by Owen Russell)
Nathan Lowe. (Image by Owen Russell)

Nevertheless, Walsall flew out of the traps after the break and came close twice more when Lowe's finish deflected wide and Stirk blazed a volley over the crossbar. 

The game ebbed and flowed after the Saddlers' strong start to the second period but Matt marked his emergence from the bench in style to equalise 25 minutes from time. 

County could only clear Harry Williams' long throw as far as Weir and his swinging volley across goal picked out Matt who buried his diving header past Bass. 

The contest culminated into a gripping end-to-end affair with Liam Gordon stinging the palms of Bass and Williams showcasing his supreme balance to keep McGoldrick at bay inside the box.

But it was Lowe who had the final say when he stretched to meet Weir's low delivery to guide his finish past Bass eight minutes from time. 

Crowley broke into the box in the closing stages but failed to find the target as Walsall extended their unbeaten league run to 14 games. 

And in the final seconds, McGoldrick headed past Simkin at his near post before his celebrations were dashed by the offside flag.

The Saddlers have won seven league games in a row for the first time since 2005 and have collected four successive victories on the road in League Two.

Next, Walsall travel to Whaddon Road to face Cheltenham Town in the early kick-off on Saturday before hosting Tranmere Rovers in another lunch time kick-off the following weekend.

Teams

Walsall (3-1-4-2): Simkin; Okagbue, Williams, Weir (Daniels 90 +4); Stirk; Barrett (Allen 84), Jellis, Lakin (McEntee 46), Gordon; Adomah (Matt 46), Lowe.

Unused: Hornby, Daniels, Comley, Johnson.

Notts County (3-4-2-1): Bass; McDonald, Platt, Bedeau; Austin (Jones 74), Abbott, Palmer, Martin (Grant 74); Crowley, Jatta; McGoldrick.

Unused: Slocombe, Cundy, Cisse, Hinchy, Brown.

Referee: Farai Hallam 

Attendance: 12,610 (1,894)