Analysis: Walsall conjure up strong response to settle for a point at Fleetwood
'We'll take a point and move on' was the phrase that sprung to mind after Walsall's 1-1 draw against Fleetwood Town in Lancashire.
That was very much the sentiment shared by Mat Sadler afterwards too. After all, Fleetwood had been the inflictors of one, or possibly even two, of the most painful defeats of his reign so far.
The less said about the 6-2 drubbing from October 1, 2024, the better, but the 2-0 defeat at Highbury in February, and particularly the performance that night was, you could argue, equally as bleak.
Fleetwood were always going to pose a different challenge to the previous three games, which saw the Saddlers reel off a succession of 1-0 wins.
The hosts set their stool early on. Walsall started on the front foot and Pete Wild clearly set-up to pick them off on the counter-attack.
After Evan Weir curled a free-kick from 30 yards just over the crossbar, Fleetwood very nearly did catch Walsall cold.
Flint to the rescue
Harrison Burke was pickpocketed midway inside the Fleetwood half and the pacy Ryan Graydon was on the prowl to latch on to the subsequent ball in behind.
Graydon glided away from Aden Flint, skipped past a hesitant Myles Roberts and looked destined to roll the ball into an empty net.
But Flint, as has so often been the case, was one step ahead. His recovery was remarkable and his last-ditch challenge rescued his side from falling behind (momentarily at least!).
It was the perfect example of the first 10 yards being in his head. He lost the footrace, but tapped into his vast footballing brain, to anticipate the danger.
