Analysis: Recent growing trend cost Walsall dearly in rare defeat at Bescot

The Saddlers overturned a one-goal deficit to beat Bristol Rovers 2-1 a fortnight ago and came from a goal behind to salvage a point against Crawley Town the following weekend. 

But they left it far too late to rescue a result after Barrow scored from the only two shots on target that they managed to muster throughout the 90. 

In contrast, Walsall laid siege on the Barrow goal - registering 24 shots, 11 on target, and over three times as many touches inside the opposition box (39). 

Yet they found Bluebirds shot-stopper Wyll Stanway in outstanding form, as he kept Walsall at bay time and time again with a series of stops. 

In total, Stanway made 11 saves and Walsall would easily have emerged victorious on another day. 

Mar Sadler has been praised for assembling a team capable of mounting another promotion challenge, and rightly so, but his recent tinkering has not quite had the desired effect. 

Admittedly, two changes were enforced in the draw at Crawley, but he made four in total, and it showed, particularly in a lacklustre first half display. 

The decision to drop Charlie Lakin and hand Courtney Clarke his first home league start was equally as eyebrow raising. 

Lakin has been a crucial cog in the system and Walsall missed his positional discipline at times. It perhaps then came as little surprise that Walsall enjoyed their best period when Sadler made a triple change with 20 minutes to go, which included the introduction of Lakin. 

Another concern is that Walsall continue to struggle against teams where they're tasked with keeping more possession than the opposition. 

Walsall finished with 59 per cent of the ball, but struggled to break Barrow down for the majority of the contest, until a late onslaught heralded a glut of chances.

They did carry the greater attacking threat though, and Sadler had every reason to be frustrated by the level of officiating. 

As early as the seventh minute, Aden Flint appeared to be pulled down inside the penalty area, but referee Benjamin Speedie was unmoved. 

Clarke was later bundled into from behind, but once again Barrow went unpunished. Sadler was critical of both decisions, or a lack thereof, after the final whistle, but the defending was questionable for both goals, especially the first. 

Barrow had hardly laid a glove on Walsall when they took the lead just past the half-hour mark. Vincent Harper, returning from international duty with Kenya, was sucked inside, and left Ben Whitfield unmarked on the right. 

Connor Mahoney, occupying the inside-right position, released Whitfield, who flashed a menacing ball across the box. Connor Barrett had failed to track the run of Elliot Newby and the Bluebirds wing-back ghosted in to tap home from close-range. 

Stanway had denied Daniel Kanu from an acute angle earlier in the half, but he sprawled into his first notable save when he repelled Clarke at his near post on the cusp of halt-time. 

The pendulum appeared to swing in the Saddlers favour when Lewis Shipley was given his marching orders after receiving a second booking for a foul on Kanu just 12 minutes into the second half. 

Walsall put their foot on the accelerator. First, Barrett forced a fine save from Stanway after they worked the resulting free-kick short and Kanu came close twice. 

Jid Okeke, who looked bright after replacing Harper, tricked his way inside to deliver into the box, but Kanu was unable to keep his header down. Stanway then emerged to save with his feet after Evan Weir had glided into space and thread the ball into the path of Kanu. 

Suddenly, Barrow sprung an attack, and it was 2-0. Again, Whitfield escaped down the right, evading a desperate challenge from Okeke. He squared for substitute Charlie McCann, who eventually got the ball under his spell via a couple of ricochets, before nonchalantly rolling a finish past Myles Roberts. 

Sadler responded immediately with a triple change, and Albert Adomah's impact was instantaneous. He delivered a low cross into the feet of Kanu, who showed great strength inside the box to squeeze his shot through bodies, and beyond the reach of Stanway. 

Walsall had 14 minutes to find an equaliser, but Barrow, to their credit, defended valiantly, and Stanway was a machine between the sticks. 

He made two saves in quick succession, showcasing superb reflexes to deny Kanu from close quarters, before springing to hit feet and clawing away Lakin's thunderous shot on the follow-up. 

Okeke bent another effort inches wide and substitute Ryan Finnigan nudged a finish wide after some more good work by Adomah on the right. 

Stanway denied Clarke once more, but the best chance fell to Aaron Pressley, who should've scored from point-blank range. 

Instead, the towering Scotsman directed his tame header on to the past, after a dreamy delivery from Clarke in stoppage time. 

The final whistle blew and Walsall's eight-match unbeaten run in League Two had come to an end. It was their first league defeat in almost exactly two months. 

Fortunately, results elsewhere meant that they maintained their two-point lead at the league summit, but it could also be viewed as an opportunity missed the stretch the gap.