'Bromley wanted him' - Mat Sadler makes Courtney Clarke admission after Walsall's win

Ben Krauhaus fired Bromley into an 18th-minute lead, but Walsall produced a stunning second half display to secure maximum points. 

Daniel Kanu restored parity with his eighth goal of the season in all competitions, before Ryan Finnigan towered above his marker to complete the turnaround. 

Walsall beat Bromley to Clarke's signature in the summer

Walsall sealed the deal in the final seconds when Albert Adomah broke free and unselfishly squared for Clarke to tap home.

"It means a lot to him. We had to work hard to secure him over Bromley. He is a player that they wanted to sign themselves," Sadler said.

"You can see why with the way that he plays the game. I'm delighted that we managed to get one over them on that one." 

Sadler takes no pride over triple change

It was a tale of two halves and the triple change at half-time proved a particularly important turning point, as Connor Barrett, Brandon Comley and Clarke replaced Vincent Harper, Lewis Warrington and Charlie Lakin. 

Jid Okeke moved out to left wing-back and suddenly Walsall looked much more of a threat on both flanks, with Barrett also tearing down the right. 

Sadler was unwilling to accept praise for his intervention, but felt it was the necessary decision to take.

"I didn't like that to be honest with you. I don't like doing that and there is no part of me that takes any pleasure in that at all," he explained. 

"Because I know for the three lads who went off, that'll feel rubbish and I hate that if I'm being completely blunt. 

"But I also know, and I'll be making sure the guys know, that the game wasn't going that way and we needed to change something up. 

"And I did think, do I just wait 10 minutes and then make the changes? But then I just felt, then maybe there would be a 10 minute spell where we're getting used to it again. 

"It just felt like the right thing to do and it sounds great now because we won the game, but it's not something I like doing.

"What I do know is it's a team game, and I think it speaks volumes that Charlie, Vincent and Lewis were out there celebrating afterwards."

Tale of two halves

The headlines are rightfully positive in the wake of their second half fightback, but Sadler admitted that Walsall played to Bromley's terms in the first 45. 

"That's exactly what we said and I get it because we gave that goal away in the way that we did. 

"Then there is always that tendency to be too eager to get that goal quickly. So the way they sat off, and Michael Cheek was pressing our back-three. 

"We didn't get our back-three on to the player enough which is how we like to open teams up. 

"The lads that came on gave us a bit more energy and control. It was still a ding-dong game, but we've got unbelievable set piece delivery and athletic specimens who can do things like Priestley did to keep the ball alive."