Chesterfield 1 Walsall 1 - analysis

Christmas is a time to be thankful for the things you have – but Walsall will struggle to see this as anything other than two points lost.

Victory over fellow strugglers Chesterfield would have been just their second in 16 league games, a run stretching back to August 27.

If any fixture was likely to snap that dismal record and catapult Dean Smith's side out of the relegation zone, then it was surely a visit to League One's bottom team.

Walsall couldn't have come much closer to giving their long-suffering supporters an early Christmas present.

But having taken the lead through Alex Nicholls clinical 29th-minute strike and then holding it for just over an hour, they were undone by a Jack Lester equaliser in the final minute of normal time.

It was a bitter blow for the visitors, who had appeared to have weathered a second- half siege from The Spireites.

Dean Smith had to field a re-jigged back four after injuries to Oliver Lancashire and Manny Smith ruled them out.

But the Saddlers' rearguard looked solid throughout, albeit after a shaky start when Craig Westcarr tested Jimmy Walker's reflexes inside the first minute.

Walsall soon settled down and their obstinacy had the home fans booing and jeering their own team as they failed to break down their opponents in a tense opening period.

At the other end, Jon Macken fired agonisingly wide after good work from Anton Peterlin and Jamie Paterson before Nicholls coolly notched his fifth goal of the season.

Peterlin was again the creator and Nicholls slotted his well-timed crossfield ball past keeper Tommy Lee to put Walsall in the ascendancy.

In truth, Walsall were looking quite comfortable, but their confidence is brittle and John Sheridan's men began to apply the pressure in the remaining 15 minutes of the half.

Westcarr saw a powerful effort well blocked by Andy Butler, and he then fired the rebound over the bar from a tight angle.

The former Notts County striker was denied by Walker again in the final minute of the half, and yet again four minutes after the re-start.

Dean Morgan and Scott Griffiths also tested the strength of Walsall's right flank but Richard Taundry, Darryl Westlake and Lee Beevers did well to contain them in the first half in particular.

Had they continued to play in the same vein in the second, they may well have been celebrating at the final whistle.

But after the interval they began to sit deeper and deeper as the home side pumped crosses into their box at will. They were becoming hemmed in their own half, with Macken and Nicholls increasingly isolated. Smith replaced the former with Will Grigg with 27 minutes left but it wasn't enough to stem the tide.

Westcarr and Alex Mendy both failed to convert decent chances, though, and when Danny Whitaker's thumping long-range drive crashed off the bar, it looked like Walsall's luck was finally going to hold.

But the Saddlers have let slip 15 points from winning positions this season – an unenviable record that is the joint-worst in the league. And the habit returned as Lester pounced when the ball ran free in the box to curl past Walker to level in the 90th minute.

As disappointing as it was, things could be worse. Their opponents remain five points from safety and, while manager Sheridan and his management team have been given the backing of the board, the fans are far less united. The boos that greeted Sheridan's decision to replace Morgan with Tope Obadeyi with 11 minutes left illustrated clearly how little confidence some supporters have in the current regime.

Things aren't that bad at the The Bank's – yet. Saddlers fans should be reminded that Walsall were two places lower than their current 21st position, and a point worse off, this time last year.

More importantly they were five points from safety, instead of just one today. If they can somehow rediscover the winning habit they could escape the drop zone immediately.

But if they continue to throw away leads, it is not just going to be a blue Christmas but an unhappy new year.

By Matt Viney