Walsall 2 Wycombe 0

Kevan Hurst and George Bowerman netted second-half goals to earn Walsall a priceless victory in their relegation six-pointer at home to Wycombe.

Hurst's 25-yard thunderbolt opened the scoring on 63 minutes as he marked his first start since October with a goal to remember.

And substitutes Bowerman and Jon Macken combined with five minutes to go with the teenager finishing from the veteran's pass.

The goals spared the blushes of striker Alex Nicholls after he saw a second penalty saved in as many matches, this time by Wanderers keeper Nikki Bull.

The first half was a poor spectacle and it was little surprise when it ended with no goals.

Jamie Paterson looked the most likely man to inspire the Saddlers and he sent a 22nd-minute shot just wide before being denied five minutes later by a fine save from Nikki Bull, the Wanderers keeper diving low to his right to turn the teenager's 20-yard effort around the post.

The hosts had another chance when Will Grigg headed down a Mat Sadler free-kick but skipper Andy Butler could not divert it on target.

Wycombe threatened just briefly at the start of the half when Gareth Ainsworth fired off target from distance and again at the end when Matty Whichelow shot wide.

But the game livened up after the break and the Saddlers should have led on 49 minutes when loanee Florent Cuvelier broke into the post and was dragged to the ground by Dave Winfield.

However, Nicholls stepped up to take it despite his last-gasp miss at Oldham on Tuesday and the striker fired too close to Bull, who fell to his left to make the save.

Walsall took charge of the second half, however, and went ahead on 63 minutes through Hurst's moment of magic.

He strode through the inside-right channel before unleashing a right-footed, 25-yard rocket that nestled in the net with Bull rooted to the spot.

George Bowerman and Jamie Paterson both missed presentable chances for the Saddlers and Stuart Beavon fired wide after a rare attack from the visitors.

But Bowerman made sure of the points with five minutes to go, finishing off an excellent move by darting onto a defence-splitting pass from substitute Jon Macken before picking his spot and beating Bull.