Pictures and analysis of Walsall 1 Leeds United 0

Four days after thumping Alfreton Town, Dean Smith's side showed they can also mix it with tougher opposition.

Craig Westcarr's 11^th minute goal earned them a win over Championship side Leeds in front of almost 4,000 at the Banks's Stadium.

The usual caveats about it only being pre-season are, of course, applicable and it would be foolish to get too carried away.

But this was another impressive performance from the Saddlers, one which had visiting boss Brian McDermott describing it as his worst day since becoming manager at Elland Road.

McDermott named his strongest starting line-up but, by the end of the game, had the look of a man who knew his first meeting on Monday morning would be with the drawing board.

Walsall were worthy winners and if the evidence of the second half is to be believed, Smith too faces some headaches, albeit nice ones, before the League One season gets underway against Tranmere Rovers.

Once again, the Saddlers manager made a host of changes during the second period and once again it did not affect a dip in performance.

If anything, Walsall were slightly better with substitutes Romaine Sawyers, Sam Mantom and Ben Purkiss all going close to doubling the lead.

Smith said: "We played some good stuff. We played some really good football at times.

"There are things to work on still and we had to weather a bit of a storm first 15 minutes of the second half.

"But there were some really good performances from players."

Mal Benning had already tested Leeds goalkeeper Paddy Kenny with an effort from a tight angle, before Westcarr put the Saddlers ahead.

It was an impressive and brisk move, starting with Adam Chambers picking the ball up in midfield and running at the visiting defence.

He played in James Baxendale on the right, whose first time cross was given a first time finish by Westcarr.

The striker had another shot blocked soon after as Leeds struggled to find any rhythm going forward.

Indeed, the visitors first real chance came from a Walsall error when goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell failed to cleanly collect a Noel Hunt knockdown and was indebted to Benning for denying McCormack a simple tap-in.

It was a rare blemish in a fine display from O'Donnell, who then made the first of two standout saves soon after when he pushed Tom Lees' goal-bound header onto the woodwork.

Walsall's defence looked solid and when O'Donnell was beaten, James Chambers was there to clear Matt Smith's shot off the line. Leeds had their best spell of the game either side of half-time.

And substitute Dominic Polian should have given the Saddlers keeper a tougher test after being played clean through by Luke Murphy but his shot lacked power.

Hunt headed wastefully wide from an unmarked position before O'Donnell made his second superlative save, reacting quickly to push away Michael Tonge's snap-shot.

A Leeds equaliser at that stage would have been deserved but the same could not be said at the end of the game, as Walsall went on to enjoy the best of the chances from then on.

Kenny made a fingertip save from Sawyers and twice denied Mantom, while only Purkiss knows how he missed the target with the goal gaping, after arriving unmarked to meet a James McQuilkin corner.

Smith said: "It's early, we don't get three points for today, it's only a pre-season friendly.

"But the players we brought in did really well and when Richard was called on he pulled off some good saves. It's just one step at a time, we will not look too far ahead.

"I thought we were excellent at Alfreton on Tuesday night and we played really well again against Leeds, but it's still only pre-season.

"There is still a long way to go and we've just got to make sure we concentrate on our performances, individually and as a team."

By Matthew Maher