Peterborough 1 Walsall 1 - Report and pictures

[gallery] Walsall stretched their unbeaten run in League One to three matches following an entertaining draw with Peterborough at London Road.

A first-half Simeon Jackson header gave the Saddlers the lead with the Canadian international expertly heading home a Florent Cuvelier cross.

Posh hit-back with Marcus Maddison curling home a wonderful strike from 20-yards to pull his team level.

Both teams then went in search of a winner with the Saddlers coming closest when Scott Laird rattled a strike against the inside of the post.

Overall though, a draw was a fair result with Peterborough forcing Neil Etheridge into some good saves in a lively and bright contest in which both sides tried to play football.

Before kick-off, Walsall fans were boosted by the news Cuvelier had recovered from an ankle injury to take his place in central midfield.

It meant Whitney shuffled his pack so the Saddlers could match Posh's diamond formation.

That saw Adam Chambers sit at the base with Cuvelier and Kieron Morris in central midfield and ex-Posh star Erhun Oztumer at the tip. Andreas Makris and Simeon Jackson were the front two.

Both teams showed their intent to keep the ball on the deck and play a passing game in what was a bright and lively opening 15 minutes.

And the Saddlers were rewarded for their positive start with they took the lead through Jackson's fourth goal of the campaign and his first away from home.

Cuvelier worked himself space on the right and whipped in a ball that the striker headed into the corner – with Jackson expertly using the pace of the cross to guide the ball beyond the reach of Luke McGee.

Despite enjoying home advantage, Peterborough were content to allow Walsall to come on to them in a bid to try and catch them on the break. And it was a tactic that proved successful with the Saddlers lead lasting just 10 minutes.

After Makris had seen a shot blocked by a defender, Chambers and Jason McCarthy both hesitated having initially gone for the same ball.

That allowed Peterborough to break with McCann's side moving the ball quickly from left to right where Maddison curled home a spectacular strike from 20-yards.

That goal sparked the home side into life with Gwion Edwards forcing Etheridge into a decent stop after another swift counter.

Whitney's men looked good but also at their most vulnerable when on the offensive. But they hit-back with Oztumer and Morris both firing narrowly wide from distance.

It was George Moncur and Chris Forrester who were winning the midfield battle though – with the hosts a whisker away from taking the lead in first-half stoppage time.

After Etheridge had pushed Maddison's strike for a corner, Edwards connected with the resultant set-piece only for his strike to be cleared off the line by Cuvelier.

The start of the second half continued with the hosts on top.

And they threatened once-again when Moncur looked to place Maddison's cut-back into the left-corner only for Etheridge to brilliantly finger-tip the ball to safety.

Walsall almost regained the lead with a counter of their own on the hour mark when a wonderful Cuvelier ball sent Jackson galloping away down the right-flank.

The Canadian international did well to trick his way past Ryan Tafazoli but his strike from 20-yards sailed over the bar.

The second half had proved a lot less eventful than the first, with both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances and the atmosphere at London Road becoming flat.

But that changed in the 70^th minute when Paul Taylor escaped the attentions of Kevin Toner to deliver a cross that looked to be on a plate for Tom Nichols.

The striker aimed to place his header into the far corner, but Etheridge was equal to effort and produced a diving stop to push the ball away.

Walsall went straight up the other end with a spell of pin-ball in the Posh box resulting in Jackson, Morris and substitute Franck Moussa all seeing shots blocked.

Having earlier switched Moussa for Cuvelier, Whitney made his second change with a little over 10 minutes remaining as Isaiah Osbourne replaced Makris.

It meant the Saddlers switched to a 4-4-1-1 system with Oztumer sitting behind Jackson.

Peterborough though continued to look the more dangerous and they should have taken the lead when the well-placed Deon Moore headed wide following another fine Maddison delivery.

Walsall thought they had won it in the 86^th minute when Oztumer slipped in Scott Laird only for the full-back to cannon a strike off the inside of the post.

Both teams went in search of a winner in stoppage time but with a draw a fair result on the balance of play.