Jon Whitney hails Walsall's patience after victory
Boss Jon Whitney praised the patience of his players as Walsall left it late to secure a dramatic 2-0 win over nine-man Oldham.
An Erhun Oztumer penalty and stoppage time strike from Amadou Bakayoko saw the Saddlers secure a fifth straight win at the Banks's Stadium for the first time since 2013.
Oldham were up against early on when Lee Croft was sent off in the 16th minute for a reckless challenge on Jason McCarthy.
Brian Wilson also received his marching orders late in the game after picking up a second yellow following an altercation with Bakayoko.
And while Walsall had to wait until the 77th minute to open the scoring, Whitney felt his side fully deserved all three points.
"I said to the players beforehand that I thought this would be our toughest game," the boss said.
"Since John Sheridan came in he's averaging nearly two points a game.
"I knew it would be a dangerous game, the way they play they are brave - they keep the two up top.
"They know how to defend, they make it difficult for teams and they grind out results.
"It was important we stayed patient. It's very difficult when a team banks in and we've not had it for a while.
"You have to be patient and you have to move the ball quickly – at times in the first half we didn't.
"When we did, we created opportunities and it was important at half-time not to come in with our heads down.
"It was important we stayed patient, kept probing and eventually the opportunities would come.
"We kept believing and it was a great touch for Simeon leading to the penalty, taking it across the defender, which he does really well. It was a tough 2-0 win but a really good one."
Whitney felt referee John Brooks made the correct decisions with both Croft's red card and the penalty won by Jackson.
"We've got the luxury of looking at the penalty incident four or five times and as Simeon takes the ball across him, the defender commits," he continued.
"When you commit, you're always going to run the risk the risk that you might get a penalty given against you. I think it's a penalty from where I see it.
"I thought it was a red card for Croft.
"We have won five straight at home now and I think that's the best one of the five, all things considered. It's nice to push ourselves back into the top half."
