Jon Whitney hails deserved Walsall victory
Boss Jon Whitney felt Walsall got the win they deserved after a late Joe Edwards strike sunk relegation threatened Swindon.
The defender netted in the 85th minute of a keenly contest clash at the Banks's Stadium to ensure the Saddlers ended a six game winless run in League One.
Whitney's men created a number of goal scoring opportunities with Jason McCarthy having an effort cleared off the line and Kieron Morris and Amadou Bakayoko going close.
And the boss felt, overall, his side warranted all three points.
"I thought we deserved the win," Whitney said.
"When you think about it, the first 15 seconds of each half, we could have scored two goals.
"That is what I wanted from the players, to start on the front foot and try to get the crowd going from the off.
"I thought the energy from both teams, the way we tried to play through the thirds and play our football, was a credit to both sets of players.
"Usually when they are at the bottom, teams just put it forward and panic and try to get a goal that way but the way Swindon play, I think you have to give them a bit of credit.
"Luke (Williams) has got them playing really well and over the last four games they are one of the form teams so we knew it would be difficult.
"But I thought our discipline was really good and we got a deserved goal. Overall, I thought we shaded it."
Before the game Whitney had called for a reaction from his players after being disappointed with the 1-1 draw secured at Shrewsbury on Good Friday.
"The players have responded to criticism really well and they deserve the credit for the win," the boss continued.
"We're three unbeaten now and we want to try to finish this season unbeaten – because you can take that momentum into next season.
"We didn't hide away, we tried to play it from the back and took a bit of a risk. We retained the ball and stopped the opposition getting pressure.
"The players have opportunities to keep that shirt now. Some people say we have nothing to play for – but if you look at the reaction of the fans after the goal, that's not a team with nothing to play for.
"We want to finish as high as we can and with the game in hand we can possibly go 11th which is a great incentive for my players."
