Walsall 1 Doncaster 4 - Report and pictures

The Saddlers took a first-half lead through Morgan Ferrier before John Marquis scored from the penalty spot after Luke Leahy had been judged to have handled the ball in the box.

From that point the game descended into a farce with referee Anthony Coggins struggling to keep it under control.

After a series of bizarre decisions, goals from Mallik Wilks and James Coppinger put Donny 3-1 up.

Coppinger’s goal came after a Saddlers attack broke down with Ferrier then running from one end of the pitch to confront Leahy - who he shoved before the pair were separated by their team mates.

Keates was then given a yellow card after he held back Wilks after he tried to stop Leahy taking a throw-in.

Then in stoppage time, Rovers made a miserable afternoon even worse for the Saddlers when Matty Blair fired in from 12-yards.

Anaysis

After switching systems at Barnsley, Keates opted to revert back to the 4-4-2 formation he used in the Saddlers first nine games, when naming his starting line-up.

It meant Kieron Morris and Andy Cook were both recalled with Connor Ronan and Josh Gordon having to do with a place on the bench.

They were joined amongst the substitutes by Zeli Ismail who was named in the squad after recovering from a minor hamstring strain.

Doncaster, under the guidance of Grant McCann, lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with James Coppinger and Mallik Wilks operating either side of central striker John Marquis.

In what proved a lively opening 20 minutes, Doncaster started the brighter of the two teams with the visitors enjoying lots of possession in the Saddlers half.

It was Walsall though who created the game’s first real chance with a brilliant Luke Leahy ball sending Josh Ginnelly galloping towards goal.

From 18-yards, the winger then looked to curl a strike around the advancing Marko Marosi with Rovers breathing a sigh of relief when the effort sailed inches past the post.

Donny had been bright on the ball but a 25-yard Danny Andrew strike, together with an Andy Butler header - which sailed harmlessly wide - were their only sights on goal.

And that meant it was Walsall who opened the scoring in the 18th minute when George Dobson’s corner was half cleared to Ginnelly.

The winger sent the ball back into the box where, under pressure from Cook, Butler headed up rather than away. And that allowed Ferrier to power in a header from close range.

It wasn’t until just before the half-hour mark that Rovers threatened to grab an equaliser with Marquis turning well in the box before seeing a shot gathered by Liam Roberts.

But moments later, the Yorkshire side did pull level after Leahy was deemed to have handled the ball in the box after competing with Joe Wright to head clear a corner.

Marquis took the resultant spot-kick and emphatically found the bottom left corner, with the striker sending Roberts the wrong-way in the process.

The awarding of the penalty incensed the home crowd with referee Anthony Coggins then not helping things by going onto make a number of strange decisions.

And from that point the half played out in a fiesty, fiery atmosphere, with both sets of players having little niggles at one another in a clash that had the potential to swing either way.

It was the Saddlers who flew out the blocks following the re-start with Keates’ men coming a whisker away from re-taking the lead in the 53rd minute.

Morris’ cross was met by Ferrier who, six-yards out, swept the ball towards goal. But the striker was denied a second goal with Marosi making a brilliant one-handed stop to push the ball away.

The fiery nature of the clash had spilled into the second half with Dobson then booked after colliding with Wilks.

It was Wilks though who had the last laugh when he put his side into the lead in the 58th minute.

After collecting a through-ball from Ben Whiteman, the Leeds loanee raced through on goal.

And despite still having a lot to do, the forward then powered a strike past Roberts and into the net.

Moments later Coppinger made it 3-1 to the visitors with the game then descending into a farce.

After being found in the box, the evergreen forward produced a wonderful curled finish which clipped the underside of the bar before going in.

But the goal came after a Saddlers’ attack broke down with Ferrier then running the length of the pitch to shove and row with Leahy as tempers flared.

WIth the atmosphere now toxic, Keates was given a yellow card after he pulled back Wilks when the winger tried to stop Leahy from taking a throw-in.

Despite the scoreline, there was a sense in the stadium Walsall could still get something from the game.

But throughout the 90 minutes they had struggled to find that final pass or final cross.

They came a whisker away from pulling a goal back when substitutes Ronan and Ismail combined.

Wolves loanee Ronan did well to switch the play to the winger who then sent in a cross for Josh Gordon.

But just yards out, the striker was unable to turn the ball goalwards.

Then to make a miserable afternoon even worse, Doncaster grabbed a fourth in stoppage time when Alfie May hit the byline before sending in a cross which Blair fired in from 12-yards.

Teams

Walsall (4-4-2): Roberts; Devlin, Fitzwater, Guthrie, Leahy, Morris (Ismail 72), Dobson, Osbourne (Ronan 53), Ginnelly (Gordon 80), Ferrier, Cook.

Subs not used: Dunn; Johnson, Wilson, Kinsella..

Doncaster (4-3-3): Marosi, Mason, Butler, Wright, Andrew, Kane (Anderson 75), Blair, Whiteman, Coppinger (May 74), Marquis, Wilks (Taylor 84).

Subs not used: Lawlor; T.Anderson, Beestin, Amos