Express & Star

George Dobson up for Walsall battle

He scored the goal that effectively kept Walsall in League One last season.

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And now George Dobson is hoping Saddlers fans can celebrate another magic moment this weekend.

It was on April 28 last year that Dobson netted in stoppage time to sink Northampton and haul his team to the brink of survival.

Now Walsall are in a more perilous position with Martin O’Connor’s side having to win their final day showdown at Shrewsbury and hope two of three results elsewhere go for them.

And while it’s a tall order, Dobson is adamant it can be done.

“Northampton last year was a special moment but now we need another special moment,” the midfielder said.

“I’ve heard that we’ve actually got the same referee (Seb Stockbridge) tomorrow as we had for the Northampton game.

“So maybe it’s meant to be again.

“But anyone, I don’t care who it is, I just hope someone can score that special goal that creates another special day for the club and the fans.”

One big reason for optimism heading into tomorrow’s game is the way in which Walsall dismantled Peterborough last time out.

The Saddlers played with freedom and were brave on the ball with the performance fully warranting the 3-0 win. And Dobson says that’s what the team have to do again if they want to survive.

“That’s been our biggest problem this season, we’ve just not played with freedom,” the 21-year-old continued.

“We’ve not taken enough risks. We’ve been a bit too scared to get on the ball.

“Peterborough was probably the best we have passed the ball all season. We actually got on it and it showed what we can do.

“We were up against a team going for the play-offs and we played them off the park. It was comfortable.

“That should give us a lot of confidence going into this weekend.

“Obviously there is added pressure, but it’s just a game of football at the end of the day.

“If we play like we did against Peterborough I am very confident we can do our part and get the points.”

Dobson believes if Walsall do stay up, the day will always be remembered by Saddlers fans.

“It will be a great escape,” he added. “We were written off, I think a lot of people before the Peterborough game felt we were down.

“But we aren’t. There is still a lot of fight left in the dressing room.

“Even though we were written off, we have come back.

“Now we have a big game but it’s a game you should want to play in – against your local rivals and if you win you have a good chance of staying up.

“It’ll be nervous but it’s one of those where if it comes off it will go down in history.”