Walsall 2 Leyton Orient 1 - Report and pictures

Despite dominating the early stages, the Saddlers went behind when Liam Kinsella’s loose back pass was pounced on and finished by Danny Johnson.

The hosts responded through Rory Holden before half-time and then, against the run of play, netted through Elijah Adebayo after an hour to take the lead.

Holden hit the post as the Saddlers looked for a third and after what was a nervous finish for Walsall as Orient threatened, they clung on to the advantage and took all three points.

Darrell Clarke made one change to the side that drew 1-1 with Colchester United on Saturday, changing to a 4-2-2 formation.

Josh Gordon, who injured his right knee in the last game, was not involved in the squad. Caolan Lavery took his place in the starting XI and Jack Nolan made the bench.

Ross Embleton made four changes to his Leyton Orient side, starting in a 4-3-3 formation.

The Saddlers dominated the opening 10 minutes as striker Adebayo made himself a handful to defend - although they did fail to create any clear cut chances. Veteran Jobi McAnuff was the best outlet for the visitors in the early stages.

Despite that dominance, Orient took the lead after 15 minutes. A terrible mistake from Kinsella, as he attempted to back pass to goalkeeper Liam Roberts but left it short and wayward, allowed striker Johnson to run onto the loose ball and pass into the empty net.

The hosts equalised 10 minutes later, however, through a beautiful move. From the right, Holden played the ball into Lavery before continuing his run. The striker then played a reverse pass back into Holden who ran through on goal and slotted home with his left foot.

Lavery should have put Walsall ahead minutes later after Holden was fouled in the box. The midfielder raced onto a loose ball following an Orient throw-in and was pulled down as he aimed for goal. Lavery stepped up but had his penalty effort saved well by goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux.

More chances went begging for Walsall, including a Dan Scarr header, but the teams entered half-time drawing 1-1.

The visitors emerged in the second half and started much brighter than Walsall as Johnson had two early half chances - with one smashing into the side netting.

Against the run of play, the Saddlers took the lead after an hour through Adebayo. A deep cross by Cameron Norman was delightfully flicked on by the striker to Wes McDonald who had a shot blocked. The ball then fell to Adebayo who let fly first time and smashed it home from 10 yards.

A superb save from Liam Roberts then denied Conor Wilkinson as the Walsall defenders switched off appealing for a handball on McAnuff.

Holden was inches away from a second when his effort from a George Nurse cross rebounded off the post.

As the game edged into injury time the Saddlers were camped in their own half as they absorbed some pressure. Orient pushed for a winner but the introduction of defender Zak Jules allowed Walsall to move to five at the back and make sure of the result.

The victory extends Walsall’s unbeaten league run to 10 games and moves them to seventh in League Two.

Teams

Walsall: Roberts, Norman, Clarke, Scarr, Nurse, Holden, Kinsella, Guthrie (Sinclair, 80), McDonald (Jules, 93), Lavery (Osadebe, 87), Adebayo.

Subs not used: Rose, White, Bates, Nolan.

Leyton Orient: Vigouroux, Akinola, Widdowson, Coulson, Brophy, Cisse (Clay, 77), Wright (Turley, 77), Dayton (Maguire-Drew, 68), McAnuff, Wilkinson, Johnson.

Subs not used: Sergeant, Ling, Sweeney, Kyprianou.