Half-term report: Walsall make solid start under Matt Taylor

The 12th-placed Saddlers have put in some impressive displays while also falling to several disappointing defeats.

Here, we give our half-term report and predict where Taylor’s lot will finish.

The highs

When Walsall have got it right, they have been a joy to watch.

Their last game before the three recent postponements saw them sweep aside Colchester in a dominant 3-0 home victory.

They also enjoyed a 3-1 triumph over Mansfield, in which George Miller enjoyed a dream debut at the Banks’s by scoring twice.

All Saddlers fans will agree that the most satisfying success, though, was at Port Vale.

A fantastic travelling support of more than 1,500 wanted to get one over former boss Darrell Clarke, and they were treated to an excellent performance.

Walsall frustrated the Vale Park faithful, ran their socks off and saw Brendan Kiernan coolly slot the ball home for a well-deserved 1-0 win.

As Taylor remarked afterwards, it was the complete away performance.

The lows

The Saddlers have, frustratingly, tended to follow up encouraging victories with dismal losses.

Perhaps the most obvious example was fresh off the Vale win, going to lowly Carlisle and being downed 1-0.

A 3-1 home defeat to Harrogate Town saw Walsall schooled by a team who sat deep, soaked up the pressure and punished them on the break.

They shot themselves in the foot to lose 2-1 to Bristol Rovers and were well below par as they were beaten 2-0 at Hartlepool United.

Perhaps the most infuriating defeat, though, came in the EFL Trophy.

The Saddlers – showing their promise – outclassed League One outfit Cambridge United for large spells but spurned chance after chance.

They then gifted the hosts two goals and were knocked out of the competition.

Star performer

To be fair, there are a few candidates.

On-loan goalkeeper Carl Rushworth has been fantastic and could be in for a bright future with parent club Brighton.

His stellar form was rewarded with an England Under-21s call-up, and some of his saves have been outrageous.

Kiernan has grown into one of Walsall’s most consistent performers.

The left winger always works hard and although a lack of ruthlessness in the final third has plagued the Saddlers, he has been a reliable source of goals and assists. Rollin Menayese has been superb at the back, too.

Jack Earing, however, has probably been the stand-out performer.

Picked up from non-league Halifax, he has made a seamless adjustment to life in the EFL.

Having started the season as an attacking midfielder, he has been moved into a deeper role in recent months to great effect.

He does not shirk a tackle and possesses real quality with the ball at his feet. Earing is a classy operator.

What needs to improve

Walsall are still yet to rack up back-to-back victories in the league, so that obviously must change sooner rather than later.

In order to do that, they have got sharpen up in both boxes.

A combination of missing gilt-edged opportunities and conceding sloppy goals has cost the Saddlers points throughout the season.

Head coach Taylor said he felt ‘like a broken record’ after exiting the FA Cup at the hands of Swindon earlier this month. It has, painfully, been the same story most weeks.

Walsall have struggled when teams have sat deep and a tendency to lump the ball long to lone striker Miller has been ineffective.

The Saddlers have not scored often enough from set-pieces this term either.

As we all know, the main thing is making sure they get better at either end for the second half of the campaign.

Target for the season

Walsall currently sit five points off the play-off places and if they start regularly taking their chances, they will feel they can make it into the top seven.

After all, in most of the games this season, they have not been undone by the quality of the opposition.

Forest Green Rovers – in the league and Trophy – were too good, but they have mostly matched teams tit for tat.

The Saddlers’ shortcomings have mainly been of their own doing, so if they can stamp those out, they could well sneak into the play-offs.

The key to that is racking up a run of results in the weeks and months to come – once Walsall finally get back going after all the call-offs.

At this stage, you cannot rule out getting into the play-offs. Equally, though, it is difficult to feel all that confident given their inconsistencies up to yet.

Our prediction is a respectable top-10 finish, just shy of the play-offs.

Joe Edwards’ Saddlers predicted league position: 9th