Walsall 0 Northampton 1 - Report

The sorry Saddlers now sit 21st in the League Two table and just seven points clear of second-bottom Oldham Athletic, who boast a game in hand.

Boss Taylor cut an apoplectic figure for large parts of his lowly side's latest loss. His anger in the Banks's Stadium dugout was palpable throughout.

Northampton capitalised on some sloppy marking as deadline day signing Louis Appere poked home early on.

After that, Walsall had large spells of possession, but they painfully lacked the energy or imagination to get past the Cobblers, and they carry on sliding towards the drop zone.

The Saddlers have only scored one goal in their last five outings. They have lost their last six, of course, and not won in seven. They are in a desperate state.

Anything other than a victory at Scunthorpe United this coming Tuesday does not bear thinking about.

But there are no real reasons to feel confident going into that encounter.

Taylor's lot just keep failing to reach the required standard.

Fans, as they should be, are reaching boiling point and again, the clock is ticking.

Report

The big talking point ahead of kick-off was the welcome change in system for Walsall.

Having previously sworn by a 4-2-3-1 set-up, Taylor went to a 3-5-2 formation in an effort to stop the rot.

Joss Labadie and Brendan Kiernan both dropped to the bench amid the switch, with Tom Leak coming into the three-man defence and Emmanuel Osadebe bulking out the midfield.

Liam Kinsella took the captain's armband while new striker Devante Rodney – getting over an injury issue picked up at previous club Port Vale – was not fit enough to be involved.

Northampton, meanwhile, had former Saddlers duo Liam Roberts and Jon Guthrie in from the off.

The Saddlers endured another nightmare start and found themselves behind after just 10 minutes.

Skipper Kinsella was guilty of giving away an unnecessary free-kick, having caught Shaun McWilliams late, and the Cobblers took full advantage.

Mitch Pinnock scuffed his left-footed delivery but debutant Appere displayed his scoring instincts, pouncing on slack defending and helping the ball into the far corner.

For the rest of the first half, Walsall dominated possession and managed to carve out a few half-chances.

Osadebe, to his credit, was not shying away from the ball and tried to make things happen as frustrations rose in the stands.

George Miller stung the palms of Roberts – back for the first time since leaving his boyhood club last summer – with a long-range effort.

Conor Wilkinson also tried his luck from distance on a couple of occasions, while the Saddlers' most promising moment of the half saw Jack Earing sharply denied by Roberts.

Walsall, though, had not done enough to change things before the interval. Through it all, boss Taylor's annoyance was obvious.

He had barked out orders from the touchline throughout the half, but, at times, it seemed his players were not taking basic instructions on board.

With each passing minute, the head coach grew more animated.

He nearly saw his side concede a second shortly into the second period as well.

The Saddlers survived by the skin of their teeth as Rushworth initially fumbled a shot from McWilliams, before making amends with a fine double-save to deny both Appere and substitute Paul Lewis from close range.

Up the other end soon afterwards, Walsall had a chance as the ball fell kindly to Wilkinson from a free-kick.

He was not able to sort his feet out quickly enough, though, and on the whole, the hosts were still not forcing the issue. Their play lacked quality and urgency.

On that basis, it was no surprise to see Taylor make a double substitution in the 70th minute.

Kiernan and fellow attacker Tyrese Shade replaced Osadebe and Reece Devine in search of an equaliser.

And soon after that, the Saddlers were forced into another change as Earing took a blow to the head and left the field, with Labadie introduced.

Wilkinson twice went close to giving them the goal they so desperately craved.

He forced Roberts into a smart save down to his left before curling another attempt over the bar.

Ultimately, however, Walsall were completely devoid of ideas.

They failed to find the answer through seven minutes of added time and the losing streak remains.

The importance of the trip to bottom-of-the-table Scunthorpe cannot be stressed enough. They simply must win that game.

Teams

Walsall (3-5-2): Rushworth; Menayese, Daniels, Leak; White, Kinsella (c), Earing (Labadie, 77), Osadebe (Shade, 70), Devine (Kiernan, 70); Wilkinson, Miller

Subs not used: Rose (gk), Bates, Perry, Willock

Northampton (3-4-3): Roberts; Magloire, Horsfall, Guthrie; McGowan (Lewis, 46), McWilliams, Sowerby (Lubala, 67), Koiki (Kanu, 88); Hoskins, Appere, Pinnock

Subs not used: Maxted (gk), Harriman, Eppiah, Rose

Goal: Appere (10)

Attendance: 5,315

Referee: Sebastian Stockbridge