Analysis: Walsall's home form is providing a positive base to build from

This deserved victory over Port Vale made it five wins from six home games since Michael Flynn took charge.

His desire to make the Banks’s Stadium a fortress is going pretty well.

What was encouraging, and equally as frustrating, about this triumph was that the Saddlers made Vale look distinctly average.

The visitors are firmly in the promotion hunt and still in with a big chance of going up automatically despite this defeat, and yet Walsall limited them to very little.

It just shows the Saddlers, on their day, are a match for any side in the division.

As covered many times previously, though, they are wildly inconsistent and the focus remains on overhauling the squad during the summer.

At home, at least, momentum is now with them, and if that can be taken through to next term, regardless of how many changes are made to the squad, it will stand Walsall in good stead.

The atmosphere was brilliant for this clash, and it appeared to give the Saddlers a shot in the arm.

More than 2,000 travelling Vale fans played their part as they made their voices heard throughout, and the home faithful responded with fantastic backing themselves.

Emotions threatened to spill over as a few Walsall fans entered the pitch after the opening goal, with a small group of away supporters appearing to try to get into the home end late on.

Thankfully, though, things appeared to be largely kept under control and on the pitch, Flynn’s charges benefitted from the noise.

They will hope for a similar atmosphere to relish against Swindon on the final day.

In terms of the players, you would imagine Flynn knows what he wants to do over the close season – who fits in with his long-term vision and who doesn’t.

Still, there were several strong performances in this clash, and a few may have boosted their standing in Flynn’s mind.

Emmanuel Osadebe excelled in his preferred position as an attacking midfielder, setting up the first and then scoring the second.

Osadebe has proven to be something of an enigma, but there is no denying that when he is at it, he can be a match-winner. That was the case here.

George Miller did everything but score up front as he chased down every loose ball, constantly kept the Vale defenders on their toes and, most notably, brought others into the game with improved hold-up play.

Sam Perry thoroughly enjoyed grabbing his first home goal for Walsall and impressed with a composed display after replacing the injured Joss Labadie towards the end of the first half.

Rollin Menayese also looked solid as a substitute, while both Hayden White and Tyrese Shade displayed their useful versatility.

The encounter did not get off to the best of starts, and the first half as a whole was pretty uneventful.

Jamie Proctor enjoyed the best chance for the visitors but skied his effort comfortably over the bar while the Saddlers struggled to create anything clear-cut.

Thankfully, the hosts got into the groove around the hour mark and broke the deadlock shortly afterwards.

Osadebe’s peach of a cross was sailing towards the far post, and Perry, timing his run really well, met it with a deft glancing header to beat Vale shot-stopper Aidan Stone.

Walsall almost added a second straight away as Miller’s strike from an acute angle cannoned off the woodwork.

Vale then threatened as Chris Hussey’s free-kick forced a sharp stop from Carl Rushworth, with the Saddlers eventually putting the game to bed in added time.

White’s throw-in was latched onto by Osadebe, who calmly slotted the ball home.

Again, 2021/22 has been filled with lots more negatives than positives, but this was an afternoon to smile about.

After all, it completed the double over Vale, lifted the Saddlers up to 14th and continued the feel-good factor at home.

It may sound obvious, but making the Banks’s a hard place to visit is crucial.

Flynn has stated several times that he wants to be competing for promotion next season, and if they are to challenge, they will need to have a strong home record.

There has been a general air of malaise in recent years, and understandably so – Walsall are the only team in the EFL that for five seasons have finished lower and lower in the league.

Thankfully, Flynn is set to buck that trend, and with him in charge, there is a growing sense of belief that the Saddlers are in for brighter times.

Hopefully, days like this at home become a regular occurrence as this outing against Vale was satisfying.

The Saddlers gave their all, scored two goals and earned the victory.

Let’s see if they can show more positives over the final two games – a trip to Colchester coming up on Saturday – and further boost the mood.