Walsall debrief: Saddlers’ display of desire

Here we take a look at some of the key points from the victory.

Play-off pursuit

Walsall leapfrogged Gillingham into seventh to enter the play-off places. It’s the first time in more than three years that Walsall have won four matches on the spin in League Two, and they’ll chasing a fifth straight league win for the first time since 2015 when Doncaster visit Bescot on the weekend.

Just five points separate Walsall and 16th-placed Bradford City, and the race remains as tight as ever.

The upcoming games will be crucial in determining whether Walsall can separate themselves from the trailing pack and stay in the hunt.

Dealing with setbacks

It felt for a time that Walsall would end the night frustrated. Jamille Matt was denied what looked like a certain goal when his stabbed effort crossed the line before Lewis Shipley cleared.

And the sucker punch of falling behind 10 minutes after the restart could’ve been the moment that Walsall crumbled.

Instead, they summoned up the desire and spirit to stick to the plan and find a route to victory.

Pantomime Jack

A key turning point in the contest came immediately after former Saddlers man Nolan celebrated in front of the home supporters following his opener from the spot.

It seemed rather uncalled for and clearly riled up the crowd, as well as the players on the pitch.

The atmosphere, which was strong throughout the night, lifted afterwards and Walsall’s equaliser four minutes later galvanised the fans, who roared them to the finish line.

Set piece specialists

Whatever Dan Watson is doing on the training ground on set pieces appears to be doing the trick.

Walsall boast a number of set piece specialists with Taylor Allen, Ryan Stirk and Ross Tierney all establishing themselves as accurate deliverers of the ball.

Isaac Hutchinson played a defining role in both goals on Tuesday night. He posted his ninth assist of the season with a corner delivery to the back post for Okagbue to level proceedings on the hour, before causing mayhem with another delivery into Okagbue, which was eventually turned home by Emmanuel Adegboyega.

Nicholl tributes

What has been a successful fortnight on the pitch for Walsall has been a sad one off it.

Before last week’s 3-0 win over Morecambe, Bescot paid tribute to former boss Jan Sorensen, who passed away aged 68.

Walsall also lost lifelong fan Stan Blandford and once again paid their respects to promotion-winning manager Chris Nicholl, who died on Saturday at the age of 77.

There was an emotional minute’s applause before kick-off as supporters held up their phone torches and chanted ‘there’s only one Chris Nicholl’.

A fitting tribute for such a key figure in the club’s history, as Walsall wore black armbands in his memory.