Mat Sadler's '10 games' quip after Walsall go top with away victory

The 3-1 success was a first Saddlers victory at the Crown Ground since Richard Money's title-winning class of 2006/07 achieved as much.

Sadler's side are unbeaten in seven games in all competitions in a run of five league victories in six which helped them above Gillingham and Salford on Saturday.

Dominant defender Aden Flint broke the deadlock after the break before Aaron Pressley's second. The hosts hit back on 90 minutes but super sub Albert Adomah lifted in a memorable third late on.

Walsall climbed to the top of the pile earlier than last season, where they did so in early December - a run that lasted until March when the season unravelled.

"There'll be no point in doing that," Sadler said when asked about Walsall getting carried away. "If only the season were 10 games long! It's not.

"So we've got so, so much to do, but it's a good start. The important thing is that we know we'll enjoy being with each other next week and we know we've got a really tough game coming up on Saturday, so we're looking forward to that one."

Walsall put a professional and clinical display in Lancashire and were made to work hard in the first half by improving Accrington, who had not lost at home so far this season.

"These are a good team," Sadler added of Stanley. "It's such a hard place to come, as he's been shown here this season, which is not a coincidence.

"It's such a difficult place to come and try and get points from them. We saw that, especially for a 15-minute spell in the first half, but in particular the whole of the first half.

"We knew we were going to have to be brilliant on the second balls, we knew we were going to have to be combative, we knew we were going to have to land on things.

"I think the thing for me - and we knew the areas we wanted to hurt them - in the first half was just that last little bit of composure to make that pass, smooth the game out, maybe that right wing pass or whatever.

"It was just that little bit of composure in the first half that presented a couple of opportunities for them. So that was how my assessment of the first half was.

"As we went into the second half, I thought the finishers, initially Brandon and Courtney, made a real impact on the game. Massive impact, Courtney (Clarke) and Brandon (Comley) in particular carried on the work Lewis (Warrington) did and then brought it in his way.

"Daniel (Kanu) had a good chance, it was great that he got that, but it was one of those days when a set play felt like it was always going to unsettle the game, and that's what it was."

 Flint, Walsall's 6ft 6ins centre-back, was a dominant presence at the heart of his side's back three and made countless headed clearances to help keep his side level in a competitive first half, where goalkeeper Myles Roberts also had to make three decent saves.

He headed substitute Clarke's corner into the corner for the opener and his first Saddlers goal just after the hour.

"He's scored loads of goals in his career because he's an absolute monster in both boxes," added the Walsall boss. "We saw that defensively and even if it's not him that's on the end of it, he just creates carnage in there.

"He probably could have had a couple before today, and I'm glad he's got his first one."