Cheltenham 1-0 Walsall - report: Aden Flint own goal consigns Saddlers to back-to-back defeats
Walsall suffered late heartbreak as an Aden Flint own goal consigned them to a 1-0 defeat against Cheltenham at the EV Charger Points Stadium.
Aaron Pressley squandered a presentable chance in the opening exchanges, while Cheltenham goalkeeper Joe Day made a string of saves to deny Daniel Kanu, Rico Browne and Courtney Clarke.
Jid Okeke, on his first league start, came closest for Walsall when he struck the post with an effort from inside the box.
But the Robins nicked it in stoppage time when Ryan Finnigan's clearance was diverted into the net by Flint.
That saw the Saddlers slump to back-to-back defeats in League Two, and extended their winless run to three league games.
Cheltenham Town named an unchanged team from their 2-0 win at Newport County, with ex-Saddlers midfielder Isaac Hutchinson starting in midfield.
Walsall carried the greater early attacking threat and created the two best opportunities in the opening exchanges through Kanu and Pressley.
Barrett and Kanu combined effectively down the right, before the latter collected a low cutback and fired straight at Joe Day with a shot on the swivel.
They came even closer when Okeke showed a great burst of pace to beat Arkell Jude-Boyd, but Pressley was unable to direct his finish on target.
Cheltenham grew into the contest midway into the first half and Walsall also had to deal with an injury setback when Lewis Warrington limped off on the half-hour mark.
Despite stepping it up a gear, Cheltenham failed to create anything of note, and the best chances continued to come from Walsall.
Browne forced his way into a promising position on the right, but was denied from an acute angle by Day.
Brandon Comley shored up the midfield when he came on. A crunching challenge on Jordan Thomas got the away fans on their feet, but a couple of key interceptions only underlined the lowkey, but important role he is capable of playing.
Jamie Jellis came close to providing the breakthrough five minutes after the restart when he capitalised on a loose pass by Day, but the Walsall midfielder dragged his finish wide.
Courtney Clarke had a golden opportunity just before the hour-mark when Walsall broke on a quick counter-attack.
Pressley should've released Clarke earlier, but they kept the attack alive through Jellis on the right. He scooped a sumptuous cross into the box, but Clarke headed over from point-blank range.
Walsall braced themselves for the big finish and began to pepper the Cheltenham goal in the latter stages.
Clarke surged inside and unleashed a stunning strike towards the top corner with his weaker foot, which Cheltenham shot-stopper Day expertly tipped over.
Cheltenham failed to clear their lines from the resulting corner and Okeke latched on to a smart back heal from Evan Weir to crash his effort against the post.
But it was the Robins who stole it at the death after a late break down the right. Tommy Taylor's initial shot was blocked on the line, before Finnigan's attempted clearance took a decisive touch off Flint to beat Roberts.
Next, Walsall host Chelsea under-21s in their final group game in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, before visiting National League side Eastleigh in the FA Cup first round.
Teams
Walsall (3-1-4-2): Roberts; Browne, Flint, Weir; Warrington (Comley 30); Barrett, Jellis (Lakin 70), Clarke (Finnigan 86), Okeke; Pressley (Adomah 70), Kanu (Matt 86).
Not used: Hornby, Farquharson.
Cheltenham (4-3-3): Day; Jude-Boyd, Sherring, Wilson, Tomkinson; Young, Stevenson, Hutchinson (Taylor 80); Thomas (Martin 80), Bickerstaff, Archer.
Not used: Diallo, Broom, Harmon, Kinsella, Power.
Other details
Referee: Ollie Yates
Attendance: 4,569 (1,052 away)
