Walsall 1-1 Shrewsbury - report: Saddlers forced to settle for a point in local derby
Walsall were forced to settle for a point after drawing 1-1 against local rivals Shrewsbury Town at Bescot.
Daniel Kanu rifled a rocket in off the crossbar to propel Walsall into the lead inside the first three minutes with his 11th goal of the season in all competitions.
Tom Anderson equalised when his low shot was diverted past Myles Roberts in the 64th-minute.
Courtney Clarke hit the bar and Jamie Jellis came close for Walsall, who saw their lead at the top of League Two cut to two points.
After making six changes for the midweek win at Oldham, Sadler made another five alterations for the visit of his former club Shrewsbury.
He welcomed back Priestley Farquharson, Evan Weir, Ryan Finnigan and Clarke, while Brandon Comley made his first league start in over two months.
Walsall looked charged up from the get-go and needed just three minutes to deliver the breakthrough through a rocket by Kanu.
Ryan Finnigan started the move with an elegant run through midfield and Kanu spun his marker on a sixpence with an elegant turn. The space opened up before him and the Charlton Athletic loanee rifled an unstoppable effort beyond the reach of Will Brook and in off the crossbar.
Kanu could quite easily have bagged a quickfire double when Aden Flint cushioned the ball invitingly into his path, but he could only side foot his volley straight at Brook.
Shrewsbury managed to tame the early tornado that was unleashed on them in the opening exchanges, but Walsall still looked a threat going forward.
Courtney Clarke swept a neat pass out to the right for Barrett, but he was unable to keep his finish down after a clever exchange with Finnigan.
The visitors threatened an equaliser against the run of play in first half stoppage time when Anthony Scully nutmegged Barrett. His delivered a low cutback for George Lloyd but his finish was blocked in front of goal.
Roberts was forced into action for the first time six minutes after the restart when he plunged to his left to keep out Scully's deflected shot.
The intensity levels began to drop as the half wore on and Anderson equalised for Shrewsbury when his strike from 20 yards took a telling deflection to deceive Roberts.
Clarke suddenly burst into life and came inches away from restoring the Saddlers' lead when his thunderous strike from an acute angle crashed against the crossbar.
Sadler introduced Jamie Jellis and Albert Adomah for the final 20 minutes and the pair played quickly helped carve out another opening.
Jellis found the underlapping run of Barrett, who surged into the box and laid it off to Adomah. He scooped a cross to the back post but Clarke was just unable to meet it inside the six-yard box.
Substitute Jellis became the second Walsall player to hit the woodwork when his finish from Clarke's low delivery was crucially blocked.
Next, Walsall travel to Meadow Lane to face promotion rivals Notts County in their pre-Christmas fixture next Saturday.
Teams
Walsall (3-1-4-2): Roberts; Farquharson, Flint, Weir; Comley; Barrett, Finnigan (Jellis 69), Clarke, Harper; Kanu (Richards 83), Matt (Adomah 69).
Not used: Hornby, Lakin, Warrington, Browne.
Shrewsbury (3-5-2): Brook; Hoole, Anderson, Boyle; Clucas, Ruffels, Perry (McDermott 83), Kabia, Scully; Lloyd, Marquis
Not used: Harrison, Benning, Sang, Aneke, England, Gray
Other details
Referee: Isaac Searle
Attendance: 7,342 (1,199 away)
