Jed Ward and his memorable save which secured Walsall's victory at Bristol City

Jed Ward had a Walsall debut to remember and there was one save in particular that stuck out the most.

Walsall were on the cusp of causing a seismic upset against Championship outfit Bristol City, but an onslaught was inevitably on the horizon.

Shots were rapidly beginning to rain down on his goal when Max Bird took aim from the edge of the penalty area.

Ward had committed to his left, when suddenly a deflection off the studs of Dom Ballard, threatened to divert the ball beyond his reach.

The new Saddlers’ No 1 adjusted remarkably, sticking out his trailing leg to flick the ball to safety.

The plaudits flooded in, but Ward refused to take all of the credit at full-time.

“That’s something that we work on everyday in training,” Ward explained.

“These scenarios only happen in games. The deflections, the reactions and all of these sort of things.

“Big up Stilly [Dan Still - goalkeeper coach] for training with us all week on all of that.

“I felt like in that moment, I was ready to make the save.”

In total, Ward made 10 saves to keep the Robins’ at bay and help seal the Saddlers place in the next round.

Ward was just one of the many heroes on the pitch on Thursday night, but was delighted to show the Walsall fan base his worth.

“It’s something that I’m proud of. I was just desperate to get on the pitch in a competitive fixture and show the fans what I am about,” he continued.

“I’d like to think that they saw that. It didn’t start the best, but I felt like I grew into the game and I’m really happy with how it ended.”

The Bristol-born goalkeeper came through the ranks at cross-city rivals Bristol Rovers, where he made 42 appearances in just over five years.

So, to produce that type of performance in his hometown made the victory taste extra sweet.

“I had loads of family and loads of friends in the away end which was great,” he smiled.

“I think I knew a few in the home end as well. It was nice to be down there and play in front of them because they don’t get the opportunity to see me as much as well.”