"Top drawer" - Walsall goalkeeper Jenson Kilroy's journey so far

Jenson Kilroy penned his first professional deal with Walsall last summer and the club recently triggered an option year to extend his stay until 2027.

It has been a dream which has been almost a decade in the making since he joined the Saddlers’ youth system as a budding goalkeeper at the age of 10.

“Jenson was with the club from around the age of nine and had been offered a scholarship at about 15 when I came back to Walsall,” revealed former academy manager Rob Williams.

“Fundamentally, Jenson is just an incredible kid. He worked really hard, had a good family and really good support.

“He just did everything properly. He did his education properly, he had really good attributes as a goalkeeper and was very coachable.”

Taking every opportunity that comes

After signing his scholarship, Kilroy has never shirked at an opportunity to boost his footballing repertoire.

He gained valuable minutes on loan at Hereford Pegasus and Stratford Town last season - before even stepping into the breach with Farsley Celtic in the National League North for just one game.

”Jenson has had a couple of good loans and they have been really positive experiences,” Williams explained.

“There was one game where Farsley Celtic needed a goalkeeper and he literally played for one game.

“But there was never a doubt in his mind that he wouldn’t go and put himself in that position.

“He has always had that mindset of: I’ll take that opportunity. Not all young players will do that.”

Kilroy enjoyed further short-term loans at Evesham and Hungerford Town at the start of the 2024-25 season, before concluding the campaign with Alvechurch and Rushall Olympic.

“From the first day he set foot in the place, he took the eye and looked like he had something,” recalled Alvechurch sporting director Mark Fogarty.

“One of his first games was away in the FA Cup at Yeovil. He was excellent - he really was top drawer.

“We got beat on penalties but he kept us in the game throughout against a team that are two levels higher than we are.

“You always judge young goalkeepers because they can all shot-stop, but the one area that usually finds them out is coming into bodies. He was really good at both.”

The rollercoaster life of a goalkeeper

One game in particular stands out from his loan at Alvechurch and exposed the 19-year-old than any to to the rollercoaster life of a goalkeeper.

Alvechurch were leading at Leiston when Kilroy upended an opponent inside the box to concede a penalty.

Leiston duly converted from the spot, but Kilroy atoned for his earlier error by saving another penalty in stoppage time.

Nonetheless, Alvechurch would go on to draw that game, but Fogarty felt Kilroy showcased his mentality with how he responded.

“I was at that game and he could’ve easily gone under because we were winning the game 2-0,” he explained.

“We had started like a house on fire and suddenly Jenson made an error of judgement by rushing out of his area.

“He brought the lad down when he didn’t need to come out. At that point, you think to yourself: let’s see how this lad gets on from here.

“But he just got better and better. If he goes out on loan again then he needs to challenge himself at Step 2 at the very least.”

Silverware with Rushall

Kilroy briefly returned to Walsall following Myles Roberts’ sending off at Grimsby Town in February, before heading on loan to Rushall Olympic.

He finished the campaign by winning the Staffordshire Senior Cup with the Pics after they beat Eccleshall 3-2 with Kilroy in goal.

Walsall have shown great faith in young goalkeepers from the loan market in recent seasons with the likes of Carl Rushworth, Tommy Simkin and Myles Roberts.

And Williams said it would be “incredible” to see an academy graduate start between the sticks for the first team one day.

“You look at the ages that some of those guys were. Carl was about the same, Tommy was about 19,” Williams concluded.

“So, Jenson is just hitting that age now. I’d like to think that supporters would see bits of him in pre-season and then there’s a lot to happen.

“Because there’s going to be a new manager and all of the rest of it. It would be incredible [to see Kilroy debut for Walsall] and selfishly it would be great to see.”