Perfect gift for Saddlers - Carlisle match analysis

Seven days on from Tom Eaves' horrendous miss which preserved a 1-0 win at Shrewsbury, Carlisle's Lee Miller submitted his nomination for League One calamity of the season.

Richard O'Donnell might have brilliantly saved his penalty but the striker still looked certain to cancel out Romaine Sawyers' 14th-minute opener when the rebound sat up perfectly for him three yards out.

Instead he skied it high into the Tile Choice Stand, Carlisle visibly wilted and the Saddlers went on to win 2-0, the day capped off by a sublime goal from Milan Lalkovic – his fourth of the season and second in as many games.

Things haven't always gone to plan for the Slovakian this term but this was a further sign he – and indeed the Saddlers in general – are starting to find a rhythm as the campaign enters a crucial phase.

Smith's men may not have been at their best but they were good enough to see off a Carlisle side who arrived at the Banks's having won four of their last six.

It was an important win too, one which moved them up to eighth, two points off the play-offs ahead of the Boxing Day trip to rock-bottom Bristol City. They then travel to Gillingham before hosting Sheffield United on New Year's Day, while games against struggling Tranmere and Oldham are also on the horizon. If the Saddlers are to reel off a series of positive results to catapult into the thick of the top six, they might not get a better chance.

They will certainly hope to have Lalkovic for the duration, after the forward showed again just how good he can be when in form. Leaving aside his sublime goal, the on-loan Chelsea man put in a tremendous shift and his pace when running with the ball proved a constant menace for visiting defenders.

A few misplaced passes and an irritating habit of picking the wrong option at times showed he is still very much a work in progress. But at just 21, he is certainly worth persevering with and his ability to create something out of nothing is the reason Smith will spend a portion of his Christmas speaking to the Premier League club, with a view to extending his loan until the end of the season.

It wasn't quite the perfect day for the Saddlers manager. His side may well travel to Bristol without top scorer Craig Westcarr, who limped off five minutes before half-time. They will definitely be without Adam Chambers, who picked up his fifth booking of the season in somewhat unfortunate circumstances, having inadvertently got involved in a tangle between Troy Hewitt and James Berrett.

Lalkovic aside, Chambers was the standout performer as he patrolled the pitch, thwarting Carlisle attacks before they had the chance to develop and providing the perfect safety blanket to the defence.

And while Miller's miss might have granted the Saddlers an element of luck, there was no question they capitalised on it fully.

Carlisle enjoyed plenty of possession in the attacking third but they came away with precious little to show for it thanks to some typically disciplined defending from the home side. Aside from his penalty save, the only other occasion O'Donnell was called into serious action was the opening seconds, when Andy Butler allowed the ball to run without realising Miller was behind him and the striker fired in a first-time shot which the keeper pushed behind.

Scoring first has been almost imperative for the Saddlers this season – only Notts County have denied them victory when they have done so – and it was Sawyers who did the honours this time. He latched on to a long pass from Paul Downing and bided his time before slipping the finish under Ben Amos.

The visitors looked certain to level 10 minutes later but Miller fluffed his lines – twice – after Andy Taylor was adjudged to have handled a David Amoo cross.

Lalkovic's stunning goal, a vicious strike from the corner of the box which struck the top of the far post before smashing into the net – then sealed it midway through the second half before the visitors were reduced to ten late on when Courtney Meppen-Walter saw red for hauling down Hewitt.

Matt Maher