Walsall 1-6 Stevenage: Sorry Saddlers ship six in EFL Trophy opener

Walsall were condemned to an emphatic 6-1 drubbing against League One side Stevenage in their EFL Trophy opener at Bescot.

Michael Mellon’s opener was cancelled out by Lewis Simper’s 17th-minute leveller, but Wanya Marcal and Jordan Houghton put the visitors in cruise control.

Mellon completed his hat-trick with a pair of strikes either side of half-time, before Ben Broggio added a sixth shortly after the hour-mark.

Lee Grant made a total of 11 changes from the weekend, handing first competitive starts to academy duo Will Etheridge and Archie Bunn, and a debut to goalkeeper Tom Wooster.

Stevenage crafted the first chance of the evening when a cheap giveaway from Adomah was quickly seized upon. Broggio slipped Mellon into the box, but Wooster narrowed down the angle to smother.

Wooster was soon picking the ball out of the net though, as Mellon ghosted in at the back post to convert a headed knockdown from Phoenix Patterson’s corner.

The visitors almost scored a second in quick succession when Mellon squared for Broggio, who was denied from close quarters by Wooster, after Walsall had given the ball away cheaply.

Walsall found a leveller in the 17th-minute after Simper added the finishing touches to an excellent attack. Andy Dallas kick-started the move with a driving run and Etheridge helped the ball on to Adomah on the right.

The veteran winger proceeded to twist and turn, before eventually finding an angle for a cross, which was delivered to perfection for Simper to guide a deft header inside the near post.

Roman Dixon was forced off early on after only just returning from a knock, before Stevenage restored their lead through Marcal on the half-hour mark.

Houghton floated a diagonal ball to the back post, where Marcal controlled beautifully and curled an unerring effort into the top corner.

Things went from bad to worse when Wooster saved an initial effort following Patterson’s corner, before Houghton converted the rebound on the line.

Etheridge fired over a presentable chance after good link-up play by Bunn on the edge of the box, but it was Stevenage who added the next goal.

Mellon gave chase to a long ball over the top of Burke, who in an attempt to head back to Wooster, only succeeded in helping it on to the Stevenage striker to loop his finish over the onrushing Walsall goalkeeper.

Stevenage continued to punish a beleaguered Walsall side, as Mellon completed his hat-trick before the hour-mark. Broggio had torn through the centre of the Walsall defence and fed Mellon to slot his finish beyond Wooster.

Broggio got on the scoresheet himself moments later when he was slipped through on goal to confidently dispatch his finish into the bottom corner.

Alex Revell began to ring the changes, but Stevenage continued to go in search of more. Substitute Dan Kemp saw his low effort deflect wide and Patterson’s close-range finish was also diverted behind.

Emir Turhan, another late introduction, hit the post for Stevenage, and Tai Sodje came close to scoring a late consolation when his shot deflected wide.

Next, Walsall return to league action when they travel to Prenton Park to face Tranmere Rovers.

Teams

(4-3-3): Wooster; Dixon (Harris 18), Burke, Leak (c), Furlong; Etheridge (Straw 61), Crew, Bunn (Moore 78); Simper (Sodje 46), Dallas (Sjoerdsma 61), Adomah.

Subs: Ward, Kandemiri.

Stevenage (4-2-3-1): Barden; James-Wildin, Casey (Thornett 71), Piergianni (c), Earley; Houghton (Thompson 79), Smith; Marcal (Campbell 67), Broggio (Kemp 71), Patterson; Mellon (Turhan 79).

Not used: Woodford, Sanderson.

Other details

Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis

Attendance: 1,205 (75)