Walsall 0-4 Cheltenham: Saddlers humiliated in Bescot drubbing

Walsall suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat against Cheltenham Town at Bescot to leave them seven points adrift of the League Two play-offs.

Charlie Lakin wasted a golden opportunity in the first half before Daniel Kanu crashed a shot against the crossbar, but Walsall simply fell apart in the second half.

Harry Ashfield opened the scoring in the 56th-minute and former Saddlers midfielder Isaac Hutchinson doubled their lead just after the hour-mark.

Fellow former Walsall striker George Miller made it 3-0 to condemn Darren Byfield’s men to back-to-back defeats in League Two.

Substitute Josh Martin compounded Walsall’s misery when he added a fourth in stoppage time.

Cheltenham were the side posing the early questions as Miller looked to seize upon a succession of long balls.

James Wilson looped a diagonal over the 6ft 6in frame of Aden Flint but Miller could only blaze his half-volley high and over.

After a tentative start, Walsall did begin to create and came close twice in a matter of minutes.

Albert Adomah checked inside to curl inches wide of Joe Day’s left-hand post from the edge of the box and Lakin spurned a golden opportunity from close-range.

Brandon Comley released Adomah with an astute through ball and his cutback was missed by Kanu. It trickled invitingly into the path of Lakin who dragged his finish wide of the target.

Kanu was denied by the woodwork after an excellent attacking move down the right. Aaron Loupalo-Bi held the ball up smartly before finding Comley on the overlap.

The eventual cross deflected into the feet of Kanu whose shot rattled the underside of the crossbar and came agonisingly close to bouncing over the line.

Miller wasted a great opportunity for the visitors just after the restart when he was released in behind by Jordan Thomas, but the Robins striker sliced a rash effort off target.

Cheltenham did break the deadlock 11 minutes into the second half when Ashfield punished Walsall for their inability to deal with a short corner.

Thomas eventually clipped a low cross into the box where Ashfield snuck between a couple of Walsall defenders to confidently slot his finish beyond Roberts.

Walsall began to fall apart after conceding the first goal and found themselves two behind when Hutchinson scored from distance.

Barrett was robbed of possession on the right and Hutchinson was afforded acres of space to pick his spot with an excellent shot into the far top corner.

Byfield immediately made a triple change with the introductions of Courtney Clarke, Rico Richards and Kacper Lopata, but Miller soon added salt into gaping wounds when he made it 3-0.

Miller broke into the box and lifted a delicate finish over Roberts to spark a mass exodus at Bescot.

The Robins scored a fourth in stoppage time when Martin capitalised on Flint’s unsuccessful attempt to hack the ball clear by firing a low finish into the far corner.

Next, Walsall will make the long trek to Cumbria to face Barrow at Holker Street.

Teams

Walsall (4-3-3): Roberts; Barrett (Lopata 73), Flint, Burke, Hancock; Jellis, Comley (Clarke 64), Lakin; Adomah (Pressley 70), Kanu, Loupalo-Bi (Richards 64).

Not used: Hornby, Weir, Harper.

Cheltenham (4-3-3): Day; Jude-Boyd (Nurse 72), Cundy, Wilson, Tomkinson; Young, Ashfield (Deeming 72), Hutchinson; Thomas (Martin 88), Miller (Faal 76), Bickerstaff (Broom 86).

Not used: Diallo, Davison.

Other details

Referee: Alan Dale

Attendance: 6,103 (611)