Walsall debrief: Implosion, Alex Pattison, home woes and drawing blanks

Shawn McCoulsky scored both goals for the visitors either side of half-time to leave the Saddlers in 12th.

Priestley Farquharson struck the post and Harrogate goalkeeper Mark Oxley denied the likes of Charlie Lakin, Jid Okeke and Alex Pattison with a string of saves during the first half.

But another capitulation followed as Walsall’s woes deepened.

Here are the key talking points from their latest defeat.

Implosion

The Saddlers’ tendency to implode in games has cost them time and time again.

The second half horror show against Cheltenham Town serves as one recent example - while the latter stages of the Easter Monday defeat at Swindon Town can be regarded as another.

And despite having the better of the opening 30 minutes, albeit in a relatively patchy performance, Walsall once again collapsed as soon as they conceded the first just before half-time.

It only reinforces the notion that this side have a mental fragility, which has been a recurring theme throughout Trivela’s tenure so far.

Pattison

Alex Pattison was by far the best player on the pitch and it was just a shame that nobody else was able to match both his quality or tenacity.

Walsall need to keep him fit because there is no doubting that he will be crucial next season.

He has taken time to adjust to life at Walsall but his experience of promotion in the past and his winning mentality is exactly what this squad needs.

It’s a big summer ahead for Walsall and whoever will be in the dugout - but one thing is for sure: you need to build a team around Pattison.

Drawing blanks

There are goals in this team. Daniel Kanu has 18 in all competitions, Albert Adomah has weighed in with eight and Aaron Pressley has netted seven in total.

They also rattled home three goals in wins over Crewe Alexandra and Barrow respectively since Byfield took interim charge.

But there have been far too many occasions where Walsall have failed to find the breakthrough and this was the 10th time that they drew a blank in League Two during 2026.

That means Walsall have failed to score in 45 per cent of their games since the turn of the year - with seven of those games coming at Bescot.

Bescot burden

Tranmere Rovers are the only other team besides Walsall to collect just one home win in 2026.

Including their last defeat of 2025 against Oldham Athletic, Walsall have lost seven of their final 12 league games at Bescot in League Two.

Since winning five of their opening six games on home soil in League Two, the Saddlers have averaged 0.82 points per game in the 17 since.

In comparison, Walsall still boast the second best away record in the division with 36 points - averaging 1.64 per game.