Sean O'Driscoll: Walsall were out of sorts

Walsall head coach Sean O'Driscoll conceded Rochdale were worthy winners as they left the Banks's Stadium with a 3-0 victory.

Two goals from Calvin Andrew and an Ian Henderson strike saw Keith Hill's side to a deserved three points to end the Saddlers unbeaten run in League One.

Walsall entered the game looking to make it six straight victories in the division, but found themselves second best from the off against a physical Dale side.

And O'Driscoll felt the visitors deserved credit for the way in which they played, saying: "Credit to them - they have looked at us and done their homework," he said.

"I watched their game against Scunthorpe and they were excellent. They were dynamic.

"They are a physically big team as well, they asked us a lot of questions and unfortunately we struggled to find the answers.

"We couldn't quite put anything together. We tried hard and it wasn't for a lack for effort because they are an honest bunch. But they made it very difficult for us.

"It was one of those games that if we started it again now we would approach it differently and the players would have a better understanding of what they needed to do."

O'Driscoll felt his side lacked the spark that has been so evident this season, adding: "Everything was a bit of a struggle.

"The players were as frustrated as everyone else. We needed a goal, we needed something to spark us but we never found it."

Despite the defeat, O'Driscoll insisted there is no need to get deflated from one defeat.

He said: "The only certainty about playing football is that you are going to play poorly at times and you will lose football matches.

"Now it's a matter of dusting ourselves and looking at what we can learn for the second half of the season."