Bristol Rovers 1 Walsall 3 - analysis
Change was afoot at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday as a revamped Walsall side transformed from toothless to ruthless.
Change was afoot at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday as a revamped Walsall side transformed from toothless to ruthless.
Bristol Rovers unveiled their new mascot before the game and Saddlers boss Jimmy Mullen unleashed a new look team on the unsuspecting Pirates for a 3-1 win.
Five changes, one enforced, galvanised the visitors whose spirited display belied their meek surrender to Leyton Orient last week.
An unexpected three points from the West Country was only tarnished as Mullen was banished to the stands for, what is to believed, encroachment onto the pitch and Anthony Gerrard's early head injury.
While Mullen's decision to shuffle his pack was less of a gamble than buying a holiday with a budget airline, it was a brave decision nonetheless.
He threw Dwyane Mattis and Rhys Weston into the action after their respective injury lay-offs, Alex Nicholls slipped in on the right, Netan Sansara surprisingly replaced Paul Boertien and Michael Ricketts returned in the expense of Ishmel Demontagnac.
Skipper Stephen Hughes failed to recover from a calf injury so missed out. Chris Palmer dropped to the bench along with Troy Deeney.
That captain for the day Ricketts bagged two goals and the headlines only tells half the story, with the victory being built on a defensive resilience which has been lacking in recent weeks.
Weston epitomised the ethos of the afternoon. One first half burst of pace and block to deny Darryl Duffy was simply stunning. Another lunge to stop Jo Kuffour levelling was superb.
Defensive partner Stephen Roberts won everything in the air and netted his first Saddlers goal for good measure.
When the back four were breached Rovers let them off the hook. One such moment came when eston inexplicably left a throughball to put Rickie Lambert clean through, with the League One joint top scorer incredibly shooting over.
It took a rip-snorting half volley from Steve Elliot to ignite the jitters with 14 minutes to go, jitters which were ended by Byron Anthony's 90th minute sending off and Ricketts' penalty conversion.
The win sees the Saddlers rise to seventh and could prove the springboard ahead of another tricky away test.
A 366 mile round trip to Brighton looms on Saturday and the display of Mullen's five replacements vindicates his decision not to add to the squad in the transfer window.
A jaunt to the seaside has proved fruitful for the Saddlers, who haven't lost at Brighton since 1988. They will travel in confident mood after their efforts at Rovers.
They were ahead inside 10 minutes when, after an early Stuart Campbell sighter flew wide for the hosts. Gerrard was pole axed as he flicked Marco Reich's corner on to Ricketts, who had the easiest of tasks from five yards.
While the small pocket of travelling fans celebrated, Gerrard remained prostrate on the ground and was unable to continue, being replaced by Palmer.
Rather than unsettling the visitors, they continued in the same vein, hassling Rovers into mistakes and playing some neat football.
With Reich and Nicholls patrolling the flanks there was a constant outlet out wide and Walsall doubled their lead with 24 minutes gone.
Palmer's cross was pushed round the post by Steve Phillips and from Reich's near post delivery, Roberts rose highest to glance a looping header into the far corner.
It was the 28-year-old's first goal since December 2005 and finished with aplomb.
Ricketts headed over before Lambert and Hughes summed up Rovers' first half efforts when they both miscued shots, the latter scuffing wide from 15 yards on the stroke of half time.
When the teams returned, there was no trepidation from Walsall and a couple of Reich corners caused havoc in the Rovers area before the hosts slowly began to dominate.
Lambert was becoming more prominent and the Pirates were finally starting to find space behind the Saddlers backline.
Nicholls was forced to clear off the line from Lambert's free-kick and a Chris Lines header clipped the bar as the hosts sensed a goal.
In response, changes for the visitors ensued and it was during the substitution of Jabo Ibehre that Mullen was sent to the stands when he walked outside his technical area to confer with Ricketts.
As Mullen lost his cool, his players were keeping theirs despite the mounting pressure, though Weston almost ruined his perfect performance with a howler.
Bizarrely, he ducked under Craig Disley's ball but Lambert failed to trouble Ince when clean through.
Nicholls was then equally as profligate in the 73rd minute. Ricketts sent him clear down the left and his curling effort kissed the outside of the post, before bouncing to safety.
A minute later it was 2-1. Campbell's corner was only half cleared to Elliot, who showed his strikers how to finish as he blasted in from 12 yards.
It seemed inevitable, following their relentless pressure, Rovers would level the scores but the Saddlers hadn't read the script.
Their continued resistance only served to frustrate and, deep into the five minutes of added time, they sealed the game.
Deeney's smart turn and run into the area caught Anthony cold and his foul resulted in the only possible outcome – a red card, a penalty, and Ricketts' second of the game as the striker found the top corner from the spot.
