Walsall 3 Bournemouth 1 - match report

The Cherries midfield picked the ball up inside his own area with the game active thinking the whistle had gone.

Under no pressure he elected to collect the ball with both hands in one of the season's most bizarre moments.

Will Grigg converted the 78th minute spot-kick to turn the game with the Saddlers under pressure following Febian Brandy's sending off.

Sam Mantom and Grigg's first-half penalty had the Saddlers 2-0 ahead before Brett Pitman pulled one back just after the break.

Wes Thomas produced a candidate for miss of the season when he hit the bar from two yards in the second half before Brandy was sent off with 19 minutes left.

O'Kane's unbelievable aberration helped Walsall end Bournemouth's 15-game unbeaten League One run.

It moved the Saddlers up to 10th and just two points adrift of the play-offs after a sixth win in seven games.

They were unchanged from their 3-1 win at Preston with only Dean Holden replacing Richard Taundry on the bench.

Jamie Paterson hit the side-netting while Pitman saw a shot blocked as the Saddlers edged the opening without a cutting edge.

Assured in possession they pushed the Cherries back with David James smothering at Grigg's feet with the Northern Ireland international unsettling the visitors' backline.

And Grigg had the best opening after 25 minutes when James spilled a deep cross and Tommy Elphick threw himself to block Grigg's goalbound strike.

But the Saddlers took the lead two minutes later with a slice of good fortune. Mantom was given time 40-yards out to toss in a low cross, which evaded everyone and bounced into the corner.

It was the midfielder's first goal since signing permanently from Albion and his second of the season.

It was the cue for the Saddlers to turn the screw and Grigg's pressure saw James shank a clearance before James Baxendale fired a 25-yarder wide.

But Bournemouth were still a threat and Pitman crashed a header against the bar seven minutes before the break.

The Saddlers were comfortable and they doubled their lead in first-half injury time. Mal Benning's long clearance found Grigg just inside the Cherries' half and he ran onto his own flicked header.

The striker burst into the area and was chopped down by James – who was booked – and Grigg sent the penalty straight down the middle.

Walsall had lost a 2-0 lead to the Cherries at home last season and were under pressure immediately after the break when Pitman headed in Lewis Grabban's cross to make it 2-1 after 48 minutes.

The Saddlers responded and James turned Paterson's cross-shot onto the post two minutes later but Bournemouth, buoyed by the goal, were markedly improved.

Paterson tested James from distance on 55 minutes before the Saddlers survived a huge let-off eight minutes later.

Ian McLoughlin, on his home debut, spilled Josh McQuoid's cross which landed on the head of Thomas, who could only direct his header onto the bar from two yards.

And the dynamic changed with 19 minutes left when Brandy was sent off for a second yellow card.

The striker, booked 15 minutes earlier for a foul on Pitman, dived in infront of goal after James had spilled Benning's free kick and walked.

Pitman fired over soon after and McQuoid shot straight at McLoughlin before the game turned again in farcical circumstances.

Grigg went down on the edge of the area but referee Davies ignored his claims for a foul and play continued.

The ball rolled into the box but O'Kane bizarrely picked it up inside his own area – thinking the whistle had gone – to concede a penalty.

The game was still active and Davies had no option to award the penalty – which Grigg converted to James' right.

Grigg volleyed wide searching for his hat-trick as the Saddlers downed the shell-shocked Cherries.