The same old story for Walsall - Match analysis

For what felt like the umpteenth successive weekend the Saddlers were left wondering what might have been as they exited the FA Cup in limp fashion.

Nowhere were their recent woes in front of goal better summed up than here.

Orient, depleted by illness, had one decent chance in the 90 minutes, which Dean Cox struck with precision inside the angle of post and crossbar and inches over the head of Saddlers skipper Andy Butler.

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If only the visitors had been so ruthless, or maybe lucky.

When Craig Westcarr's second-half free-kick hit the inside of the post, the ball struck an oblivious and motionless keeper Jamie Jones, and was hacked away before any visiting player could bundle it home.

That came with half-an-hour to play but at that moment you sensed it just wasn't going to be Walsall's day and, most worryingly, you sensed the players felt it too.

It was impossible not to feel sorry for Westcarr, who ran himself into the ground and simply tried everything, to no avail.

His early shot which forced Jones to tip over turned out to be the visitors' second-best chance and his all-round play was something to admire.

Less impressive was Milan Lalkovic, who again faded badly after a bright start. While Ashley Hemmings, back in the starting XI for the first time in a month, fell over when his big chance arrived in the second half.

They were all part of a half-paced and hugely disappointing game watched by a slumbering crowd of just 2,604.

David Mooney's incredibly reckless and bizarre assault on Paul Downing in the dying seconds of stoppage time provoked a minor brawl and, bluntly, the only real moment of fire on an afternoon which promised so much yet failed to spark.

It was no league points dropped for Dean Smith's side but a huge opportunity missed to reach the third round for the first time in seven years.

The sickness bug prevalent in the Orient camp also accounted for boss Russell Slade and when Cox scored, the manager could be seen celebrating on the balcony of an apartment which overlooks the ground, presumably having risen from his sickbed.

For Smith, on the touchline, there was simply more frustration and more post-match questions to answer on why his team aren't scoring enough goals.

The manager insists his players are not lacking in belief and there is no shortage of positive vibes coming from the dressing room. But the last four games have yielded just one goal, two points from a possible nine and an FA Cup exit. It's a run which needs to end – starting at Shrewsbury on Saturday.

The next few weeks are beginning to take on greater importance. On paper the forthcoming games look favourable, albeit three are away from home.

Smith's men are just four points off the play-offs in League One despite the sense they have left plenty of points out on the pitch so far. That is a balance which quickly needs redressing.

Cox's goal four minutes before half-time at Brisbane Road came against the run of play as it was the Saddlers who had been asking most of the questions until then.

The midfielder collected a Mooney cross which evaded strike partner Shaun Batt and the visiting defenders, took a touch to cut inside and then rifled his shot into the top corner.

Up to that point it had been a case of almost but not quite for the visitors, who had enjoyed possession without making it count. Their sense of frustration grew with Westcarr's free-kick and then when, not for the first time, the same player was inches away from getting the decisive touch to a delicious cross from sub Romaine Sawyers.

But as the hosts began to sit deeper Jones remained untested and the game had rather petered before, with 10 seconds of four additional minutes remaining, 15-goal Mooney saw red and earned a three-game ban when he kicked out at Downing off the ball.

It provoked a furious response from the Saddlers and enough extra seconds to earn a corner. After a scramble the ball somehow found its way to Downing, who fired left-footed, and over.

It put the seal on the most infuriating of afternoons.

Matt Maher