Walsall 1 Scunthorpe 0 - Report and pictures

Morris's powerful drive - which ricocheted off Neal Bishop - came in a first period that the Saddlers dominated.

The Iron piled on the pressure towards the end, after Erhun Oztumer missed a penalty for the hosts, but a leveller proved elusive.

It was the first home clean sheet of the season for Jon Whitney's charges, who have moved up to 11th.

Analysis

Florent Cuvelier was in the Walsall starting line-up after recovering from a calf injury and he covered a lot of ground in the opening stages.

Closing down very quickly along with the rest of the Saddlers midfield, Scunthorpe were penned in and the hosts went ahead after just 13 minutes.

Morris let fire from outside the box and - with the help of a big deflection - found the back of the net.

There was a huge slice of luck with the goal but - based on the amount of possession they had up until that point - the lead was deserved.

And Whitney's side continued to threaten going forward, with Cuvelier firing narrowly over on the half-hour mark.

Zeli Ismail often found space on the right-hand side too and was linking up well with the ever-influential Oztumer, who forced a fine save from Matt Gilks just before half-time.

The Iron were offering very little, frequently giving the ball away cheaply, but Walsall had to settle for a one-goal advantage going into the break.

Oztumer was in the thick of the action early in the second period - and had a golden opportunity to double the Saddlers' lead.

Some fine work from the playmaker saw them win a penalty and he stepped up to take it, only to have his attempt saved by Gilks.

In the wake of that miss, Scunthorpe made a double substitution.

And the duo who came on, Kevin van Veen and Simon Church, combined for what should have been an equaliser - Church failing to connect with van Veen's low cross.

Whitney then made his full quota of substitutions - Reece Flanagan, Nicky Devlin and Dan Agyei all introduced.

Walsall had Mark Gillespie to thank for a great save when off balance, keeping out Clayton Lewis' speculative effort, as they held on for the three points.

Key Moments

9 - A superb through-ball from Duane Holmes splits the Saddlers defence, but they are let off as Hakeeb Adelakun is flagged offside.

14 - GOAL! Kieron Morris fires Walsall in front. The winger has a go from long range and a big deflection takes the ball past Scunthorpe goalkeeper Matt Gilks - into the back of the net.

45 - Very nearly 2-0 to the hosts. Erhun Oztumer's left-footed effort is tipped wide by Gilks.

58 - PENALTY! A sharp one-two between Oztumer and Luke Leahy sees the latter brought down in the box.

59 - SAVED! Oztumer steps up to the spot and his low shot is kept out by Gilks.

72 - Big chance for the Iron's Simon Church. The ball comes to him and, from a few yards out, he does not connect with his attempted flick after Kevin van Veen's cross from the left-hand side.

90 - Mark Gillespie falls over but, somehow, manages to keep Clayton Lewis's strike at bay.

Teams

Walsall (4-2-3-1): Gillespie; Kinsella, Wilson, Guthrie, Leahy; Chambers (c), Cuvelier (Flanagan, 74); Morris, Oztumer, Ismail (Devlin, 83); Bakayoko (Agyei, 85)

Subs not used: Jackson, K Roberts, Kouhyar, Ganley (gk)

Scunthorpe (4-1-2-1-2): Gilks; Sutton, Burgess, McArdle (c), Wallace; Bishop; Adelakun, Morris; Holmes (Lewis, 83); Madden (van Veen, 62), Hopper (Church, 62)

Subs not used: Townsend, Crofts, Goode, Watson (gk)

Man of the Match

Erhun Oztumer - Despite his penalty miss, the attacking midfielder was Walsall's most potent player. 8/10