Walsall v Sunderland: Liam Kinsella growing into central role

The 22-year-old, who has come through the youth ranks at the Banks’s Stadium, began the campaign as understudy to Isaiah Osbourne in the holding midfield role.

But Kinsella stepped into the side after Osbourne picked up a minor injury against Charlton at the start of November.

And he has kept his place ever since, with the Republic of Ireland under-21 international starring alongside George Dobson in the middle of the park.

Kinsella did make a mistake in the build-up to Portsmouth’s second goal in the 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth on Tuesday.

But that moment aside, the youngster has been pleased with his performances.

“My confidence is starting to build and I’m enjoying it,” Kinsella said.

“I feel I have done well and put in a shift for the team.

“I’m frustrated with the mistake I made at Portsmouth, I caused the second goal.

“I slipped on the edge of the box and put a poor ball in. And just a few seconds later it’s in the back of our net.

“I’ve held my hands up to the lads and apologised to them.

“But other than that, I’ve been happy with my performances. But I know I am going to have to keep performing if I am to stay in the team.”

Kinsella was arguably Walsall’s best player as they secured a 2-2 draw with Sunderland in League One last weekend.

Now the midfielder is set to face the Black Cats again tomorrow with the two teams having been drawn together in the FA Cup. And after losing at Pompey on Tuesday, Kinsella said the players are determined to bounce back and secure a place in the third round.

“We have to try and bounce back against Sunderland now,” he said.

“It was brilliant playing against them last Saturday. The atmosphere was excellent.

“We have been playing well but we know we are conceding too many goals.

“And the frustrating thing is a lot of them are coming from ourselves. We are the ones making the mistakes.

“We need to cut them out and that will stop the goals going in.

“And the best place to start is against Sunderland tomorrow.

“Hopefully we can do it and get through to third round of the FA Cup.

“It will be a tough game against a good side.

“But they are the games you want to play in, you want to be testing yourself against those sides.”

Likely line-up:

The opposition: Mackems focused on Cup progression

He admits that winning promotion back to the Championship is the only aim for his team this season.

But Sunderland manager Jack Ross has warned Walsall he won’t take the FA Cup lightly as the two teams get set to face each other for the second time in seven days tomorrow.

Ross was delighted with his players after they battled back from two goals down to secure a point at the Banks’s Stadium last weekend.

That fightback was achieved with just 10 men after Max Power was sent off midway through the first half.

Power has since seen that red card rescinded with the former Wigan midfielder starting on Tuesday as the Black Cats secured an impressive 4-2 win over Barnsley.

And he will now be eager to show just what a difference that unjust dismissal made when the teams lock horns again tomorrow. Another player eager to prove a point will be striker Josh Maja.

The 19-year-old has been linked with a big money moves to Tottenham and Manchester City in recent weeks.

Chelsea have also been long-term admirers of the youngster.

But he struggled to make an impact against the Saddlers last weekend, with the nous of Russell Martin keeping him in check.

Despite taking his tally for the season to 12 by scoring against Barnsley, Maja is under pressure from Watford loanee Jerome Sinclair for a place in the starting line-up.

Ross, though, is expected to keep faith with the team that beat the Tykes tomorrow, with the boss vowing to name his best side despite admitting promotion is the number one aim.

“I want to progress in the tournament,” the Scotsman said. “Promotion is the absolute priority for us and we will sacrifice everything for that. But for me this is a big competition. I don’t want to come out of it and I’m not worried about fixture congestion.

“The schedule is relentless but when you are in good form, the schedule is easier to deal with.

“A lot of the players are in good form individually. And that makes the games more exciting.

“I’m loathed to say the pressure is less but there is a freshness about this game. And we are looking forward to every game because we believe we will score every game.”

The boss says:

Dean Keates

"Football is all about moments. And we’ve not been clinical with our moments. We have to improve in both boxes."

Memory lane:

Tony Richards hit a hat-trick as Walsall overcame the Mackems 4-3 on the opening day of the 1961/62 season.

Key man:

Newcastle fan Andy Cook will be determined to prove his worth after being left on the bench against Portsmouth.

Danger man:

Josh Maja

The leading teenage goalscorer in the country, Maja has netted 12 goals in 22 games after bursting on to the scene at the beginning of the campaign. Man City, Spurs and Bristol City are all believed to be keen.