Walsall throwback: When Saddlers staved off drop

On this day eight years ago, Saddlers staved off relegation at the death with a 1-1 draw against Huddersfield Town, writes Liam Keen.

It was the penultimate game of the 2011/12 season and the final home fixture of the campaign – and Dean Smith led his troops to safety in his first full season in charge.

Coming into the game, all factors were pointing towards a final-day showdown.

Huddersfield had already assured themselves of a play-off position, while Walsall had lost their last three games – including a 4-2 loss away at Exeter the week before, who went on to get relegated in 23rd position.

Walsall needed at least a point, and for Wycombe to lose against Notts County, for their survival to be confirmed, or it would go to the final day.

And that is exactly what happened.

Both sides set up with an attacking style with the intention of winning the game.

Walsall’s starting XI consisted of James Walker, Mat Sadler, Lee Beevers, Andy Butler, Olly Lancashire, Richard Taundry, Florent Cuvelier, Sam Mantom, Emmanuel Ledesma, Jon Macken and Alex Nicholls, while the Terriers had a strong line-up including Scott Arfield, Sean Morrison and Lee Novak.

For Walsall, it was the worst possible start, when Novak opened the scoring within two minutes.

The striker, who scored 17 goals that season, lashed home from close range to pile the pressure on Smith and Walsall.

The visitors dominated most of the first 45 minutes and had Jordan Rhodes been on the pitch, instead of warming the bench, Walsall could have been losing by a greater margin come half-time.

After the break, however, Walsall turned the screw and within four minutes of the restart they were back on level terms.

On-loan Stoke teenager Cuvelier smartly controlled Sadler’s cross and fired in a composed finish. Walsall then had the chances to win the game in the latter stages, but failed to do so, and with Wycombe winning 3-2 at home to Notts County, Walsall would need a win to stop the relegation battle from going to the final day.

To add to the drama, Dele Adebola netted an equaliser for Notts County in the 89th minute before Alan Judge notched a 90th-minute winner – giving them the 4-3 away victory.

The Walsall draw and Wycombe loss meant the Saddlers stayed up with one game to spare – prompting a pitch invasion at the Banks’s Stadium.

After the game, although he was delighted, Smith insisted survival should not be the club’s only aim.

“It’s great we’ve stayed in the league and it’s a success for us but it’s not one we want to celebrate because we want to be better than fighting off relegation,” he said.

“We feel we’re better than that and some of the performances have shown that.”