Analysis: Walsall give fans reason to be optimistic

Despite having no competitive football for six months, Walsall supporters are certainly looking forward to the start of the 2020/21 League Two season.

Before that, though, they stayed at home and watched the Saddlers take on Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Although there was a two-division gulf between the sides, a lacklustre Wednesday side struggled in the first half against Walsall.

Playing 3-5-2, Kadeem Harris and Moses Odubajo attempted to give them the required width to hurt Darrell Clarke’s side, but the latter was often found offside or marked tightly by Zak Jules.

Harris certainly looked more of a threat, but he was nullified well by Cameron Norman.

Wednesday were run by silky midfielder Barry Bannan but essentially played without a striker.

Isaiah Brown and Adam Reach played as the front two, but with neither being a natural striker they played as false nines, which played into Walsall’s hands.

Defensively, the hosts were superb.

To a man, with James Clarke and Dan Scarr marshalling at centre-back, the back four were strong and rigid – barely putting a foot wrong.

This team, under Clarke, has regularly been solid at the back, but they kept a Championship club so quiet in the first half that it was easy to forget who was the League Two side.

The visitors were limited to hopeful balls, while Walsall had the better of the few chances the game dished up.

Set-pieces seemed to give Walsall an outlet and some dangerous corners from Rory Holden and Alfie Bates caused problems.

Josh Gordon had the best chance of the half when a long ball from Liam Kinsella put the forward in. He was forced wide but still managed to take aim at the near post – saved by Cameron Dawson.

In a half that was relatively even, but edged slightly in Walsall’s favour, the main criticism would be the midfield.

Bates and Kinsella are two handy midfielders, but against the midfield three of Wednesday they were overrun on several occasions.

What was evident, was the difference in stature in comparison to young Wednesday midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.

The 19-year-old, who moved permanently from Manchester City’s academy this summer, looked a real talent and regularly bullied players off the ball.

The lack of height in Walsall’s midfield was a criticism last year, hence the loan signing of Nathan Sheron.

With the transfer window open until October, it may be an area to address if the issue persists in the league.

In the second half, Wednesday shaded the play and had the better openings, with substitute Matt Penney causing problems and having several chances.

Harris also did well, even when he switched to the right side after Penney’s introduction.

Although they began building some pressure, the Saddlers stood firm at the back and never looked in any real trouble.

In fact, perhaps the best chance of the half fell to the hosts.

Wes McDonald did superbly to intercept the ball in midfield and play a cross-field pass to Gordon, who raced towards goal.

He lifted a cross to the back post for Caolan Lavery and after Dominic Iorfa slipped, the striker was free in the box.

His first touch was sloppy, however, and after trying to get the ball under control the chance was lost.

If he takes that in his stride, he has a free shot at goal and probably scores.

In the end, Walsall’s resilience paid off as they got to penalities after the game ended 0-0.

Holden and Elijah Adebayo took their goals well, but Gordon’s penalty was uncharacteristically poor and saved easily.

Bates, although he caught the ball firmly, smashed the crossbar with his effort, meaning Wednesday won 4-2 on spot-kicks.

It may go down as a defeat in the record books, but fans watching from home still have a huge sense of optimism going into the new campaign, with the club and squad looking settled.

There is no shame in losing to a Championship side, and certainly no shame in doing so when you more than held your own and earned a clean sheet.

Playing 4-2-3-1, Clarke’s team seem to have more of an identity now, something they were looking for last season.

With a tight schedule of games to play, the Walsall boss may choose to tweak the system and starting XI relatively soon, but the current system is working for now – as it did at the end of last season.

There is a fluidity between the midfield and attack, and although Gordon is playing out of position on the right, he is able to come inside and mix up the threat.

The man-of-the-match in this writer’s opinion, would have to be Norman. Both in attack and defence he played, perhaps, his best game in a Walsall shirt and staked a strong claim to keep his place after fellow right-back Hayden White signed for the club on Thursday.

For all the positives, however, football is not the same without fans and the game itself suffers for it.

Supporters are the heartbeat of football clubs and make the beautiful game what it is, so the sooner they return the better.