Mat Sadler: Walsall due slice of good luck
Goalscoring hero Mat Sadler insists Walsall were due some luck after his strike handed them a 1-0 win over Crawley Town.
In what was a tight affair, the player-coach netted the only goal of the game in his first League Two appearance of the season.
Crawley, however, had chances of their own including a free header from Tom Nichols that came back off the post in the final minutes of the game.
Sadler’s goal came after reacting first to a save from Dan Scarr’s header and the 35-year-old was delighted to see fortunes turn in Walsall’s favour.
“I was just joking with Scarr because he told me at the last minute to move to the back post,” Sadler said.
“Obviously he got the header, it doesn’t go in, so I’ve nicked his goal basically, so I’ll take that. It fell to me nicely.
“It’s nice to be on that side of it. We’ve had a couple strokes of luck in the game but sometimes you need that.
“I don’t think we’ve had too much luck of late. We’ve had some penalty decisions that I think were harsh, we’ve had some individual errors which you wouldn’t normally see. It was about time we’ve had some luck on our side and we deserve that.
“There’s been times this season where we haven’t been overly troubled as a team but have ended up conceding on the counter-attack or a penalty.
“As a team we’re solid and people are willing to put their body on the line. That momentum is powerful and we harness that to go again.”
Meanwhile, manager Darrell Clarke was keen to praise Sadler for his impact after coming into the team due to injuries elsewhere.
“Mat Sadler epitomises why I brought him in as player-coach. He’s been hands on supporting Brian (Dutton) and I very well.
"I’m chuffed to bits because he cares about the club, has a good affinity with the club and it was good for him to pop up with the winner the old boy.”
