Bescot Banter: Walsall not clicking

Heading into the match on the back of a one-all draw with title-chasing Newport County, the Saddlers were looking for both an improved performance and a few more points to add to their disappointing tally.

With just two wins from their previous ten league outings - or two in twelve all-competitions - the Saddlers simply had to find a way to win, especially with the busy December schedule throwing up plenty of tough challenges between now and the New Year.

Sadly it was a case of déjà vu all over again as the Saddlers continued to lack that all-important killer-instinct as their fairly promising, though goalless, first-half performance was followed up by a drab second forty-five which saw Josh Gordon bag an injury time penalty to secure a share of the spoils.

Falling behind via yet another individual error - Emmanuel Osadebe's weak back pass seeing a stranded Jack Rose bring down Boro's Tom Pett inside the area - Clarke's crew continue to show no signs of growth as these sort of issues have been a constant concern since the season got underway in early September.

The result means Clarke has led his side to nine draws from their opening fifteen games of the 2020/21 league campaign. And, whilst one point is better than none, the team continue to shoot themselves in the foot. The fact that we have conceded ten penalties in the league so far this season tells you all you need to know about our backline.

Be it a lapse in concentration, a lack of confidence, poor communication or a mixture of the three, the Saddlers just aren't clicking at the moment and this has to be addressed, or we really are in for a season akin to the one predicted by the good folks over at 'Walsall Fans Have Your Say'.

The only real positive to arise from Wednesday's draw with Stevenage was the return of striker Josh Gordon. Following an unwelcome and poorly timed spell on the sidelines, the return of our hardest working attacking outlet serves as a major boost, both to the team and its supporters.

Making just his seventh appearance of the season, Flash's second-half salvo at least gives the manager something to build upon as they prepare for this weekend's clash with bang in form Tranmere Rovers - the Super Whites winning five league games on the bounce heading into Saturday's match.

However, whilst his quicker than expected return to action will give the team the added attacking option it has sorely missed over the last few weeks and months, we can't expect Josh's return to fitness to be the catalyst for a return to form, especially with so many issues continuing to blight the side.

So, unless the manager and his team are able to finally eradicate even just a few of the problems both in defence and attack, it might not matter how in-form the opposition are, we'll almost certainly find a way of handing them the advantage anyway.