Bescot Banter: Walsall developing a liking for conceding late on

Heading into Tuesday's clash with Crawley Town on the back of the loss to the Bluebirds, a meeting which saw Josh Kay's late goal secure the win for the visitors, Brian Dutton's side had their first win in nine games snatched from their grasp as referee Tim Robinson awarded a penalty in the dying moments of second-half injury time.

The Saddlers had taken the lead via Emmanuel Osadebe's first goal in a Walsall shirt, his strike also coming via the penalty spot as Jordan Tunnicliffe - the man who would ultimately earn his side their levelling spot-kick following a collision with Liam Roberts - dragged Josh Gordon to the ground ten minutes into the second forty-five.

But, after he and his defence had thwarted the Red Devils for the majority of the second-half, Roberts dashed off his line in a bid to punch clear a looping ball into the box but collided with Tunnicliffe in the process, leading the referee to point to the spot before Tom Nichols slammed the ball home.

Despite the devastating draw there were several positives to take from the outing; the return of club captain James Clarke, the continued form of Cameron Norman, and Manny Osadebe's opening goal as a Saddler, but it's the negatives which continue to impact the team and give us all plenty of cause for concern.

Whilst the manager can do nothing to prevent a harshly awarded injury-time penalty, Roberts seemed to make contact with the ball before he and Tunnicliffe collided, he simply has to find a way to get more goals out of this team.

Scoring just twice in their six pre-Bolton Wanderers outings, and despite looking to get forward a little more during the defeat to Crawley, the Reds continue to struggle to make an impact in the final third and will continue to be dragged further into the mire if they are unable to both take and maintain the lead on a consistent basis.

With the fixture schedule continuing to offer little in terms of recovery time it's imperative that the team gets back to winning ways as soon as possible, especially as many of our fellow strugglers have been able to pick up the odd win over the last few weeks, closing the gap between them and the calm waters of mid-table.

Off the pitch the major news to emerge from the week will see the club appoint a Director of Football in a bid to both support Brain Dutton and overhaul the club's backroom system as a whole with the new recruit having an extensive list of duties and departments to both oversee and overhaul.

As can be evidenced by the majority of fan reaction across social media, this move is a welcome one and, whilst some may have been hoping Leigh Pomlett would announce another change in management, the board continue to take steps to improve the team, with this latest move potentially having several long-term advantages.

Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and, no matter who is ultimately appointed, there is still very much a danger that the team will be plying their trade in the National League next season, and as such we must focus on the here and now, before considering the future when it's a little more certain.