Brian Dutton 'gutted' to not pick up first Walsall win

A missed Emmanuel Osadebe penalty was one of a handful of chances the Saddler saw fall by the wayside as the opposition returned to Yorkshire with a point.

For Dutton it was an opportunity missed in a game they should have won.

“I’m gutted for the lads because they deserved that win,” he said.

“It was a far more attacking and entertaining game of football, one where we created the opportunities to win the game.

“It’s a real step in the right direction in terms of the performance, I’m just gutted for the lads that they weren’t able to get that goal, win and get the monkey off their back.

“It’s really bittersweet to be honest.”

Harrogate’s James Belshaw made several fine saves and when asked about the goalkeeper’s performance, Dutton added: “We’ve ran into one today haven’t we.

“That seems to be how it is sometimes but we’re not going to get too down about it, we’ll take the positives out of the performance and roll into another fixture on the Monday, another quick turnaround.”

Although they failed to get that elusive win the Saddlers did provide an improved performance with some more entertaining football.

As pressure mounts on Dutton to find that first victory the head coach is determined to focus on the positives - which includes the return of key figure Rory Holden following his serious knee injury.

“The major positive for me is that we created the opportunities to win the game,” he said.

“We don’t want to limp into wins, we want to take the game to the opposition and stamp our authority down. I thought we did that for large spells.

“Rory Holden being back out on the pitch and getting through the game is another massive positive and we can’t look past Sam Perry again.

“A 19-year-old lad bossing the midfield, coming up against (Mark) Beck who is a giant and dealing with him really competently.

“There’s more positives than that but they’re three major positives for me.”