FA Cup: King's Lynn 0 Walsall 1 - Report

The Saddlers' early strike had them on track for a routine first round afternoon in front of the BBC's Football Focus cameras, who had descended on Norfolk sensing an upset.

And Kiernan's close-range finish at the back post 15 minutes in was enough to see Matt Taylor's men safely through in the King's Lynn rain and make it eight matches unbeaten in all competitions.

The League Two visitors were comfortable in a one-sided first half but unable to add to their advantage. The struggling National League visitors grew in confidence late on as they sniffed the chance to force a replay.

Indeed it was the Linnets - whose blank means they are now goalless in four games - who went closest after the break but Hayden White, who created Kiernan's goal, cleared off the line from Junior Morias.

The boosted home crowd had little else to shout about with the hosts low on confidence and Walsall in control for large parts, albeit in a tie low on clear chances.

The Saddlers ensured it was not consecutive first round disappointment and will be in the hat for Monday evening's second round draw, live on ITV. Boss Taylor punched the air as his side saw out Lynn's final foray into their half before celebrating with the vocal away end after the final whistle.

Taylor, an FA Cup semi-finalist with Bolton in 2011, vowed in the week to take the competition as seriously as possible, stating his love of the magic of the competition.

And he backed up those words with his selection on a brisk afternoon in Norfolk. Taylor made just one change from the side that picked up a win on the road in League Two last time out.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was last week's goal hero from the bench Tyrese Shade who was added to the visitors' starting line-up, coming in for Kieran Phillips.

The hosts went into the contest struggling badly for form. Ian Culverhouse's men had lost four National League matches on the spin without scoring, which had left them down in 21st in non-league's premier tier.

A rare crumb of comfort for the Linnets this season was their FA Cup fourth qualifying round 2-1 victory over neighbours Peterborough Sports, who are further down the pyramid. That remains their only win at The Walks this term, with two league successes arriving on the road.

King's Lynn were without suspended attacker Michael Gyasi and Culverhouse made three alterations to the struggling side that lost 1-0 at Weymouth last weekend, as full-back Ross Barrows and loan pair, Stevenage defender Luis Fernandez and Wycombe forward Malachi Linton started.

Experienced goalkeeper Paul Jones, 35, had played hundreds of Football League games for Exeter, Crawley and Portsmouth. Jamaican frontman Morias had recently turned out for Peterborough and Northampton.

Anticipation was in the air in King's Lynn, where the BBC Football Focus cameras were perched on the hunt for a Cup upset tale. The home fans arrived in their droves, with the average league gate of around 1,000 dwarfed. It was just the second time since the club's reformation in 2010 - following on from last season's second round effort - that the club had made it beyond the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup. The Linnets won away at League Two Port Vale at this stage last term.

The hosts even introduced a new mascot to mark the occasion, as Lionel the Linnet - sporting an array of coloured feathers - took the applause.

And Saddlers fans, on the back of their impressive recent form, travelled well across the A14 and A47, with more than 600 tickets shipped when they went off sale on Friday. They crammed into one of the corners of the modest stadium.

Walsall had not been beaten since Joey Barton's Bristol Rovers claimed all three points at the Banks's in September and a run of three wins and three draws in the league have certainly brightened the picture in League Two.

The League Two visitors were quick out the traps following a period of silence ahead of Remembrance Sunday next weekend. Walsall could have led inside two minutes as Lynn centre-half Kyle Callan-McFadden swiped narrowly wide of his own goal after Shade's energetic run and cross.

Taylor's men were bright in frenetic opening exchanges. Top scorer George Miller was denied from a snapshot on the spin by a home block.

The hosts tried to find a foothold in the contest and got stuck in on a couple of occasions to the delight of the home crowd, but the visitors worked themselves into a 1-0 lead on the quarter of an hour.

The opener owed much to right-back Hayden White and quick thinking from midfielder Jack Earing, through whom most of Walsall's good work came.

Earing's short free-kick picked out White and the full-back powered down the flank before his looped cross appeared to deceive Jones in the hosts' goal. It sailed over his head to the back post, where Kiernan had darted in from the left wing to the post to scramble over the line, making sure from barely a yard for his second goal of the season and first since mid-August.

Walsall had taken control of the contest and skipper Josh Labadie, an FA Cup giant-killing veteran from his Newport days, struck narrowly wide with a low effort from outside the box.

The visitors had controlled much of the first half hour with little to shout about for the Linnets fans, whose side looked low on confidence. Their first attempt at troubling Carl Rushworth's goal was a free-kick from midfielder Ethan Coleman blasted a long way over, out of the stadium and on to the road.

Attacking midfielder Emmanuel Osadebe attempted to snap the game out of a short lull 10 minutes before the break but his shot deflected wide, before Lynn were almost made to pay for trying to play the ball out from goalkeeper Jones' free-kick.

Shade remained a livewire for the visitors. He sped past the hapless Fernandez, who was booked in his desperate attempt to stop the Leicester speedster. Shade's free-kick from the right then stung the palms of Jones.

Rain began to fall at half-time and home boss Culverhouse knew his side required a response. He introduced former Wrexham striker Gold Omotayo, who was immediately involved in a knock-down in the Saddlers' box.

Walsall came closest yet to doubling their lead five minutes after the interval as first Callan-McFadden blocked well from Osadebe following Shade's low cross, before Kiernan found the near side netting from a narrow angle.

While Linnets' medical team tended to an injury to one of their players, extra stewarding presence was required between the home and away supporters after it appeared fans were taunting each other.

The hosts had flattered to deceive in attack but, on the hour mark, went agonizingly close to drawing level. It was worked well to skipper Michael Clunan, who checked inside well and beat Rushworth with his curled strike, only for White to save the day by heading off the line.

Belief in the King's Lynn players and supporters rose with the deficit still at one, and only some excellent defending from Stephen Ward - who somehow blocked from Morias - kept the Saddlers ahead.

As conditions worsened but the Linnets' confidence grew, Morias sent a diving header wide of Rushworth's left post, albeit the offside flag had been raised.

As King's Lynn committed more bodies forward late on, the visitors found space at the other end and almost put the tie to bed from a corner, but Manny Monthe was just wrestled out of it.

Four added minutes was still not enough for the hosts to muster a telling final opening as the travelling Saddlers chanted 'Matt Taylor's Barmy Army' while wondering whether they had witnessed the start of a memorable Cup adventure.

Teams

Walsall (4-3-3):

Rushworth; White, Menayese, Monthe, Ward; Earing, Labadie (c), Shade, Osadebe (Perry, 82), Kiernan (Phillips, 65); Miller.

Subs not used: Rose, Taylor, Bates, Leak, Khan, Sadler.

King's Lynn Town (5-3-2):

Jones; Fernandez (Bird, 59), Callan-McFadden, Bowry; Barrows (Omotayo, 45), Clunan (c), Coleman, Davis (McGavin, 79), Jones; Linton (Barrett, 63), Morias.

Subs not used: Sundire.

Attendance: TBC

Referee: Robert Lewis