Walsall 1 Crawley 1 - Report

This draw might have halted a run of three straight defeats in all competitions and seen the Saddlers climb three places in the League One table.

Yet it did little to ease the sense of frustration, either in the stands or the dugout at the Banks’s Stadium, where boss Matt Taylor cut an increasingly exasperated figure.

Walsall have now won just one in eight since November 6 and though they remain just six points outside the League Two play-offs, they do not at present have the look of a team ready to make a charge up the standings.

A struggle to score goals and an unfortunate knack of conceding silly ones themselves again proved their downfall against an unremarkable Crawley team who have also struggled for momentum in recent weeks.

Having found themselves in front thanks to Brendan Kiernan’s 40th minute opener, the Saddlers handed the initiative straight back to their opponents in first half stoppage time, when an error by Jack Earing and slack defending from Rollin Menayese allowed Tom Nichols to level.

After that neither team looked like finding a winner amid blustery and wet conditions which, admittedly, did little to boost the entertainment levels.

Perhaps most concerning for the home side was the loss of Joss Labadie to a groin injury early in the second half.

Of the two changes made to the team knocked out of the FA Cup to Swindon on Saturday, the decision to drop top scorer George Miller was by some distance the most eye-opening but Kiernan, his replacement, proved to be the home side’s best player over the piece and bagged his fourth goal of the season.

The other switch saw Stephen Ward return to the line-up having missed the cup tie with a slight niggle, Zak Mills dropping to the bench.

It was the veteran left-back who proved Walsall’s most dangerous outlet in the early stages. A third minute through ball found Wilkinson just fractionally offside, while another earned visiting centre-back Tony Craig a yellow card after he clumsily brought Wilkinson down as they raced to meet it.

Crawley goalkeeper Glenn Morris was then called into his first serious work of the night, saving with his legs to deny Kiernan after Ward again split the defence.

Yet the best opening of the first 15 minutes actually fell to the visitors, James Tilley firing wastefully over after being found in space just 10 yards from goal.

Indeed, as the half progressed, it was the visitors who began to gain the upper hand and Taylor, as his team huffed and puffed, became visibly frustrated.

Mark Mansell drilled a shot just off target and had a fair claim for a penalty when he was barged over by Earing. Referee James Bell, certainly not shy in blowing his whistle, stayed silent on that occasion much to the Saddlers relief.

Momentum shifted inside the space of 60 seconds. First, Nichols was inches from putting his team in front when, after the hosts had failed to clear a corner, he pounced on the loose ball and fired a shot just wide of goal.

A few passes later it was the Saddlers who instead went ahead, Osadebe supplying the killer pass to send Kiernan scampering through on goal, the winger keeping his cool to lift a finish over the dive of Morris.

For a few minutes the home side threatened to take a serious stranglehold on proceedings but Labadie picked the wrong option and in stoppage time the Saddlers surge was cut short by an equaliser. Earing tried to be far too cute in his own half, flicking the ball over the head of an opponent but straight into the path of George Francomb, who powered past a flat-footed Menayese before squaring low for Nichols to apply the sliding finish.

Walsall’s night suffered another setback early in the second half when influential skipper Joss Labadie was forced off, having appeared to hurt his groin while clearing a free-kick.

Taylor brought on Miller just past the hour mark and the striker was in the vicinity when an inswinging Earing cross took a deflection and fell kindly of the feet at Menayese. With the goal gaping the defender looked certain to score but scuffed the finish straight at Craig, who hacked clear. Still, at least the Saddlers were showing more life again, with Osadebe stinging the palms of Morris.

Miller then shot too close to the keeper after finding time and space on the edge of the box, before Kiernan fired over when the visitors lost possession deep in their own half.

But as the rain came down harder so the quality evaporated. Neither team managed to muster a serious chance in a frustrating final 20 minutes.

Saddlers (4-2-3-1): Rushworth, White, Monthe, Menayese, Ward, Labadie (Kinsella 53), Earing, Phillips (Miller 61), Osadebe (Khan 74), Kiernan, Wilkinson Subs not used: Taylor, Mills, Shade, Rose (gk).

Crawley (4-4-2): Morris, Davies, Francillette, Craig, Francomb, Marshall (Frost 60), Hessenthaler (Ferry 33), Powell, Tilley (Bansal-McNulty 74), Nadesan, Nicholls Subs not used: Grego-Cox, Kowalczyk, Lynch, Nna-Noukeu (gk).