Swindon 5 Walsall 0 - Report
Walsall were brought crashing back down to earth as new boss Michael Flynn saw his side slump to an embarrassing 5-0 thrashing at Swindon Town.
In a seismic shift from the win over League Two table-toppers Forest Green Rovers at the weekend, the shoddy Saddlers leaked like a sieve at the County Ground.
Flynn will be absolutely fuming after Walsall were handed a reality check by the play-off chasing Robins.
The visitors had started well enough but once Swindon opened the scoring through impressive Villa loanee Louie Barry, heads dropped.
The Saddlers crumbled and the soft underbelly reared its ugly head once more.
Ricky Aguiar put the home side two to the good just before the break, and then scored his second to make it three shortly after the restart.
Barry grabbed his second of the night just after the hour, with substitute Jonny Williams the final player to capitalise on the Saddlers' porous defence.
After the euphoria of wins over the top two, Walsall reverted to type.
A horror-show that was emblematic of their league position – 17th and seven points clear of the relegation places.
Report
Flynn named an unchanged starting line-up after being treated to a tremendous victory at runaway league leaders Forest Green.
The only change to the matchday squad saw skipper Joss Labadie return to the substitutes' bench after serving a two-match ban for 10 bookings this term – youth defender Rio Sawyers making way.
New Walsall assistant Wayne Hatswell was in the dugout after his appointment earlier in the day.
Swindon, meanwhile, came in off successive 3-0 victories and were also unchanged.
The opening few minutes saw both teams chance their arm.
Joe Tomlinson's effort from long range took an awkward bounce, but Saddlers shot-stopper Carl Rushworth was equal to it.
Tyrese Shade – continuing to adapt well to his left-wing-back role – then stung the palms of Jojo Wollacott at the other end.
Walsall saw less of the ball than Swindon in the opening stages, but they looked more threatening going forward.
Jack Earing worked a yard of space but blazed his shot high and wide.
An attempt from Shade shortly afterwards took a wild deflection and narrowly avoided the outstretched leg of Conor Wilkinson, before Liam Kinsella volleyed over from the edge of the area.
The hosts, though, soon had the best opening of the lot. Top scorer Harry McKirdy ghosted in past the defence and snatched at his shot, sending it off target.
That was a let-off, but the Saddlers would not be so lucky a few minutes later as Barry emphatically fired home.
Walsall had started to look open at the back and were punished by a swift Swindon counter-attack.
Josh Davison fed Barry, and with Rollin Menayese opting to back off, the Villa loanee advanced into the box before unleashing a left-footed shot that left Rushworth helpless.
That opener had knocked the stuffing out of Flynn's lot, who had actually looked pretty bright for the first 20 minutes or so.
The Saddlers continued to seem suspect defensively, and the Robins took full advantage by doubling their lead on the stroke of half-time.
Davison found himself completely unmarked between the posts and although it initially appeared he had missed a trick by not turning and shooting, his lay-off was neatly dispatched by Aguiar.
He expertly found the bottom corner and gave Flynn plenty to ponder at the interval.
The Welshman stuck to his guns for the beginning of the second period, but with Swindon still very much in the ascendancy, he quickly made a double change.
Labadie and centre forward Devante Rodney entered the fray, in place of Donervon Daniels and George Miller. And with that, Walsall shifted to a narrow 4-4-2 formation.
But they failed to stem the tide.
Swindon were slicing through the Saddlers like a hot knife through butter and duly added a third to put the result beyond doubt.
McKirdy again found space down the right-hand channel and saw his cut-back hammered in by Aguiar.
From there, you hoped Walsall would be able to shut up shop and keep things at a fairly respectable level.
However, the night went from bad to downright embarrassing.
The Robins made it four just after the hour mark as hesitation from Menayese allowed Barry to race clear, with the winger then drilling past Rushworth.
Substitute Williams even got in on the the act as well.
A deflection fell right at the feet of the Wales international, who had the simple task of poking in from point-blank range.
Thankfully, Swindon's scoring was done there, but what a chastening evening this was for the Saddlers.
It just proves the size of the task at hand for Flynn. If they want to be promotion contenders next season, make no mistake about it, this squad needs to undergo surgery in the summer.
Teams
Swindon (4-3-3): Wollacott; Hunt, Tomlinson, O'Brien, Cooper; Reed, Aguiar, Iandolo (East, 74); McKirdy (Williams, 65), Davison (Parsons, 77), Barry
Subs not used: Ward (gk), Odimayo, Baudry, Mitchell-Lawson
Goals: Barry (35, 63), Aguiar (45, 56), Williams (71)
Walsall (3-5-2): Rushworth; Menayese, Daniels (Labadie, 50), Monthe; White, Kinsella, Earing (Kiernan, 72), Osadebe, Shade; Wilkinson, Miller (Rodney, 50)
Subs not used: Rose (gk), Leak, Ward, Perry
Attendance: 9,840 (214 Walsall fans)
Referee: Christopher Pollard
