Barrow 1 Walsall 1 - Report
Walsall made it three unbeaten in League Two as an improved second-half display saw them come from behind to claim a point at Barrow.
Michael Flynn's lot picked up their second straight 1-1 draw – this encounter at Holker Street proving fairly similar to the midweek stalemate at Northampton Town.
The Saddlers, as was the case at Sixfields, flattered to deceive in the first half and fell behind courtesy of John Rooney's sweet curling strike.
Walsall were also lucky not to see Lee Tomlin dismissed for lashing out at Bluebirds skipper Ollie Banks.
But a sharper performance after the break saw them find a leveller, with the solid Donervon Daniels heading home to grab another valuable result on their travels.
The Saddlers are up to 40 points for the campaign and while this certainly was not a free-flowing outing full of quality, they can take heart from battling their way to a draw for the second time in the past week.
Flynn now has a free week to get his messages across on the training ground before a home clash with Sutton United next Saturday.
Report
The big piece of team news was that Walsall handed a first start to Tomlin after his signing as a free agent a couple of weeks ago.
He came in for defender Hayden White, who was not in the matchday squad, while Flynn reverted to a 4-3-1-2 formation.
That meant attack-minded pair Emmanuel Osadebe and Tyrese Shade, having impressed as wing-backs, were being deployed as conventional full-backs.
Barrow, meanwhile, had former Saddlers striker Josh Gordon – the scorer of a late leveller in the reverse fixture back in October – in from the off.
Walsall threatened to take an early lead on a sunny afternoon in Cumbria after a clever corner from Conor Wilkinson.
His low delivery to the near post resulted in a goalmouth scramble, with Bluebirds centre-half James Jones having to clear the ball off the line.
The Saddlers, however, failed to get going after that during a poor first half.
The system was not clicking and they were guilty of some naughty challenges. In fact, they were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men after just 20 minutes.
Manny Monthe got booked for taking out Gordon, but seconds before that, Tomlin had needlessly kicked out at Banks.
The home bench, and a fair amount of the Barrow fans, were up in arms and demanded a red card. Referee Leigh Doughty, though, only dished out a yellow.
While that decision went against them, the home side carried on plugging away and eventually made the breakthrough.
Rooney, the younger brother of Wayne, was afforded time and space on the edge of the box – and he duly punished the out-of-sorts Saddlers.
He neatly cut inside onto his right foot before curling an effort beyond Carl Rushworth, kissing the inside of the post on its way in.
Walsall did have a chance before the interval as Tomlin floated a cross over to Monthe, whose header went straight at Paul Farman.
But Tomlin had struggled to make an impact while the Saddlers looked very disjointed on the whole. The half-time scoreline was fair.
Flynn, no doubt, would have been thoroughly disappointed with that first-half display.
Still, he stuck to his guns for the beginning of the second period – and that decision would pay off.
Walsall had a couple of opportunities to level things up shortly after the restart.
Another Wilkinson corner was met by Daniels, who nodded comfortably over the bar.
George Miller then spurned a gilt-edged opening after going clean through, pulling his shot past the far post when he definitely should have hit the target.
That proved to be Miller's last action as Devante Rodney replaced him before the hour mark. And Rodney would soon be involved in the equaliser.
The January signing from Port Vale drew a foul near the the Bluebirds' dugout and from there, Osadebe's inviting cross was powered home by Daniels – opening his Saddlers account.
It was a superb delivery and an equally fine header, and Walsall still had a good chunk of time to try to find a winner.
Shade tried his luck from range and saw his shot fly a few yards wide of the post.
Rodney also had a go from inside the box in the three minutes of stoppage time, but Farman was equal to his effort.
Ultimately, it is another point for the Saddlers and they keep up their momentum under Flynn.
Teams
Barrow (3-4-1-2): Farman; Jones, Canavan, Platt; Gotts, Banks (c), White (Hutton, 79), Brough; Rooney; Gordon, Harris (Stevens, 79)
Subs not used: Taylor, Glennon, Wakeling, Williams
Goal: Rooney (35)
Walsall (4-3-1-2): Rushworth; Osadebe, Daniels, Monthe, Shade; Kinsella, Earing, Labadie (c); Tomlin (Kiernan, 84); Wilkinson, Miller (Rodney, 58)
Subs not used: Rose (gk), Menayese, Leak, Ward, Perry
Goal: Daniels (66)
Attendance: 3,439 (449 Walsall fans)
Referee: Leigh Doughty
