Walsall 0 Leyton Orient 2 - Report

The Saddlers – having had an uplift since Flynn's appointment in mid-February – went into this game looking for their fifth successive victory at the Banks's Stadium.

But they never looked like winning against the O's and put in a pathetic performance that was reminiscent of those seen towards the end of Matt Taylor's reign.

Orient got their goals in the opening quarter of an hour as Walsall – apparently struck by fear and unwilling to put the hard yards in – fell to pieces.

Harry Smith broke the deadlock, with ex-Saddler Otis Khan providing the assist before finding the net himself just minutes later.

That quick-fire double saw Rollin Menayese hauled off after just 17 minutes while his replacement, Lee Tomlin only lasted until the 40th before limping off.

Walsall, thankfully, did not concede any more in the second period, but Flynn will have been downright offended by what he saw from his side.

The Saddlers are down to 17th in League Two, and it just goes to show the Welshman has a massive job on his hands this summer as he looks to build a promotion-chasing team.

Make no mistake, this group are not good enough to do that.

Report

Walsall made a couple of changes from their loss at Salford City. Carl Rushworth – back from England Under-21 duty – replaced Jack Rose between the sticks.

Menayese also started in place of Donervon Daniels, who has a calf problem, while Zak Mills returned to the bench after a prolonged spell on the sidelines.

Orient, meanwhile, had former Saddlers winger Khan in their starting line-up. He turned down fresh terms with Walsall to join the O's back in January and received a few boos early on at the Banks's.

Flynn's lot, putting it lightly, got off to a nightmare start against Richie Wellens' side.

The Saddlers have had their fair share of defensive horror shows throughout the season, and this was right there with the very worst of them.

It was a throwback to the performances during the seven-game losing run that ended with previous boss Taylor getting the sack.

Walsall were devoid of ideas, looked absolutely petrified whenever they were on the ball and lacked any fight without it.

Orient were more than happy to take advantage of that and duly grabbed a couple of goals inside 15 minutes.

Khan, naturally, was at the heart of both of them.

He went on a marauding run and was not tracked by anybody before sending over an inviting cross, which saw the unmarked Smith steer the ball home.

The target man had got ahead of the flat-footed Menayese in what was another case of the Saddlers switching off at the back. And if that was bad, it was about to get worse.

A corner routine saw the ball played low into the box before a couple of flicks made their way to the edge of the box, where Khan's deflected effort found the net.

That sorry attempt at defending saw the furious Flynn take swift, decisive action.

Menayese – whose form has nosedived since he joined the club permanently – was replaced by Tomlin.

Tomlin, as it turned out, would not see out the half either as he pulled up with a groin issue, with Mills entering the fray.

It is not unreasonable to think those could be both Menayese and Tomlin's last contributions under Flynn, who will have been incensed at half-time.

Walsall, when pressed, fell apart at the seams and could have even conceded a third before the half was over – Ruel Sotiriou denied by Carl Rushworth.

By the end of the first period, it had become impossible to tell what formation the Saddlers were actually lining up in.

Orient had so much space to work with and were in cruise control.

The hosts, for a split second, threatened to pull one back shortly after the break. Manny Monthe's ball over the top found Devante Rodney – making his first home start. Rodney, though, could only fire the ball comfortably over the bar.

Emmanuel Osadebe also stung the palms of Lawrence Vigouroux with a left-footed strike, but, truthfully, Walsall's overall play was still well off the pace.

Flynn had one last go at breathing some life into the Saddlers by making the final switch just after the hour mark. George Miller was brought on for Rodney.

The outcome, however, was inevitable and Orient strolled to victory.

Teams

Walsall (3-5-2): Rushworth; White, Menayese (Tomlin, 17) (Mills, 40), Monthe; Osadebe, Earing, Kinsella, Labadie (c), Shade; Wilkinson, Rodney (Miller, 62)

Subs not used: Rose (gk), Ward, Perry, Kiernan

Orient (4-2-3-1): Vigouroux; Thompson, Ogie, Beckles, Wood; Pratley (c) (Brown, 90), Kyprianou; Drinan, Khan, Sotiriou (Coleman, 83); Smith (Nouble, 80)

Subs not used: Sargeant (gk), Young, Nkrumah, Ray

Goals: Smith (9), Khan (15)

Attendance: 4,849 (381 Orient fans)

Referee: Andy Haines