Analysis: Sadler’s half-time changes turned tide for Walsall at Salford
An away win always tastes sweet, but it tasted just that little bit sweeter for Walsall on Saturday.
Not only did the Saddlers end a 15-match winless run on the road in League Two, but they did so in exciting style.
They were second best in the first half. Salford dominated the ball and took the lead after 15 minutes when Matt Smith turned home Luke Bolton’s curling cross.
Walsall struggled to get on the ball and spent much of the first 45 pinned inside their own half.
Isaac Hutchinson had Walsall’s only shot on goal before the break, while Salford had two chances to extend their lead.
Owen Evans produced the first of four top class saves to tip Stevie Mallan’s powerful long range strike over the bar, before Oisin McEntee cleared Curtis Tilt’s header off the line.
Mallen pulled the strings in the heart of midfield, and Taylor Allen struggled to contain Luke Bolton’s rampaging runs down the right.
Although Walsall struggled to impose themselves on the game, they did keep the score down to one, and Sadler shuffled his pack at the break to turn the tide in his side’s favour.
Ross Tierney came on for David Okagbue, as Walsall switched to a 4-2-3-1, and Aramide Oteh replaced Jamille Matt.
The difference was clear for all to see during the opening exchanges of the second half.
Hutchinson shifted out to the left and Oteh went out to the right. The pair pressed relentlessly, just as Tierney did in the No.10 role.
