Analysis: Walsall stutter as former boss comes back to haunt Saddlers
Walsall failed to make a dent in Swindon Town’s unbeaten start to the campaign as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the County Ground.
Michael Flynn came up against his former employers for the first time since being relieved of his duties in April.
However, there was no Walsall reunion for long-serving midfielder Liam Kinsella, who missed his third match on the bounce due to injury.
The Saddlers were unbeaten in four games in League Two ahead of kick-off and had registered back-to-back wins against Colchester and Salford respectively.
They were looking to win successive league games on the road for the first time since beating Swindon 2-1 on their previous visit to the County Ground on Boxing Day last year.
But they made the worst possible start when they fell behind inside the first two minutes. Swindon immediately started on the front foot and imposed themselves on the game with a series of intricate passes.
They worked the ball out to Remeao Hutton down the right. His initial cross was cleared but the hosts kept the attack alive to find Hutton again.
Hutton nudged the ball past Liam Gordon and accelerated away from him. He hung an inviting cross into the box and Swindon skipper Charlie Austin beat two defenders to the ball to guide an unerring header into the far corner.
Owen Evans helped Walsall end a 15-match winless away run in the league at Salford last time out with a number of top class saves. However, the Welshman was left with no chance, and was rooted to the spot, as Austin inflicted a sickening early blow.
Swindon dominated the early possession, whereas Walsall lacked composure on the ball. They initially struggled to find any rhythm to their play and spent much of the opening 30 minutes sitting deep.
