FA Cup: Sheppey United 1 Walsall 4 - Report

Sheppey opened the scoring in style with James Bessey-Saldanha firing a powerful effort into the top corner from distance.

Douglas James-Taylor equalised in the 32nd minute, and Tom Knowles put Walsall ahead after the break.

Ross Tierney's clever finish added a third after the hour mark and Isaac Hutchinson capped off the win in the dying stages.

Walsall asserted the early dominance and had three shots in quick succession with James-Taylor's effort deflecting wide and McEntee heading off target, before Ross Tierney blazed an ambitious effort from distance over the woodwork.

James-Taylor was twice denied by Sheppey goalkeeper Aidan Prall, who produced a magnificent first half performance. Joe Riley slipped the ball down the right and McEntee accelerated past his marker to reach the by line.

McEntee pulled a low cross back into the box but James-Taylor was expertly thwarted by Prall. And the home goalkeeper proved unbreachable once again when James-Taylor drilled a low effort towards the near post.

Liam Gordon became the next Walsall player to test Prall but was also denied with another smart near post stop.

But despite dominating the opening exchanges, the home crowd rose to its feet in complete ecstasy when Bessey-Saldanha found the top corner from 25 yards.

Gordon was closed down by Mamadou Diallo down the left and the loose ball was collected by Jacob Lambert. He helped the ball onto Bessey-Saldanha, who rifled a thunderous strike past Evans.

It was a sickening blow but Walsall regrouped and immediately looked to find a route back into the game.

Knowles surged down the right and dragged a low cross into the box aimed for James-Taylor. The ball was slightly behind the Walsall forward, but James-Taylor dragged the ball into his path and was only denied after Wilkins reacted quickly to cover on the line.

James-Taylor had threatened throughout and he eventually equalised just past the half hour mark with a clinical finish.

Joshua Wisson misjudged his pass back towards the Sheppey defence and James-Taylor collected unmarked 25 yards from goal. He sprinted past his man to break into the box and dispatched a low finish beyond the reach of the onrushing Prall and into the far bottom corner.

Walsall could've found themselves ahead at the break had it not been for two eye catching saves from Prall.

Wilkins' poor clearance dropped invitingly at the feet of Knowles. He jinked inside, beating two Sheppey players in the process, before Prall sprawled to his near post to push the ball away.

The Saddlers maintained their attacking momentum and Prall backpedalled to craw behind Stirk's long range effort.

Dan Bradshaw, the older brother of former Walsall forward Tom, had fought off a back injury to start, but his night was drawn to a premature end as he limped off before the break.

Sheppey almost caught Walsall cold again after the restart when Alex Willis was picked out at the back post by Frankie Morgan, but he volleyed a golden chance wide of the right hand post.

And the hosts had another chance to restore their lead when Evans came out to claim Richie Hamill's free-kick and completely missed it. The ball landed invitingly for Wilkins, who stabbed another prime opportunity off target.

But Walsall soon took the lead for the first time with Knowles getting on the score sheet. Sheppey simply stepped off the Walsall winger and Knowles' curling effort from outside the box nestled nicely into the far corner.

Walsall had chances to create a two goal cushion with Tierney blasting off target from inside the box after Gordon's cross was cushioned down by Hutchinson.

Hutchinson then looked to get amongst the goals himself, and stole the ball from a Sheppey man to force Pratt into action again at his near post.

Tierney added a third in the 64th minute and essentially ended the game as a contest with his second of the campaign in all competitions.

Daniels stormed forward with a surging run from inside is own half and swept a low pass into the path of Tierney, and the Irishman wrong footed Prall with an instinctive first time finish.

Walsall added a fourth two minutes from time with Hutchinson securing their place in the second round. James-Taylor was denied one-on-one by Prall and Hutchinson was on hand to tap into an empty net, despite the calls from the home supporters that the ball had been kicked out of Prall's hands.

Teams

Walsall (4-2-3-1): Evans; Riley, Okagbue (Comley 77), Daniels, Gordon; McEntee (Menayese 90), Stirk; Knowles (Thomas 90), Tierney, Hutchinson; James-Taylor (Johnson 90).

Subs not used: Smith, Foulkes, Allen, Griffiths, Matt.

Sheppey United (4-2-3-1): Prall; Diallo, Majoyegbe, Wilkins (Birch 83), Morgan; Wisson (Spencer 67), Hamill; Bessey-Saldanha, Lambert (Durowoju 83), Leonard (Morris 67); Bradshaw (Willis 44).

Subs not used: Glock, Marsh, Houego, Graham.

Referee: Tom Reeves