Walsall 3 Wrexham 1 - Report

The Saddlers drew first blood in the 16th minute with Jack Earing opening the scoring on his first start in a year, before Paul Mullin levelled from the spot nine minutes later after Tom Knowles was penalised for handling the Wrexham forward's shot.

Isaac Hutchinson curled a sublime free-kick into the far corner to ensure Walsall retook the lead on the hour-mark, and Taylor Allen scored his maiden goal for the club to seal the three points.

Mat Sadler's men climb into 13th place and sit just five points adrift of the play-offs after collecting a fourth win in five league games.

A frantic start saw chances at both ends, as Luke Young flashed a low strike wide of the near post, and Hutchinson powered a venomous effort just off target.

Walsall performed tirelessly as a unit and they took the lead in the 16th minute when Earing combined effectively with Draper to find the net on his first start in exactly a year.

Earing fed the ball into the feet of Draper, before making a darting run into the box, which Draper found with an instinctive back heal. Earing then maintained his composure to apply an accurate finish into the far bottom corner.

The atmosphere was bouncing inside Bescot and Jamille Matt very nearly doubled their advantage, although the Walsall forward was unable to fully connect with Knowles' cross into the six-yard box.

Wrexham were handed a route back into the game on 25 minutes when Knowles was adjudged to have handled Mullin's shot inside the box.

Referee Paul Howard immediately pointed to the spot, whilst Knowles desperately pleaded his case. Mullin took the resulting spot-kick and confidently converted into the bottom corner for his eighth league goal of the campaign.

Mullin could've been in double figures in League Two had he taken two golden chances. First, Smith spilled the ball in the goalmouth after failing to gather Wrexham's corner, but Mullin could only blaze over when the loose ball fell to him invitingly.

James McClean set the Wrexham forward away again with a zipping through ball down the inside left channel. Smith emerged quickly and just managed to get the slightest touches on Mullin's finish to guide the ball away from the target with his trailing leg.

Walsall finished the first half strongly and started the second in the same fashion as Liam Gordon tore down the left and saw his low effort diverted behind by Jacob Mendy's outstretched leg.

A goal-line clearance was required from Priestley Farquharson to prevent Ben Tozer's header from floating into the net, and that defensive contribution proved even more crucial when Hutchinson restored Walsall's lead on the hour-mark.

Hutchinson was hauled down outside the box by Andy Cannon and he curled the resulting free-kick into the far corner with pinpoint accuracy.

Wrexham made a triple change but were unable to turn the tide despite Mullin's best efforts. Smith produced a superb stop at his near post to deny the forward once again, before his powerful strike from distance crashed against the crossbar.

But it always felt as if it was going to Walsall's night, and it was another momentous occasion, as Allen scored his very first goal for the Saddlers.

David Okagbue stormed forward and found himself one-on-one with Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo. He elected for the chipped effort, which deflected into the path of Allen to convert into an empty net, and send the home supporters into raptures.

Teams

Walsall (3-1-4-2): Smith; Okagbue, Farquharson, Daniels; Comley; Knowles, Earing (Allen 75), Hutchinson, Gordon; Matt (James-Taylor 46), Draper.

Subs not used: Evans, Williams, Foulkes, Maher, Johnson.

Wrexham (5-3-2): Okonkwo; Mendy (Forde 62); Cleworth (Barnett 82), Tozer, O'Connor, McClean; Cannon, Young (Davies 62), Lee; Mullin, Dalby (Fletcher 62).

Subs not used: Howard, Boyle, Bickerstaff.

Referee: Paul Howard

Attendance: 8,709 (2,258)