Salford 0 Walsall 2 - Report

Connor Barrett set-up Lowe's stunning strike into the top corner with his fifth assist of the season on 51 minutes.

Lowe then turned provider to tee up Charlie Lakin to double Walsall's lead with his first league goal for the club six minutes later.

Walsall's fifth win from their opening seven games has propelled them into third place and to within one-point of the League Two summit.

Mat Sadler named an unchanged XI from the 2-1 win over Bradford last Saturday with new signing Rico Browne replacing injured Birmingham City loanee George Hall.

Hakeeb Adelakun, fresh from his decisive double against Cheltenham Town last week, was handed his first start, as Salford boss Karl Robinson made four changes.

Salford started strongly with Tyrese Fornah creating from deep and Luke Garbutt posing a threat down the left but they struggled to translate their dominance of possession into clear-cut chances.

At the other end, Harry Williams flicked his header narrowly wide of Jamie Jones' left-hand post from Jamie Jellis' pacey corner delivery, before Taylor Allen's arrowing effort from distance was expertly tipped over by the veteran Salford shot-stopper.

Walsall were solid in their shape as they restricted Salford to scraps but they were unable to bring Nathan Lowe and Jamille Matt into the contest in the first period with Curtis Tilt expertly marshalling the threat of the Saddlers' attacking pair.

Kylian Kouassi spun Allen with a balletic spin on the edge of the box but his effort was too tame to test Tommy Simkin. Fornah came closest for the hosts just before the break when his powerful effort from the edge of the box whistled wide of the near post.

Salford issued an early scare immediately after the break when David Okagbue diverted Adelakun's goal bound effort behind with Simkin desperately backpedalling.

But Walsall treated that as a wake up call and exploded into life after the interval. Charlie Lakin had a golden chance when he was expertly foiled from point-blank range by Jones after a delightful cross from Connor Barrett.

Barrett was the provider once again when Lowe powered Walsall ahead six minutes after the restart with his fourth goal for the club. A lovely pass from Harry Williams started the move which was beautifully finished by Lowe as he swept Barrett's low cross into the far top corner.

The Saddlers kept knocking for a second and would've been further ahead had Jones not produced a stunning reactive stop to deny Lowe from close-range.

Walsall doubled their advantage in the 57th minute when Lakin opened his goal scoring account for Walsall in the league. Lowe plucked Barrett's high ball out of the air with a sumptuous first touch and teed up Lakin to place an unerring finish into the top corner.

Robinson responded with a triple change but Tommy Simkin was alert between the sticks to keep out Adelakun twice in quick succession. First, Lakin swiped at Adelakun's low corner delivery but Simkin showcased superb reflexes to claw the ball to safety.

Then, Adelakun broke in behind the Saddlers defence but Simkin produced another fine stop to palm the ball behind.

Walsall will be in EFL Cup action on Tuesday night when Leicester City travel to Bescot in the third round, before hosting Colchester United in the early kick-off next Saturday.

Teams

Walsall (3-1-4-2): Simkin; Okagbue, Williams, Allen; Stirk; Barrett, Jellis, Lakin (Earing 71), L Gordon; Lowe, Matt (Adomah 71).

Not used: Hornby, Weir, Browne, Johnson, Cleary.

Salford (4-2-3-1): Jones; Shephard (N'Mai 59), Negru, Tilt (Mnoga 66), Garbutt; Austerfield, Fornah; Chesters (Okoronkwo 59), Woodburn (McAleny 59), Adelakun; Kouassi.

Not used: Young, Watson, Stockton.

Referee: Declan Bourne

Attendance: 2,860 (772)