Money: win was best of the season

Mar 12 2007 By Brian Halford, Birmingham Mail

RICHARD Money was full of praise for Walsall's players after a 1-0 win over Chester cemented their place in the automatic promotion zone.

Chester arrived with a massed defence and a muscular approach but the Saddlers dealt with both to record a vital victory, courtesy of Dean Keates' second-half penalty.

"In many ways that was our best performance of the season," Money said. "We stuck at it and moved the ball really well.

"It's not easy, here at Bescot, when a team comes with three six-foot-three centre-backs and plays five across the back, four across the midfield and one up front.

You are playing through nine people all the time. But we were very patient. Some of our play was of the highest quality and if we hadn't won it would have been a travesty.

"We changed it across the back, spread the ball out to the two full-backs, passed it across the midfield and got at their two wing-backs. We overlapped and crossed the ball and got it into the strikers' feet and they twisted and turned.

"We banged at the door and eventually won the game and I can't ask any more than that."

Money offered no criticism of Chester's abrasive style but felt his players were ill-served by the ref, not least when Dave Artell was only yellow-carded for a late high tackle on Darren Wrack.

"I thought that was a red but expected a yellow," Money said. "A lot of fouls in the game warranted a yellow card but the referee's performance was very poor.

"A number of times recently I don't think the referee has given us any protection and unfortunately the opposition tends to foul even more."