Oldham 1, Walsall 0: Brian Halford's big match verdict
Walsall started perkily and Dwayne Mattis’ fourth-minute header brushed a post. Attack-wise, that was it from the Saddlers. They didn’t manage a shot on target all afternoon. Alex Nicholls and Troy Deeney tormented Bristol Rovers. Here, utterly starved of service, they were not in the game. Julian Gray was sent on for a 35-minute debut but it would have taken George Best in his pomp to galvanise this tatty team effort. Gray’s first start will surely come as soon as he is fit enough.
If it was painful stuff for the fans, Walsall’s players then faced immediate further punishment. The manager made them sit through the entire game again on DVD on the coach home. Let’s hope they watched carefully and learned a few lessons because they need to be approximately 7,688 per cent better than this at Leeds tomorrow.
OLDHAM (4-4-2): Brill; Goodwin, Hazell, Gregan, Jacobson; Smalley, Furman (Whitaker, 70), Stephens, Taylor; Abbott, Price. Not used: Parker, Black, Brooke, Marrow, Colbeck. Flahavan.
WALSALL (4-4-2): H INCE 7; Westlake 5, McDonald 6, Vincent 6, Sansara 6 (Gray 55, 6); Till 5, Mattis 6, Taundry 6 (O’Keefe, 86), Richards 5; Deeney 5, Nicholls 5 (Byfield 59, 6). Not used: Gilmartin, Hughes, Bradley, Grigg.
Referee: K Wright (Cambridgeshire)
