SADDLERS boss Dean Smith expects his side to bounce back at home to Brentford tomorrow night following a disappointing defeat at basement club Plymouth.
Smith said: “There has been pressure on before and we have dealt with it.
“I think that’s the first time we have lost against anybody who is in and around us. It’s a tough one to take but we have got three home games on the spin coming up so we have got to make sure we put this one behind us.
“It’s massively important that we pick up a lot of points.”
Smith’s side were undone by Yannick Bolasie’s 51st-minute opener and substitute Rory Patterson’s superb 88th minute solo effort.
Saddlers started with intent but soon found themselves on the back foot and Argyle target man Rory Fallon should have scored with a tenth-minute header that came back off the face of the crossbar.
That gave the New Zealand international confidence and he continued to make his presence felt. In the 19th minute he came close again but was beaten to the ball by busy Walsall keeper Jimmy Walker.
Four minutes later, Argyle left-back Jim Paterson sent a powerful angled drive just past the far post following a superb passing move involving Bolasie with Kari Arnason tee-ing up the full-back.
Walsall had their first serious opportunity in the 27th minute when the hard-working Darren Byfield won the ball on the byline. His attempt to tee up left-winger Julian Gray was thwarted by a combination of good fortune and the intervention of home keeper David Button.
Then Plymouth’s Stephane Zubar had to make a brilliant 33rd-minute tackle to deny Emmanuel Ledesma after a defence-splitting through ball by Darryl Westlake.
Minutes later, Walker had to go full stretch to flap away Fletcher’s volley which spun up deceptively off the deck as the Argyle skipper smashed the ball into the ground from 16 yards. Then Bolasie teased his way in from the left and his pacy cross was helped on by striker Joe Mason but Walker was able to tip the ball over.
Walker carried on in the second half where he left off in the first, making a superb save to deny Mason from Arnason’s cross.
He was finally beaten in the 51st minute when Duguid’s cross from the right was headed back across goal by the diving Fallon and Bolasie swept the ball home to make it 1-0.
Matt Richards forced a brilliant one-handed save from Button with a deft 77th minute free-kick that was destined for the top corner.
However, in the 88th minute the Saddlers’ playmaker was outpaced by Patterson, who raced away from the halfway line before slotting Argyle’s second goal past Walker.
Plymouth (4-3-3): Button; Duguid, Nelson, Zubar, Paterson; Fletcher, Arnason, Walton; Mason (Harper-Penman 90), Fallon (Patterson 84), Bolasie. Subs: Larrieu, N’Gala, Peterlin, Timar, Young.
Walsall (4-1-4-1): Walker 9; Westlake 6, Smith 6, Butler 7, Williams 6; Gbarssin 5 (Nicholls 69); Richards 8, Laird 6, Gray 5, Ledesma 5 (Macken 54); Byfield 7 (Cook 54). Subs: McDonald, Taundry, Grigg, Bevan (gk).
Referee: Keith Stroud.
