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The Saddlers changed their line up
with Merson "ill" and Taylor dropped. In came Simon Osborn
and new signing Gary Wales. The inclusion of Wales meant that Gary
Birch was pushed out in to a wide position. We set out with a 4-4-2
system, intended to allow our wide men get forward.
We had the best of the first half.
Jorge Leitao was in great form hassling Crewe defenders, dispossessing
them and starting raids on the Alex goal. Wrack, Wales and
Leitao all registered efforts on goal within the opening 10 minutes,
it seemed as though we meant business.
The best Leitao chance saw him
failing to connect with a tricky low cross that evaded the Crewe
defenders before Leitao failed to reach the ball.
Crewe were looking dangerous on the
break. The pace of Jones and Ashton was going to be a problem.
Ashton saw a 20 yard effort sail wide on 10 minutes but Crewe failed
to sustain any long periods of pressure on our goal. Instead it was
the Saddlers who were keeping the ball well and creating openings
out wide for Wrack, Birch, Zigor and Bazeley.
The pressure paid off on 25 minutes
when Crewe were failing to clear the ball on the edge of their area,
the ball pinged about for a bit before Osborn created an opening for
Leitao who tucked the ball away from just 6 yards out.
The best Crewe chance of the game
fell to Dean Ashton who forced Petterson to tip the ball over the
bar with a great header on the half hour mark. The Saddlers could
have made it two before half time when a Leitao run from the half
way line saw him break in to the Penalty box, shoot from a difficult
angle, force a save from Ince, then head the rebound back goalwards
only for a Crewe defender to get back and clear the ball off the
line.
Half Time - Walsall 1-0 Crewe
Crewe came out positively in the
second half. Jones registered an early effort on goal, and Crewe
forced a series of corners.
They were pumping balls in to the
box looking for the sharp Jones and Ashton who were eager to get on
the end of any crosses.
The chances seemed to dry up for
the Saddlers who were struggling to keep the ball and find the
spaces they were exploiting in the first half. Gary Wales and Leitao
were doing well up front for the Saddlers. Wales has a good first
touch and their is a spark about his game. He is extremely
industrious and could make a good partner for Leitao. His
movement was good, and as the rest of the team become used to how he
plays he could prove to be a valuable member of the team. Wales had
a decent chance on 20 minutes, but was thwarted by Ince.
Leitao had to leave the field
through injury midway through the second half and was replaced by
Matias, meaning Birch was pushed up front along with Wales.
As Crewe pushed on a goal began to
seem likely. A good ball in to the box caused problems, Petterson
flapped but the Saddlers managed to clear. Minutes later another
good ball in to the box saw Petterson flapping again, failing to
make contact with the ball, presenting Crewe with a chance to equalise
- which they duly did as Steven Foster headed home.
In a desperate bid to get back in
the lead Lee replaced the tiring Wales with Emblen. With 3 minutes
left to play Pedro had a golden opportunity to put us back in the
lead but blazed over from 12 yards.
It had been a disappointing second
half performance from the Saddlers who could have registered their
first win since Boxing Day had they repeated their first half
performance.
Full Time - Walsall 1-1 Crewe
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