^THETEAMS

^{Walsall (1st Half): Oakes, Pead, Gerrard, Westwood, Fox ,Wright, Bradley, Osborn, Kris Taylor, Wrack, Larossa}

^{Walsall (2nd Half): Oakes, Vaughan, Dann, Bennett, Harkness, Sztybel, Platt, Tuohy, Kinsella, Atieno, Leitao} 

^THEGOALS

^{Walsall 1st - Larossa miscontrolled, deceived the keeper and planted the ball firmly into the empty net.}

^{Walsall 2nd - Kris Taylor headed wonderfully past the keeper following a good cross from Pead.}

^{Walsall 3rd - Leitao forced a mistake from Yeltz defender and keeper and fortuitously prodded home}

 

^MATCHSUMMARY

After a pretty drab first 20 minutes Saddlers eventually took control. Walsall were always on top without having the cutting edge up front. Pead and Wright combined well down the flanks although Wright's crossing was particularly poor (as per last season). Osborn controlled the central midfield with his constant prodding and probing and Kris Taylor looked extremely sharp with his forward runs. Larossa was a little disappointing seemingly incapable of heading the ball. Two attempted efforts he totally misjudged with the ball smacking him on his cheek.

Saddlers were always dominant and hopefully could have stepped up several gears if the need had arisen. Yelts on the other hand looked particularly poor giving Oakes an easy evening.

A completely different team appeared for the second half with the exception of Oakes and the game gradually petered out.

 

^THEPOSITIVES

Kris Taylor was without doubt man of the match. He put in a superb display. His partner in midfield, Osborn, also looked to be on top form.

 

^THENEGATIVES

We are seriously lacking in the striker department. I am quite amazed that the local rags are drooling over the Samba Boy as his performance was somewhat indifferent. He struggled with the art of heading and his control was sadly lacking. Numerous balls played into him appeared to bounce of his shins (although this mis-control did manage to beat the keeper for the first goal). Still, it's difficult to make a decision on 45 minutes against poor opposition.

Bradley looked completely out of his depth and Westwood looked extremely ring rusty with his un-weighted passes.

Sadly, it doesn't look like Wrighty's been over the local rec practicing his crosses.

 

^{PLAYERREPORTS}

^{Oakes |  Handled well and commanded his area. Good showing but wasn't called upon to make any serious saves}

^{Pead | Looked solid and linked up well with Wrighty down the flanks. Showed Wright how to cross a ball for the second goal}

^{Gerrard | Solid. What you see is what you get.} 

^{Westwood | Disappointing, poor distribution.} 

^{Fox |  Looked extremely iffy in the first 20 minutes constantly out of position - Zigor style. Improved as the gome went on.}

^{Wrack | In typical Wrack style, didn't do much (Joke). Had a couple of runs but offered little going forward down the flank.} 

^{Osborn | Controlled the midfield and distributed well.}

^{Taylor | Star man. Looked a class above everyone else on the pitch} 

^{Bradley | Way out of his depth - even at this level.}

^{Wright | If he could beat his full back and  if he could cross a ball he could be a winger. Not good enough i'm afraid.}

^{Larossa | Disagree with most reports. He was poor. Unable to head a ball and his control was very poor. Obviously it's his first run out.}