Walsall 3-1 Grimsby Town

Another welcome 3 points from a pretty non descript game. This was a match that Walsall needed to win in order to keep themselves clear of the relegation zone and managed to do so without particularly impressing.It was the same 3-5-2 starting line up from the Pompey game. New signing Gareth Ainsworth had to settle for a place on the bench, and Grimsby included premiership loan signings John Oster and Jason Gavin.

From the start it was evident that pitch was going to be a great leveler. The Saddlers were going to struggle to play their usual game, and had to do their best with what they had.

The first 20 or 30 minutes saw the Saddlers dominating possession and attempting to open up the Mariners defence. On two or three occasions through balls were played in behind the Grimsby defence only for the keeper to come out and collect them before Leitao or Junior could get on the end of them. The keepers kicking looked suspect, and Ford looked uncomfortable trying to mark the lively Leitao.

The first real chance of the game fell to Steve Livingston on 10 minutes when a low cross from the right wing fell to him in the Walsall penalty area, which he hammered towards the top right hand corner of Walsall goal only for Jim Walker to palm it around the post.

This was a real wake up call for the Saddlers who perhaps needed it pointing out to them that this game was not going to be as easy as they expected.

The breakthrough came on 27 minutes when Junior volleyed home a Steve Corica cross from six yards out. The Saddlers had dominated the opening 30 minutes, and Junior had converted one of the three chances he had in opening half hour.

The midfield duo of O'Connor and Sonner were working particularly hard. O'Connor was tidying up nicely in the middle of the park and providing the much needed link between the back four and front 3 or Corica, Jorge and Junior. Danny Sonner seems to have finally got the balance of aggression and passion just right, and he helped inject a sense of urgency when it was needed, but then again his passing was sloppy at times.

After the goal the Saddlers seemed to relax (as they usually do) and the urgency appeared to have disappeared. The opening encounters had seen us dictate the tempo of the game, but as half time approached we lost our grip on the game and the Mariners snatched an equaliser on 38 minutes when Steve Livingstone climbed above the Walsall defenders to head home a Barnard cross. Almost straight away the Junior and Leitao had half chances, but they were unable to convert them and both sides went in at half time with the scores level.

The Second half saw John McDermott replaced by George Santos and the shaky looking Ford moved from center half to full back.

Within a matter of minutes of the half restarting both sides had gone close with Campbell shooting over the bar from edge of the box, and Darren Bazeley shooting wide of the far post from the right channel. The Mariners started the second half on top and looked likely to take the lead.

10 minutes in to the half Lee introduced Aranalde and Ainsworth for Corica and Pollet and the Saddlers switched to 4-4-2.  Having reverted to 442 the Saddlers took control with Aranalde marauding down the left flank and Ainsworth down the right This had injected a sense of urgency and desire in to the Saddlers who were on the rack following a period of intense Grimsby pressure which had saw Campbell have a long range effort tipped wide by Walker and a series of dangerous Barnard corners.

Ainsworth made an immediate impact with some exciting runs down the right flank, which helped excite the crowd. The second goal came as Jorge fired home a Junior cross from 18 yards out. Junior had done well to get the ball across to Jorge, while Aranalde also played a part in the goal, dragging two men wide with his overlapping run.  

Oster and Barnard had chances for Grimsby, but neither of them were good enough to beat Jim Walker who was also beginning to marshal the penalty box during corners. Junior did have a chance to get a second on 80 minutes, but he fired the ball wide of the target.

Finally with 3 minutes to go some more excellent work from Junior down the left flank resulted in a pin point pass to Wrack who smashed the ball into the top corner as opposed to the upper tier. All in all a well deserved and expected 3 points. This finished of The Mariners who had fought well in patches, but had been unable to carry the fight to the Saddlers for the full 90 minutes.

Reaction : 4two - Considering the conditions all went well. I thought Junior could have had a Hat Trick, while Wrack had another pleasing game. Ainsworth looks like he could do a good job for us, shame he cannot play next weekend. We are definatly not in the same bracket as The Mariners when it comes to relegation.

Reaction: ShortheathSaddler - The pitch was awful. I've saw less mud at a women's mud wrestling competition (SaddlersNet)

Reaction: upthemariners - TI think the result was probably a fair one, although we had a few good shots on target (Jimmy Walker was at his best in the Walsall goal) Walsall had the best of it. That blond haired lad up front looked quite good (Junior?) and it was quite a nice little stadium - (Electronic Fishcake )

Reaction: TeamTalk - Walsall returned to winning ways as goals from Junior, Jorge Leitao and Darren Wrack sealed a 3-1 home win against Grimsby. (TeamTalk.Com)

Reaction: Gary Spate - THE Mariners today sunk in a sloppy match against fellow relegation contenders Walsall at the Bescot Stadium. After going in at half-time level scores, the Mariners were unable to keep their cool and conceded vital goals. (theMariner.co.uk)