Keeper praised for stunning stop from Dack...
First-team coach Neil Cutler hailed goalkeeper Neil Etheridge after his "worldie" save earned Walsall a point at Gillingham.With eight minutes remaining and the score locked at 1-1, the Philippines international produced a spectacular full-stretch stop to turn Bradley Dack’s curling 25-yard free-kick onto the bar.
It was a stunning save from the 26-year-old, who has been in impressive form between the posts for the Saddlers this season, and Cutler was quick to praise him afterwards.
“He’s done very well,” said Cutler. “The mistake he made last week [against Shrewsbury] affected him a little bit because he’s a perfectionist.
“He’s not used to making mistakes, and he had to learn from that. All goalkeepers make mistakes, even the best in the world, but it’s what you do next.
“He pulled off a worldie in the top corner [from the free-kick] and he also blocked one on the angle when they got through.
“He’s come back and showed what he’s capable of psychologically. He’s not folded, he’s stepped forward again and he’ll keep learning.
“I’ve said before that he’s like a 26-year-old 21-year-old, in the case that he’s not played many games.
“He’s learning all the time, he’s not got that experience yet but once he gets that and he plays all those games, he can go as high as he wants to because he makes match-winning saves.
“That’s the difference between this year and last year. The goalkeepers who play at the really high levels make big saves at big times and he’s done that this season.
“That [the save from Dack] was one of them.”