IT WAS a bad day at the office for The Saddlers as we lost 2-1 to Peterborough United at the Banks's Stadium

The visitors took the lead within the opening minute when Craig Mackail-Smith did well out wide on the right before finding Shaun Batt whose first attempt was blocked by Rene Gilmartin as Batt was alert to loop the rebound home.

Backed by the home support, Walsall went in search of the equaliser, however The Posh looked sharp in attack and Gilmartin did well to block fromMackail-Smith who went into the game with eight goals from nine League games.

A foul on Jabo Ibehre right on the edge of the penalty area by Kieran Charnock gave Chris Palmer a free-kick in a dangerous position but he curled his effort harmlessly into the defensive wall.

It was a frantic opening quarter-of-an-hour with a high tempo to the game. Batt struck a low effort just wide after some intelligent play by Mackail-Smith in the build-up, whilst at the other end, Marco Reich put in an inviting ball from the right which caused problems as The Saddlers forced a corner which was headed onto the crossbar by Anthony Gerrard. Ibehre then also hit the woodwork from close range as he tried to guide the loose ball home.

A corner to the far post was headed back into the danger zone by Richard Taundry as The Posh scrambled clear and as the ball was returned, Palmer saw a weak effort easily gathered by Joe Lewis.

With 40 minutes on the clock, Reich linked up well with Ricketts out wide and Ricketts used his strength to make room for a cross thatMattis headed wide of the target as he stretched.

The visitors doubled their advantage just before the break when Chris Whelpdale was given room to line up a shot from distance that he arrowed into the far corner.

It could have been worse as Batt was denied right on the stroke of half-time as his strong and pacy breakaway ended with Gilmartin making an important block.

Some early hesitation by Gilmartin and Roberts saw Mackail-Smith win the ball before setting up George Boyd whose effort was pushed out by Gilmartin.

There was a double substitution on 57 minutes as Reich and Boertien were replaced by Troy Deeney and Ishmel Demontagnac respectively.

With 66 minutes on the clock, Jimmy Mullen's men had a real let-off when a deflected shot struck the post and fell into the grateful arms of Gilmartin.

The game was in need of a spark from somewhere as the second period went on. A shot from distance by Ibehre brought an acrobatic save from Lewis who tipped over. It was to be Ibehre's last involvement in the action as he was replaced by Alex Nicholls.

Lewis had to be alert to clear ahead of Ricketts as he chased a through-ball. Then a header landed inches wide in the next attack.

As The Saddlers continued to search for a way back into the game, Lewis had to make another important block outside his area to deny Nicholls before skipper, Stephen Hughes saw yellow for a late challenge.

A deep ball into the penalty area from Palmer was not capitalised upon by Deeney as the visitors launched a raid of their own, spearheaded by the lively Batt who managed to get in a cross that Gerrard cleared ahead of th awaiting Aaron Mclean.

There were a couple of openings in quick succession for Mackail-Smith, the first of which cannoned off the post before being cleared by Taundry and the second which was dragged well off target.

Some trickery by Demontagnac deep into injury time saw him make room for a powerful drive that Lewis managed to claw away and from the resulting corner, Deeney was on hand to guide the ball home from close range.

PHOTOS: David Linney Photography