THE SADDLERS stormed back from being two goals down early on to win 4-3 against Huddersfield Town in a pulsating encounter at Bescot Stadium as the returning Matty Fryatt grabbed a hat-trick.

The first action saw Mark Wright deliver a cross-cum-shot in the third minute that sailed just over with Paul Rachubka in the visitors' goal scrambling back.

A low ball across by Paul Merson just missed the out-stretched leg of Jorge Leitao in front of goal on six minutes and then as the ball was returned from the other side, Rachubka fumbled under pressure but was helped out by his defence.

Straight away at the other end, some poor defending by Neil Emblen and then Julian Bennett allowed the experienced Andy Booth through and he was able to lift the ball over Joe Murphy and into the net to open the scoring.

Worse was to follow on 11 minutes as a ball in from the right caused more panic and hesitancy as Pawel Abbott made his presence felt in front of goal and the ball found its way to Beckett who was unmarked to fire home Huddersfield's second.

It gave The Saddlers a real mountain to climb as we looked to bounce back from the disappointment of Tuesday evening's heavy defeat at Colchester, but we managed to pull a goal back on the quarter-hour as player-manager Merson struck a sweet shot that went in off the post.

In what was a frantic opening, Abbott put a low effort just wide from the right-hand side of the area before Merson picked out Leitao who did well to hold off the attentions of his marker before getting in a shot on the turn that Rachubka did well to claw out. From the resulting corner kick, Bennett came up from the back to head just over the crossbar.

On the half-hour mark, Murphy had to be alert to clear the danger as Luke Beckett broke the offside trap, then Efe Sodje tried a long-range shot that was deflected out for a corner which was headed on to Beckett who poked home to make it 3-1. Merson was booked for his protests in the wake of the goal.

With half-time fast approaching, a teasing ball from Merson was just too far in front of Fryatt before a run from deep by Chris Brandon ended with him shooting wide at the other end.

On 43 minutes Fryatt was denied a shooting opportunity by a brave challenge from Sodje which saw him take a knock for his troubles. Fryatt was then involved in the next chance as a dangerous free-kick on the by-line was taken quickly by Merson and picked out Fryatt in space in front of goal but somehow he fired wide.

The youngster kept his head up, though and was rewarded in injury time at the end of the half when he produced a shot out of the top drawer that sailed into the net giving Rachubka no chance whatsoever.

It meant that The Saddlers went in at the interval on a high and the first chance of the second period soon came as Kinsella drove forward before the ball fell to Fryatt in the middle of goal but he fired over under pressure from Nat Brown.

The Saddlers won a penalty on 48 minutes when the assistant referee was quick to flag for a handball against Sodje and Fryatt promptly picked the ball up before slotting home to level the scores.

There was an almighty scramble in the Walsall penalty area just before the hour-mark as firstly Murphy saved superbly from point-blank range from Jon Worthington and then he blocked another shot as The Saddlers failed to clear their lines. The ball was eventually cleared despite appeals for a penalty from the visiting fans behind the goal.

At the other end of the field, Emblen saw a header at the far post following a corner clear from in front of goal, whilst Rachubka made a good save on the hour from a Fryatt header as he held onto the ball despite Bennett lurking to pick up the pieces.

A quick break out of defence by The Saddlers on 66 minutes ended with Wright delivering a curling cross that was headed just wide by the hard-working Kris Taylor who was having a solid game following his return from a loan spell at Burton Albion.

Kinsella and Bennett were both booked for robust challenges in quick succession before Walsall took the lead for the first time in the game with 16 minutes to go as the visitors were caught out pushing forward by Merson who drove towards goal before picking out Fryatt to his right with a perfect pass. Fryatt took the ball in his stride before lashing it into the back of the net to spark delight from both players and supporters alike.

It completed a hat-trick for Fryatt and a sweet victory for The Saddlers who displayed tremendous character to bounce back and win the game in front of a crowd that never stopped giving Paul Merson and his boys all the encouragement and support that they needed.

A big pat on the back to everyone involved on what was a morale-boosting afternoon.

PHOTOS: David Linney Photography