THE MONTH of April kicked off with a trip to struggling Stockport County.

The home side, who found themselves on the verge of relegation, started brightly and former Saddler, Jabo Ibehre gave them the lead from the penalty spot following an incident which saw Troy Deeney handle on the line and receive his marching orders with under 20 minutes on the clock.

On a heavy pitch, Walsall continued to battle away and Julian Gray equalised early in the second period to give us a share of the spoils.

An Easter Monday home game with Wycombe Wanderers saw Manny Smith open the scoring early on.

The lead was doubled on 22 minutes as Julian Gray got his name on the scoresheet once more.

With the visitors battling to avoid the dreaded drop, they refused to let their heads drop and pulled a goal back with just over ten minutes to go, but it proved too little too late for them as we held on to claim maximum points.

We played host to another side battling against the drop in the next game as Tranmere Rovers came to town.

An own goal from Manny Smith gave them the lead only for the young central defender to make amends eight minutes later as he found the net at the right end.

The Saddlers turned up the pressure and we got our reward in the 70th minute when Darren Byfield twisted and turned before expertly firing home to give us a second successive 2-1 home win.

Nothing could prepare us for the amazing game at play-pff chasing Huddersfield Town that was to follow.

Things were looking bleak on 20 minutes when skipper, Mark Hughes was sent off for a professional foul and Theo Robinson duly converted the resulting spot-kick.

We were then given a mountain to climb right on the stroke of half-time as Jordan Rhodes broke the offside trap to double The Terriers' advantage.

All of a sudden, in the opening exchanges of the second half, Walsall came to life and took control of the proceedings. Troy Deeney pulled a goal back just past the hour and our hosts were visibly shaken.

It was only a matter of time before Deeney equalised with his second goal of the evening and then Alex Nicholls sent the loyal travelling faithful into raptures with a third goal with just seven minutes left on the clock.

As it looked as though we would secure an unlikely victory, Antony Kay equalised in the final minute. Worse was to follow five minutes into added time when substitute, Lee Novak gave Huddersfield a dramatic 4-3 victory.

It was bad luck on the ten-man Saddlers who were given a deserved ovation from their fans at the end.

Our impressive form continued at a Swindon Town side who still had aspirations of automatic promotion.

An excellent all-round first half performance was rounded off with a goal from Steve Jones on the stroke of half-time.

It only acted to bring the home side to life and whilst they managed to equalise ten minutes into the second half, they still didn't have things all their own way as Chris Hutchings' side worked extremely hard and played some nice football to bring home a point.

It was back to home soil for the visit of Hartlepool United as April came to a close.

Julian Gray took just seven minutes to open the scoring only for the visitors to peg us back with an equaliser.

Within two minutes of conceding, though, The Saddlers were back in front as Troy Deeney should good strength and determination inside the penalty area to fire home.

The game was made safe on 76 minutes when Richard Taundry added another goal to his tally.

The month of May started with a long trip up to Carlisle United and in wet and miserable conditions we came home with a point from a 1-1 draw.

A number of travelling supporters wore fancy dress for the occasion and they were celebrating after just two minutes when the returning Darren Byfield broke through to slot home.

Jason Price went on to equalise for The Cumbrians, but after the break, Walsall certainly had the opportunities to have won the game.

The season came to a close at Banks's Stadium against MK Dons.

The visitors belied their lengthy injury and suspension list to take the lead, against the run of play, just before the half-hour.

Having missed a number of first half opportunities, it took just two minutes after the restart for Matt Richards to arrow home a low strike from outside the area.

It gave Chris Hutchings' men the impetus we needed to go on and grab the winner towards the end as Manny Smith came up from the back at a corner to make his presence felt and make it five consecutive home wins and just one defeat in our eight games throughout April and May.