Defeat for youth team at Oldham...
THE SADDLERS' youth team slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic in our final game before the festive break."In very blustery conditions, we started at a decent tempo," said Academy Manager, Neil Woods. "With the wind behind us, we didn't really get the ball down as much as we would have liked to be able to play our usual game.
"The scores were goalless at half-time and in truth, we performed well below-par.
"We changed our shape during the break and were able to play a bit more football in the opening exchanges of the second period.
"We were awarded a penalty, which we missed, and then our hosts had a player sent off soon afterwards.
"That said, we were never able to get properly into gear and created very few worthwhile opportunities.
"As is often the case in these kind of situations, Oldham had a corner with five minutes to go and were able to scramble the ball home to take the lead.
"To be fair, our opponents worked hard and battled well but at the same time we were sub-standard and fell well short of the standards that I know we are capable of."
WALSALL: Jones, Ashmore, Henry, Kinsella, Dallison Christopherou, McKenzie, Delaney (K. Rowley), Bakayoko, Rush, A. Reid (Shakespeare). Subs not used: . Rowley, Lovett, Probert.