Two wins, two draws, two defeats...
THE MONTH of November commenced with a trip to MK Dons.In what was a generally evenly-matched encounter, The Saddlers ended up going down to a goal from a disputed free-kick following a foul by Adam Chambers.
We got our FA Cup campaign underway with a home tie against local rivals, Shrewsbury Town, and The Saddlers were in total control from start to finished as we breezed to a 3-0 victory.
A brace from Craig Westcarr plus a further strike from Romaine Sawyers saw us safely in the hat for the next round in what was a convincing display.
The live television cameras rolled into Banks's Stadium for our next game as we played host to a much-fancied Peterborough United outfit.
As in the previous game, The Saddlers were dominant for the vast majority as we played some slick football which our opponents simply had no answer to.
In the end we could have won by a bigger margain, however, goals from the lively Milan Lalkovic and a second in as many games for Romaine Sawyers gave us a deserved three points.
It was back on the road for the first of two consecutive away matches as we made the long journey down to Crawley Town.
On a tricky surface, both sides cancelled each other out for large parts of the match, although it was Walsall who created the better of the chances.
In the end, though, we had to settle for a share of the spoils in a goalless draw on what was a difficult day for everyone associated with the club following the untimely death, just 48 hours earlier, of the Chambers twins' father, Bert. The players wore black armbands and had a minute's silence on the pitch at the end of the game.
Both Adam and James displayed tremendous bravery and professionalism to play in the game.
Our next encounter saw us face a Sheffield United side that found themselves in the lower reaches of the table.
As neither side was able to get a grip on the game, it was The Blades who took the lead in first half stoppage time when James Chambers was adjudged to have handled and the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Our equaliser arrived early in the second period following a well-worked goal as James Baxendale did well on the right and his cross was perfect for Craig Westcarr, who made no mistake as the match finished 1-1.
The month ended with a home game against Port Vale.
The visitors worked hard and were well-organised as they stood firm to keep The Saddlers at bay before notching a couple of goals to claim all three points as their solid start to the season following promotion continued.