Right-back adamant the Saddlers will bounce back...
Jason McCarthy is confident that Walsall will bounce back from their “unjust” defeat against Gillingham with a positive result at Rochdale this evening.Jay Emmanuel-Thomas’ deflected 84th-minute free-kick condemned the Saddlers to a first league reverse in seven at the hands of the Gills.
It was harsh on Jon Whitney’s men, who dominated for long periods, but McCarthy is adamant that his side will soon get back on track.
“I felt the result [against Gillingham] was unjust,” said the 21-year-old. “But that is the run we are on. We have got to take our chances and we had plenty of them.
"You just felt, when they got that free-kick on the edge of the box – the way things are – they were going to score.
"At MK Dons last weekend I really thought we deserved to win the game and I thought we deserved it even more so against Gillingham.
"We have got to take it on the chin and take the positives from it. We said it the dressing room, one free-kick doesn't make it a bad performance.
“We were so dominant, but we have to learn to take our chances when we are on top.
“We will bounce back. It is nobody’s fault, and we are looking to get back to winning ways at Rochdale.
“We’ll look at their strengths, their weaknesses, but most of all we’ll be concentrating on ourselves. Make no mistakes about it, we will be going there for all three points.”
Although disappointed with result, McCarthy was pleased to score his second goal of the season.
“I managed to find myself in the box, which I’ve been trying to do more and more," he added.
"I’ve been taking a bit out of Lairdy’s game by trying to implement it in mine. I found myself in the box and I’ve been looking to have a few more shots.
"It was nice to see it go in the back of the net but I don’t want it to stop there – I want to some more goals too.”
“He was excellent and it looks a really good combination with him and Kev [Toner],” said McCarthy.
“It’s good to have healthy competition with him, Kev and Jimmy [O’Connor]. “They’re all going for those two spots and they’re all pushing each other.
“I thought Matty was brilliant [against Gillingham]. He came through everything, won every header and he’s looking more and more composed as the games go on.
“He’s playing well and I’ve been really impressed with him.”