Boss pleased with his side's response to Scunthorpe defeat...
Jon Whitney was full of praise for his players after the Saddlers’ “important” 2-1 victory over out-of-form Millwall.Simeon Jackson’s fifth goal of the season and Franck Moussa’s first for the club – either side of a Fred Onyedinma header - earned Walsall all three points to lift us up to 16th.
“It was important [to win] coming off the back of Tuesday against Scunthorpe,” said Whitney.
“You could sense the tension in the last 20 minutes, and even though it’s still early in the season, it was a big game for us.
“Millwall are a good team, they’re not on the best run of form, but it was vital we got the three points and it was a great answer from the lads from Tuesday’s performance.
“They should take all the credit. They put in a great shift, their work ethic was great and we deservedly got the three points.
“I couldn’t have asked for any more. Franck ran himself into the ground and got his reward with the goal. Simeon got another, which was fantastic. Kevin Toner grew in stature throughout the game, and George did really well, he came off with nothing left.
“They all dug in when they needed to and we were solid, but we can still get better.”
Whitney’s men travel to Bramall Lane tomorrow evening to face fellow League One side Sheffield United in the Checkatrade Trophy.
We won 5-2 against League Two Grimsby in our first Northern Group H fixture - with Amadou Bakayoko scoring a first-half hat-trick – and Whitney is hoping for a repeat performance.
“It’s a great opportunity to play some of my other squad players and I’m sure they’ll rise to the occasion,” he said.
“Joe Edwards will come back into contention and it’s a chance for him to get some minutes. This is where the game turns into a positive for me, as if we didn’t have it, Joe wouldn’t play for two weeks.
“I’ll see who else needs games, and I know Ama will be chomping at the bit to play again.
“If we can get the same kind of performance we got against Grimsby, then that’s all we’re looking for.”