Wood's men left to rue missed chances in cup defeat...
Neil Woods' men were again made to pay for squandering chances on Saturday morning as they slipped to a 1-0 cup defeat at the hands of Burton Albion.The Saddlers hit the post twice and had one cleared off the line as they dominated the game but came away from Ray Hall Lane with nothing to show for their efforts.
A long range Sbarra effort secured the victory as the Brewers hung on for a valuable group game win.
With Hayles-Docherty and O'Sullivan making way for Cela and Freemantle, the Saddlers adopted a more narrow approach but always looked dangerous.
25 minutes in and Mason was inches away from giving Walsall the lead. He was found brilliantly with a ball from Peters but his low effort didn't have enough power to cross the line.
Candlin was also inches away from scoring but he was unable to connect with Cockerill-Mollet's venomous cross from the left.
Then to add salt to the wounds, Sbarra gave Burton a lead out of nowhere as his speculative long range effort beat Ganley in goal.
Two chances from Peters and Candlin in succession almost got Walsall back in the game on the stroke of half time but both strikes missed the target.
Half-Time: Walsall 0-1 Burton Albion
In the first 15 minutes of the second half, Walsall again had most of the possession and on the hour mark hit the post. The ball dropped to Mason from a poor defensive clearance and he unloaded a powerful effort which beat the keeper but did not beat the post as it went the wrong side of the goal.
Three minutes later and the woodwork was rattled again, this time from Shorrock. A neat one-two between Shorrock and Peters gave Shorrock a yard to hit a shot on the turn but it hit the post to the keepers relief.
Shorrock continued the Walsall bombardment but this time he was denied by Hawkins in the Burton net.
The last real chance for Walsall dropped two minutes before time but Kendrick was unable to keep his header from a corner under the bar.
Full-Time: Walsall 0-1 Burton Albion
Walsall Team: Ganley, Tonks, Cockerill-Mollet, Maddocks, Vann, Kendrick, Cela (O'Sullivan 60'), Mason (Cairns 69'), Peters, Shorrock, Freemantle (Candlin 27').
Subs not used: Fisher, Nolan.