On a crucial afternoon, the Saddlers faced a relegation 6 pointer against struggling Bury. The visitors were marooned at the bottom of the league and Walsall was keen to add to their misery by picking up 3 much needed points.
The game started fairly evenly as both sides traded efforts on goal. Bakayoko and Oztumer threatened early on but Walsall’s best effort came in the 23rd minute when Cuvelier volleyed just wide.
Walsall was starting to dominate now and really pushed for the opener. Morris pulled a couple of half chances wide as the first half wound down.
Bury came out for the second half flying and Roberts was forced into his first good save in the 49th minute. Shortly after, Shaibu went down injured and was replaced by Ngoy.
Bury was now putting pressure on the home goal. Roberts made a fantastic save on 58 minutes and soon after, a header flashed dangerously past his post. Dobson then replaced Cuvelier in the 62nd minute as Walsall tried to stem the tide.
A draw was really no good to either side and as the clock ticked down, both went for it. In the 83rd minute, Walsall almost scored twice in an almighty scramble in Bury’s penalty area. It looked like a draw was on the cards…..
GOAL! Following more pressure, a Bury defender somehow headed into his own net, sending the majority of the 3807 crowd into a frenzy. Walsall held on in a frantic finish to pick up a precious win.
In the press conference, the new manager was very relieved to have won and felt that we got the bit of luck we needed. He was looking forward to our next engagement at Oldham on Wednesday night. UTS!