Walsall boss Darrell Clarke was pleased to see the Saddlers ‘find a way to win’ and progress to the second round of the FA Cup with victory at Darlington.
Caolan Lavery scored the only goal of the game as the Clarke’s side set up a second round tie with League One outfit Oxford United.
Clarke admitted it wasn’t a vintage display from his team but was happy with the victory.
“That’s all it’s about in the FA Cup,” he said
“It wasn’t a classic but Darlington were a credit to themselves in both games. They never gave in and I thought they edged it in the first half but I thought we were in control, albeit we didn’t create too many opportunities but a well worked set piece and we saw the game out comfortably in the end.
“It’s about winning football games. Sometimes you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and try and quiet down a crowd that got right behind the club from minute dot. We came here, the pitch is bobbly, their players are giving everything raising that 10-15% but my lads found a way to win which is what I’ve been asking for them on a consistent basis.”
The Saddlers have now won three games in a row in all competitions but Clarke insists he still wants more from his side to get to where he wants the Saddlers to be and is now focused on facing Stevenage on Saturday.
“We’ve got a long way to go to take this football club forward,” he commented.
“We’re delighted to get in the second round but we’ve got a massive game on Saturday against Stevenage, hopefully our fans are a bit buoyant getting in the next round, maybe not the performance but it wasn’t about a performance tonight, it was about getting into the second round.”
Tickets are still available for Saturday’s game against Stevenage at the Banks’s Stadium.
Call the Ticket Office now on 01922 651 414/416 or visit our e-ticketing site to purchase yours.