Walsall slipped to their second successive defeat as a goal in each half saw Salford City take all three points from the Banks’s Stadium.
Ian Henderson opened the scoring after 19 minutes before Jordan Turnbull doubled Salford’s advantage 12 minutes into the second half.
Brian Dutton made one change to the team that lost to Colchester United on Saturday as Cameron Norman came in for Tyreik Wright.
The Ammies looked dangerous in the early exchanges but it was the Saddlers who had the first effort on target when Josh Gordon arrowed in a low shot after eight minutes but it was gathered by Vaclav Hladky.
Richie Towell had a good chance for the hosts five minutes later when he found space in the area but could only direct his header wide.
The visitors got their noses in front after 19 minutes when Jack Rose’s clearance was charged down by Henderson and the striker slotted the ball into the empty net.
Salford enjoyed the majority of the possession after the goal as the Saddlers struggled to get a foothold.
Lavery carved out a chance after a decent break down the left that saw him pick up the ball inside the area before he got a shot away that was turned behind by Hladky.
Gary Bowyer’s side were the team in control and deserved their lead at the break.
The visitors asserted their authority at the start of the second half and had a couple of early opportunities through Henderson and Robbie Gotts.
They doubled their advantage on 57 minutes when Turnbull guided the ball into the net with a deft touch with his head.
Dutton reacted on 64 minutes and made a quadruple change. Wes McDonald, Tyreik Wright, Alfie Bates and Dan Scarr, who returned from injury, were all introduced in place of Emmanuel Osadebe, Sam Perry, Hayden White and Mat Sadler.
The Saddlers started to see a lot more of the ball from that point but Salford proved to be stubborn opponents.
It was the visitors who continued to look dangerous as substitute George Boyd came close with an arrowed shot that just missed the target.
The Saddlers probed but couldn’t find an opening and Salford walked away with the points.
Rose; Norman, White (Wright), Clarke, Sadler (Scarr), Melbourne; Kinsella, Perry (Bates), Osadebe (McDonald); Lavery, Gordon
Sub: Roberts, Osei Yaw, Leak