Walsall Head Coach Matt Taylor was pleased with the ruthlessness his side showed against Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night.
Goals from Jack Earing, George Miller and Emmanuel Osadebe helped the Saddlers secure their first away win of the 2021/22 season.
While Taylor admitted it wasn’t the most polished performance from his team, he was delighted with the way the players dug in and made the Latics pay when given opportunities.
“In the first half we were ruthless in the opposition’s box,” he said.
“We had three chances and scored two goals. Were we as free-flowing in the first half as I would have wanted? Probably not but I asked the players to take the opportunities more often that we create and that’s what we did.
“The half-time team talk is continuing doing the same. We probably want a little bit more play, we didn’t mix our play enough and what I mean by that is we went a bit longer than I would have liked having said that, in the second half the players dug in and we managed to come away with the result of 3-1.
“I thought 2-1 we were under pressure but the players really played with each other and you see with the goal the ability Emmanuel has to slot that away. I think it’s the result that we’ve deserved but we’ve definitely played better and not won.
“From my perspective and the players perspective I’m really happy for them and it now gives us an opportunity to build something.”
The players had to dig in at Boundary Park, particularly when the hosts pulled a goal back and started to apply more pressure.
Taylor was impressed with the energy and effort from his players but highlighted Osadebe’s performance and the reception he got from the Saddlers fans.
“I thought he was excellent tonight as were the midfielders, the defenders and the attackers,” Taylor commented.
“We put what I would consider a complete performance together albeit it was a little bit testing for us at 2-1. We had to deal with the onslaught but then you want the players to show that energy and desire like Emmanuel.
“He’s desperate to be successful here, he’s desperate to play for the football club and now you’re seeing him form more of a bond with the supporters and that’s not come by chance.
“That’s come because they see the energy and the effort that he’s putting in, as are all of the players on a matchday.
“I’m fortunate as I see it every day. The fans see it on matchdays. Hopefully, there’s something building here and what we need to do is follow up this performance with a positive performance against Barrow.”
Attention now turns to Saturday’s game against Barrow at the Banks’s Stadium.
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