Walsall boss Michael Flynn was disappointed to see his side fall to late defeat away to Mansfield Town and made clear his demand for improvement.
The Saddlers responded well to an early George Lapslie opener, equalising ten minutes prior to half time courtesy of Liam Bennett’s first professional goal, before being undone in the 82nd minute when Will Swan, unmarked in the box, headed home the clincher for the hosts.
It was a result that saw the Saddlers slip down to 15th in the League Two table having enjoyed a recent run of three unbeaten, but Flynn was extremely encouraged by the first half performance of his team, even if the late winner was avoidable.
“I thought we were excellent first half, by far the better team,” Flynn proclaimed.
“We gave away a sloppy goal and then the second half, okay I’d probably say that they were in control of possession more, but we looked more dangerous and likely to score, especially with the long throws.
“The goal we concede is not good enough, it’s got to stop. It’s a free header by somebody who is not even six foot in the middle of our box, and I’ve told our players what I thought about it.
“I’m not asking much, wing-backs, centre-backs, midfielders, whoever, stop the cross because that’s the difference. We had a chance at the other end towards the end with Liam Bennett on the cross who puts it straight out of play, that is the difference.”
Flynn acknowledged his side’s efforts on Saturday but struggled to hide his concerns and frustrations with the current lack of experience and availability in his side, with the club’s injury list gradually growing longer, with the sidelined Donervon Daniels the latest name limited to the stands.
“They worked hard, we were unfortunate with missing Donervon [Daniels] and with Tom [Knowles] having to come off, adding to more players out," Flynn commented.
"I’m not going to get too down, I’m just disappointed with the way we lost.
“It’s just the way the luck is going at the minute or lack of it. It’s killing us because you look at the players [Mansfield Town] are bringing on, you’ve got Hiram Boateng, John-Joe O’Toole on the bench, James Perch, they’ve got men all through the squad.
“I’m looking and we’ve got Ram [Ronan Maher], Jonas [Mukuna], Timmy [Abraham] even. I’ve got young players, that’s all we’ve got at the minute but it is it what it is and we just need to get on with it.”
It’s a quick turnaround for the Saddlers however, with Flynn now given a real selection headache ahead of tomorrow night’s Papa Johns Trophy clash against MK Dons under the lights.
Flynn, despite his availability woes, remains optimistic and isn’t afraid of involving lesser experienced players coming up through the ranks.
“I’ll have to have a look at what team I can put out,” he said.
“I’ve got so many injuries, so many players who have played more than I want them to play.
“I’ll have to call players up from the academy as well because we are that short. It gives them an opportunity. I’ll always do that. If they’re good enough then they’ll be in and amongst us. We’ll wait and see who we have available Tuesday.”
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