Walsall fell to a frustrating defeat at the hands of Notts County in a game they played the majority of the second half with 10-men.
The Magpies raced into a two goal lead after 28 minutes with goals from Macauley Langstaff and Aaron Nemane to give the Saddlers a mountain to climb.
The task got tougher for the hosts in the second half when Brandon Comley received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card.
Despite the setback, substitute Mo Faal pulled one back for the Saddlers, only for it to be cancelled out almost immediately as Sam Austin added a third for County which proved to be decisive.
Mat Sadler made one change to the starting XI as Captain Donervon Daniels was restored to the side while Emmanuel Adegboyega dropped out.
The Saddlers got off to the worst possible start and fell behind after just 90 seconds when Alassana Jatta dispossessed David Okagbue and pulled it across to Langstaff who applied the finish from close range.
Walsall responded well to the early setback and came close on 17 minutes when Taylor Allen burst through but he dragged his low shot just wide.
The hosts had the ball in the net on 20 minutes when Josh Gordon ran in behind and poked a clever volley past Luca Ashby-Hammond but he was adjudged to have been offside.
Despite a decent spell of pressure from Walsall, it was the visitors who got the second goal after Nemane skipped into the penalty area and lashed the ball past Owen Evans and into the top corner.
The Saddlers pushed to try and get back into the game before the break but the closest they came in the closing stages of the first half was when J. Gordon’s overhead kick went over the bar.
Sadler reacted at half time and made three substitutions at the break as he introduced Douglas James-Taylor, Faal and Ross Tierney in place of J. Gordon, Jamille Matt and Ryan Stirk.
What was already a frustrating afternoon got worse on 59 minutes when Brandon Comley was sent off after receiving a second yellow card and the Saddlers were reduced to 10-men.
Against the odds, it was the Saddlers who scored the third goal of the match when James-Taylor’s excellent flick on was met by Liam Gordon who played it into Faal who made no mistake when he was one on one with Ashby-Hammond.
Within a blink of an eye though, Walsall’s momentum was squashed when Notts County went straight down the other end and restored their two-goal cushion after Austin’s shot looped into the net after Evans got a hand to it.
County looked to manage the game despite the 10-men pushing for a route back.
Jamie Jellis was handed his Saddlers debut as he replaced David Okagbue on 84 minutes.
It was turning into an agonising afternoon as Faal came close when his header was tipped onto the crossbar by Ashby-Hammond.
The game fizzled out in the closing stages and the Saddlers fell to just their fourth home league defeat.
Evans; Foulkes, Okagbue (Jellis 84’), Daniels, Allen, L. Gordon; Hutchinson, Comley, Stirk (Tierney 45’); J. Gordon (Faal 45’), Matt (James-Taylor 45’)
Subs: Barrett (GK), Farquharson, Johnson
Attendance: 6,576
