Shrewsbury 1-3 Walsall

[Saddlerrad]

Very tough game this is with Shrewsbury on a good run and us having the week from hell so far it seems. Salop have scored 4 goals twice recently, won at Bramall Lane and then held Gillingham to a 2-2 draw. Anyone who thinks this is an easy away win should follow the bookies odds, which happen to be very close. We have a great chance to do something good, keep the confidence high and nudge into the top 2 - as with Swindon last week, that means one thing only - disaster.

Could go either way, but I have a horrible sinking feeling of 'normality returning' to WFC and a horrible aftermath of the Smith era. That and the fact Shrewsbury owe us a pumping after recent years. Hope I'm wrong.

3-1 Sloppies.

 

[HertsWolf]

Should be a very good game.

 

[SaddlerJonny]

2-0 win, Bradshaw brace and we maintain form!

Whitney to headbutt someone

 

[Matt_]

Very tough game this is with Shrewsbury on a good run and us having the week from hell so far it seems. Salop have scored 4 goals twice recently, won at Bramall Lane and then held Gillingham to a 2-2 draw. Anyone who thinks this is an easy away win should follow the bookies odds, which happen to be very close. We have a great chance to do something good, keep the confidence high and nudge into the top 2 - as with Swindon last week, that means one thing only - disaster.

Could go either way, but I have a horrible sinking feeling of 'normality returning' to WFC and a horrible aftermath of the Smith era. That and the fact Shrewsbury owe us a pumping after recent years. Hope I'm wrong.

3-1 Sloppies.

Behave!

 

[Saddlerrad]

Shrewsbury were hopeless until Tom went off. Then we collapsed. We won't score again.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Shrews down to 10

 

[TomPNE94]

Shrewsbury were hopeless until Tom went off. Then we collapsed. We won't score again.

You're as bad as Rammy you. 2-1 now, stop moaning!

 

[JJ1532]

Shrewsbury were hopeless until Tom went off. Then we collapsed. We won't score again.

Huh. Looks like Walsall have just scored again. Your constant desire to go for the negative does look a bit silly at times.

 

[JJ1532]

Oh, it's 3-1 now. Excellent win in the circumstances. Walsall look to be made of strong stuff this season. Not going away it seems.

 

[Matt_]

Walsall's 12 men definitely made their numerical advantage count tonight.

 

[dannylad01]

Walsall dominated the game from start to finish, probably the best side I've seen in the league this season (I missed Coventry and Burton so can't comment on them). We nicked a goal totally out of the blue as we did on Saturday, just not creating much at home at all. They totally deserved the win.

The Black red card was a funny one. He got away with a few tough challenges in the first half, then got himself stupidly booked for throwing the ball away. It seemed a matter of time before the second yellow. The ironic thing is that even though he flew in, he didn't touch Downing, who rolled around as if he had been shot. As soon as the card was out he was up running around, one of the things I hate about modern football getting others players into trouble (everyone is as bad as each other, but it's just cheating). To cap it off he gets a free header for the 2nd goal.

The only pluses for the night is Black will only miss the Grimsby cup game, and Bradshaw didn't score.

4 points from the last 4 games are 4 more than I expected, need to get something at Peterborough but I fear a heavy defeat the way they are playing. If they can play like that for the rest of the season I can see Walsall lasting the pace at the top.

 

[SaddlerJonny]

What a fucking game, these lads love each other and will give everything for Walsall - get the fuck in. Just excellent.

Who needs Mourinhoooo, we've got our physioooo

 

[Saddlerrad]

You're as bad as Rammy you. 2-1 now, stop moaning!

In fairness, the second that Bradshaw had gone off, we deflated and then conceded before almost conceding again. With our lack of back up options, the pattern of the game and the way this week has gone, it just felt like one of those horrible dark nights of the olden days for about 20 minutes.

Huh. Looks like Walsall have just scored again. Your constant desire to go for the negative does look a bit silly at times.

As mentioned above. Tonight just felt like the perfect opportunity for us to return to normal ways. But I'm glad our lads proved me wrong and turned the game back on its head depsite the obvious issues off the field this week. Great togetherness. Negativity is just an easy way to try and keep my emotions together when/if (most likely when) it goes wrong and everything falls apart.

Walsall's 12 men definitely made their numerical advantage count tonight.

http://blueandamber.proboards.com/thread/91522/poor-management
Hmmm. I didn't realise that Black was booked for throwing the ball back at us, seems harsh but perhaps stupid. I didn't actually see the Downing incident, other than both men on the floor when in the immediate aftermath. On topic of the ref, other than that I thought he gave us very little all night, bar one niggly throw in after you had gone down to 10 - it was our fans singing about the ref and your lot hadn't been very animated. I'd like to think I'm a well rounded poster but I don't think Shrewsbury can blame the ref too much.


Calling Shrewsbury hopeless was harsh, I was cold at half time and posting whilst texting with one hand but the comment wasn't meant as it came across. I had expected more from a team that score 4 at Bramall Lane and held Gillingham on Saturday, but was surprised by the lack of pace from the wide man and attacking threat - it was more direct than I thought.

That felt like such a huge win. Manager leaves suddenly, star striker goes off injured in a game you had started well in, 1-0 down, mistakes creeping in. Fantastic for Cook to get a goal. Hopefully this pushes him on. I thought we controlled the game from start to finish bar a 10 minute spell between Bradshaw going off and half time, without truly dominated and forcing loads of saves - not until late anyway. I wasn't sure we were going to get the goal we deserved in the second half before Salop went down to 10, but we did create a lot of chances in the second half. Cook could have score 3, Downing missed a decent header, Demetriou hits the bar, Forde curled one wide, Sawyers hit the post and had a rasper saved.

What was Collins doing with that missed for 2-0? Horrendous miss. Could have really seen us sunken at that point, but it proves to be a crucial miss. Really enjoyed the 2nd and 3rd goals, proper shin bashers and I haven't celebrated goals like them for a while. Such a morale boosting performance. As for the players. Henry was outstanding again, couple of brillant runs - staggering to think he's 18. Sawyers controlled the game without being at his best, Evans started picking holes in the second half between the midfield and the Shrewsbury defence, Lalkovic did okay and scored a lovely goal and I thought Cook did well when he replaced Tom.

Really pleased tonight that our fans aimed our support at the current caretaker staff and the entire team. It really could have turned sour if any of our fan base had turned against Smith, what with these being his players - all of whom liked him. It may not have got all around the ground, but I thought our support was excellent, loud and supportive.

Shrewsbury will be fine if they keep the ball on the ground and get Collins scoring consistently.

As a sidenote - the irony in seeing Anthony Gerrard blaming and actively arguing with a keeper, basically blaming everyone else but himself is quite funny. Decent defender, terribly arrogant twat of a bloke - think's he is above his station.

Happy tonight.

 

[djs]

I went along last night with a couple of Walsall supporting mates. I must say that I really enjoyed it, MUCH higher standard than I usually watch in Division 4. Walsall really do play some lovely football, whereas Shrewsbury were much more basic. I thought that the Shrews defence targeted Bradshaw until he was forced off, with the ref letting them get away with it. Shrews could have been more than one up, with one goal, one horrible miss, and a clear handball missed by the ref. However Walsall hit the frame three times and were on top for virtually the whole game, fully deserving the win. Considering the poor gates they get at home, the away following was excellent and loud, with some funny chants (although they are an ugly bunch).
As for the sending off, Black was a red card waiting to happen, with several iffy tackles, kicking the ball away a few times, and generally moaning and arguing non-stop. He should also get done for failing to leave the field quickly enough, what is the point in continuing to argue with all and sundry well after the card has been flashed? A good manager would have subbed him before he got sent off.
Well, that's what I thought, as a neutral.

 

[Saddlerrad]

I went along last night with a couple of Walsall supporting mates. I must say that I really enjoyed it, MUCH higher standard than I usually watch in Division 4. Walsall really do play some lovely football, whereas Shrewsbury were much more basic. I thought that the Shrews defence targeted Bradshaw until he was forced off, with the ref letting them get away with it. Shrews could have been more than one up, with one goal, one horrible miss, and a clear handball missed by the ref. However Walsall hit the frame three times and were on top for virtually the whole game, fully deserving the win. Considering the poor gates they get at home, the away following was excellent and loud, with some funny chants (although they are an ugly bunch).
As for the sending off, Black was a red card waiting to happen, with several iffy tackles, kicking the ball away a few times, and generally moaning and arguing non-stop. He should also get done for failing to leave the field quickly enough, what is the point in continuing to argue with all and sundry well after the card has been flashed? A good manager would have subbed him before he got sent off.
Well, that's what I thought, as a neutral.

Glad you enjoyed the game and were entertained by the performance both off the field and on. It's been a while since I've enjoyed an away game like that, what with all the off field shit that had been going on leading up to the game. Support was great last night and I thought overall, we did enough to win the game. Let's just hope we can keep the squad together and carry on playing the football we have done for parts of the last 4-5 years and virtually all of this season.

 

[WFC]

Best thing we could have hoped for, not gonna try and comment too much about the game cos had a skinful

Great support too