A deserved victory for Rovers after an up and down first half.
I thought we started really brightly in the first ten or fifteen minutes, but then seemed to gradually lose our way in midfield. We seemed to sit a bit too deep, losing too many second balls and not putting Monthe and Taylor under enough pressure in possession, and Walsall grew into the game. They looked a decent side and had a bit of pace out wide which caused us problems.
However, Mellon clearly had a bit to say at half time and in the second half we were far more compact, created the better chances and played some great stuff in the final twenty minutes. As Sparky says, for all their possession Walsall did not have a genuine attempt on target and Clarke and Davies looked very solid.
Elsewhere, I agreed with the sponsor's choice of Liam Feeney as man of the match, but Paul Glatzel pushed him close. His touch and technique were excellent today and I am sure he will be a good player for us, particularly if we can get him into central areas more often. I thought Mani did fine. I don't think winning headers is really his strength, but his touch and awareness of runners around him was very good. MacManaman drifted in and out of the game, but whenever he got the ball on the edge of the box you thought something was going to happen, and he had the two best chances of the game. There was great work from Morris and Merrie in the build up to the goal, which was a lovely move, and Kieron made a difference when he came on.
The red card for Merrie looked incredibly harsh to me: a full blooded challenge and a probable yellow, but not a red.
As expected, Walsall looked a reasonable outfit and definitely pushed us, but we had the quality and experience when it mattered. Onwards and upwards.
