Mat Sadler praises Walsall's super sub Danny Johnson after Doncaster draw
Mat Sadler has praised Danny Johnson's "perfect" contribution from the bench after the Walsall striker rescued a 2-2 draw at Doncaster Rovers with a dramatic 90th-minute equaliser.
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Taylor Allen had cancelled out Luke Molyneux's opener within two minutes of Walsall falling behind in the first half.
But it was the battle of the super subs late on with veteran striker Billy Sharp putting Doncaster on course for victory with a deft flick just five minutes from time.
Sadler responded by introducing Connor Barrett and Johnson and the latter notched his eighth of the campaign in all competitions to produce another vital late goal.
"Danny hasn't played the amount of minutes that he would've wanted but we've had very good options in that area all season who've contributed as well," Sadler said.
"We're the leading scorers in the division and have been for some time. So we know that we've got goals throughout the team and different players at different times will be required.
"And Dan doing things that Dan does at the end there is perfect and if you want anyone from that sort of distance then you want it to be Danny."
That result actually saw Walsall extend their lead at the top to two points after second-place Bradford City fell to a 2-0 defeat against Port Vale.
The gap between Walsall and Doncaster in fourth spot remains at five points although Grant McCann's men boast a game in hand over them.
Allen moved on to nine goals for the campaign with the Saddlers' first equaliser after salvaging a point with a stunning 87th-minute free-kick against AFC Wimbledon at Bescot on Saturday.
He stepped up into midfield, with Evan Weir recalled to the defence, and Sadler described Allen's versatility as a "dream".
"It's a manager's dream [to have a player with Allen's versatility] because he plays well in all of them," the Walsall boss continued.
"Taylor has grown in every single part of who he is and how much we rely on him for so much as well.
"That's also culturally rather than just football wise. I really like him in that position [as an advanced midfielder] because he can maybe do something different especially with his left foot."
Although Johnson emerged from the bench to take at least a point back to Walsall, Sadler took until the 80th-minute to make his first change.
When asked about his hesitancy, he explained: "You're trying to read what the game looks like and the front-two were still affecting the [Doncaster] back-line.
"We wanted to get to a point in the game where you bring your Albert's [Adomah] on, but you're hoping you don't want to make too many changes if I am honest.
"There were also a few options that I left at home that might have come into that mix as well.
"It's certainly not for the want of not wanting to bring added legs to it but the game felt so tight. It felt a very close game which I didn't really see them scoring in.
"So it was frustrating that we did concede. It's not that I don't look at it [the bench], you see me up and down from the bench from 50 minutes onwards thinking about it."
