Matt Taylor: Turn Walsall hurt into positive
Walsall Head Coach Matt Taylor hopes the ‘hurt’ felt by his players after conceding a late equaliser against Barrow will drive the Saddlers forward as they bid to continue their upward momentum.
From having occupied third bottom in League Two four weeks ago, had Walsall clung on to register the win their performance merited on Saturday they would have found themselves just four points off the play-offs.
That added to the pain of Josh Gordon’s last gasp leveller, and Taylor is demanding his team become more ruthless and turn some of the draws of their recent six-match unbeaten run into wins.
“The dressing room after the game was sombre and if it hadn’t been I would have been very disappointed,” said Taylor.
“The players were hurting in there and quite rightly so.
“What they have got to do now is use that negative emotion that they were feeling at that moment and that hurt and turn it into a positive for the next game.”
Walsall were scintillating in the first half hour against Barrow, but were unable to add to George Miller’s fourth minute opener before George Williams equalised for the visitors.
Miller restored the Saddlers’ lead only for Gordon to strike late on leaving Taylor frustrated that his team hadn’t come away with all three points.
“The truth be told we shouldn’t be in that position to not win the game,” he said.
“We should have been out of sight in the first half and that is the brutal truth of what I saw stood on the sidelines.
“It’s a results driven business and we should have won the game.
“The style of football is getting better and people can see now we have got a clear identity and philosophy and a way of playing which is fantastic.
“Having a philosophy is great but if you are not winning it becomes a toss-up between that and getting results.
“But when you are on top in games you have got to kill the game off because there will obviously be that flip when the opposition have a spell as well.”
Miller’s brace was certainly one major positive to take away, with the on-loan Barnsley striker now having notched seven goals in his first nine league appearances with the Saddlers.
“George is doing fantastically well and epitomises what we are all about in terms of hard work and wanting to learn,” said Taylor.
“He relishes that role on his own and he will get better.
“He never stops and it was pleasing for him to get two goals but obviously I was not so happy that he scored two goals and didn’t end up on the winning team.”
Walsall are next in action away at Sutton United on Saturday.
