Tranmere 1 Walsall 0 - Saddlers suffer first defeat

Jamille Matt was denied from the spot by Tranmere goalkeeper Luke McGee inside five minutes before Omari Patrick's deflected finish decided the contest on 13 minutes.

Priestley Farquharson was forced off injured at half-time and Josh Gordon had the best chance in the second half when he scooped his half volley over from close-range.

Mat Sadler named the same XI which crushed Swindon Town 4-0 at the County Ground last weekend as Josh Gordon recovered from a hamstring issue to start.

New arrivals Reyes Cleary and Nathan Lowe were named on the bench with Harry Williams and Evan Weir dropping out.

An injury-hit Tranmere made two changes from their goalless stalemate at Port Vale. Jordan Turnbull was restored to the defence after recovering from injury, while Harvey Saunders replaced the injured Luke Norris to partner Josh Davison in attack.

Walsall were presented with a prime opportunity to pick up where they left off last week in Wiltshire when they were awarded a penalty inside the opening five minutes.

Ex-Saddlers defender Cameron Norman was guilty of pulling down Matt inside the box but the veteran marksman was subsequently denied when his former Forest Green teammate McGee plunged low to his right.

Despite starting on the front foot, Walsall fell behind on 13 minutes when Omari Patrick's low finish deflected beyond the reach of Tommy Simkin and into the far bottom corner.

Liam Gordon could only send Regan Hendry's free-kick looping into the air before Ryan Stirk's clearance only made its way as far as the edge of the penalty area. Tranmere eventually worked the ball to Patrick who doubled his tally for the campaign.

The contest descended into a very physical battle and Walsall rarely threatened to build any momentum. The stop-start nature of the game suited Tranmere more and Walsall needed a last-gasp challenge from Farquharson to prevent Harvey Saunders from finding himself one-on-one with Simkin.

Walsall posed a danger from time to time down the flanks with Matt just unable to meet Liam Gordon's low fizzing cross with an outstretched leg but clear-cut chances were few and far between.

Instead, Simkin had to be alert when Patrick sprinted away from McEntee to latch onto a ball down the inside left and the Stoke City loanee emerged early off his line to sweep away the danger.

A difficult first half for Walsall was compounded further when Farquharson, who endured an injury-ridden debut campaign last term, limped off in some discomfort on the cusp of half-time.

The second half was equally as frustrating with the contest rarely ever threatening to catch fire. Josh Gordon had the best opportunity before the hour-mark when he scooped his half volley over the target from Matt's knockdown.

Sadler made a number of attacking introductions which included handing a debut to Stoke loanee Nathan Lowe but Walsall struggled to breach Tranmere's back-line as Jellis and Matt had efforts blocked.

They had one final chance towards the end when Adomah broke free down the right but Matt was unable to apply the finishing touch as Tranmere produced another crucial block.

Walsall (3-1-4-2): Simkin; McEntee, Farquharson (Okagbue 45), Allen; Stirk; Barrett (Adomah 72), Jellis (Maher 72), Lakin (Earing 58), L Gordon; Matt, J Gordon (Lowe 58).

Not used: Hornby, Cleary.

Tranmere (4-4-2): McGee; Norman, Davies, Walker, Turnbull; Jennings, Hendry, O'Connor, Patrick; Saunders (Dennis 81), Davison (Solomon 86).

Not used: Murphy, Merrie, Williams.

Referee: Thomas Parsons

Attendance: 6,145 (575)