Walsall debrief: Second half collapse, perspective and reaction
Walsall’s winning start at Bescot was emphatically ended as they were condemned to a 6-2 defeat against Fleetwood Town on Tuesday.
Harry Williams and Jamille Matt cancelled out Ronan Coughlan’s 25th minute equaliser in the first half, but Coughlan bagged his brace from the spot to level after the break.
Fleetwood then ran riot with Kayden Hughes scoring twice before Matty Virtue and Mark Helm netted late on to add salt into gaping wounds.
Capitulation
Walsall led at the break and topped the table by two points before a complete collapse in the second half saw them concede six at Bescot for the first time in over 20 years.
It felt as if such capitulation’s were a thing of the past but the performance in the second 45 was reminiscent of the heavy defeats at Sutton United, MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon in the previous campaign.
David Okagbue had a night to forget – conceding a penalty for a trip on Coughlan to welcome Fleetwood back into the contest.
His night went from bad to worse while Ryan Stirk, Jamie Jellis and Jack Earing failed to offer a vulnerable defence any protection.
Fleetwood were clinical in the final third and dominated the midfield battle. Walsall were second to loose balls, sloppy in possession and looked a shadow of the team which had stuck four past Colchester on Saturday.
They headed into the match boasting a 100 per cent record from their four league matches on home soil and had not conceded in 412 minutes across all competitions prior to kick-off.
Most alarmingly, they shipped more goals (six) against Fleetwood than in their opening eight games combined (four).
Perspective
Prior to Tuesday night, Walsall had collected six wins from their first eight games in a league season for the first time since 1985.
They remain third in League Two and their start to the season cannot be defined by one result despite the manner of the defeat.
This team have been handed a huge reality check but have showcased their quality throughout the opening few weeks of the season.
Reaction
The most important thing is how Walsall react to that heavy defeat.
They travel to newly-promoted Chesterfield on the weekend and will be searching for back-to-back wins on the road.
Walsall then have a two-week break before their next league fixture against Grimsby Town at Blundell Park, following the postponement of the Bromley game.
Time will tell whether the Fleetwood mauling was just a blip and getting back on track on Saturday before hitting the reset button will be key.
