George Bennett and Jonny Drury return with the latest episode of the Bescot Beat podcast.
In the new episode, they discuss the win over Wimbledon and the late draw against Bromley.
George discusses the successful possession stats surrounding Walsall wins - and they answer your questions.
NOTE - Apologies to our listeners, we are still working around a technical issue on our podcast account which means the latest episode is again video only. Apologies for the inconvenience.
In the new episode, they discuss the win over Wimbledon and the late draw against Bromley.
George discusses the successful possession stats surrounding Walsall wins - and they answer your questions.
NOTE - Apologies to our listeners, we are still working around a technical issue on our podcast account which means the latest episode is again video only. Apologies for the inconvenience.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Sadler's fans, welcome back to the latest episode of the Best Of Beat here at the Express
00:04and Star. My name is Jonny Drury. I'm here with Walsall correspondent George Bennett.
00:12To talk all things Sadler's, fresh from a bit of late drama at the Bescott Stadium last
00:17night. George, how are you, mate? All good?
00:20Yeah, all good, mate. All good. Yeah, got a little bit lucky last night, but yeah, the
00:26unbeaten run continues. Six in League Two now, so yeah, but yeah, definitely rode their
00:33luck last night in that one.
00:35Yeah, they certainly did. Still in the top two. Could have closed the gap on Port Vale
00:40last night, but didn't. We'll talk all about the draw against Bromley. We'll reflect on
00:45the win against Wimbledon on Saturday. Look at the promotion picture and preview Saturday's
00:50game against Charlton. George, simple question. Was it a point gained or was it two dropped
00:57last night?
00:59I think, you know, if you're looking at it kind of before the game, then you would expect
01:03Walsall to really head into that with the form that they've been in, expecting to go
01:09for maximum points. But, you know, on reflection of the performance and it definitely felt
01:15like a point gained. I mean, the manner in which they gained it with the final kick of
01:20the game in such dramatic fashion. Yeah, it definitely feels like a point gained. After
01:29watching that performance, Walsall just seemed a little bit disjointed at times. I mean,
01:36Bromley played some good football. I think they're the draw specialist. That might be
01:41their eighth draw so far this season. And yeah, they were all credit to the point that
01:50they gained and they would have come away from the best goal really feeling a little
01:53bit hard done by.
01:54Just kind of on what you said there, they were out of, you know, not on the best sort
02:04of display last night. Talk to me about David Acagbo, a sort of dream couple of weeks, you
02:11know, international under-21 debut, bagged a goal and two assists in his last two games
02:17and, you know, the hero at the death last night. His kind of rise at Walsall has been
02:22quite incredible, hasn't it?
02:24Yeah, I mean, I think it was a really shrewd sign to bring him back to the club on a permanent
02:29after what was a really good loan spell for Walsall from Stoke last season. And, you know,
02:36he had the opportunity to sort of trigger that one year extension at Stoke, decided
02:40against it because, you know, he enjoyed his time at Walsall, which bodes really well for
02:44the work that the club are doing and the project that they're building under Matt Sadler
02:49and, you know, signed a two-year deal. And yeah, that was a really good move by the club
02:55in the summer and took him a little bit of time, it felt, to maybe kind of rediscover
03:00the form that he had last season. He had a really difficult evening in that 6-2 defeat
03:05against Fleetwood, you know, a night to forget for him, but he's recovered so well since
03:11then and his form at the minute has been tremendous. I mean, you know, I thought he
03:15was the standout player probably against Wimbledon the other day, capped it with an assist for
03:21Nathan Lowe's match winner, a great driving run, which we usually see more so from Taylor
03:27Allen down that left-hand side for an assist. Last night, I mean, it will go down as his
03:35assist put a headed clearance that sent Liam Gordon away, he then ran half the length of
03:39the pitch to rifle it into the roof of the net, but the assist still stands in Dave's
03:43name. But yeah, I thought he performed well last night overall again. And then right at
03:49the death, first goal since returning, back to the club on a permanent basis. I think
03:53he scored against Accrington last season in February and it was a great moment for him.
03:59And, you know, that Republic of Ireland U21 debut just a couple of weeks ago, he described
04:04it as the proudest achievement of his career so far and hopes that his form with Walsall
04:10can really make him a mainstay on the international stage. And if he keeps playing the way that
04:14he is, and he's on that international radar, then that should really only be the case because
04:18yeah, he's playing really well at the moment.
04:21Yeah, he certainly is. Let's talk about possession because we've had this conversation before.
04:29A little stat you've written for me, Sadler's have had less possession in the opposition
04:34in each of their last nine wins. Only once have they won the league when they've had
04:38more of the ball during Sadler's reign. That's a really interesting statistic, isn't it?
04:44You know, the fact that when they have less of the ball, they're kind of better with it.
04:48Why is that?
04:49Yeah, I think, you know, a lot of that goes down to the fact that Walsall are extremely
04:55efficient off the ball. You know, we talk a lot about the press and that's something
04:59which was evident last season, but it's been even more evident this season. You know, Walsall
05:05have the ability to really exploit teams that like to build from the back and their press
05:11can be lethal at times and they've become so much more clinical in front of goal. It's
05:15made them a major threat and that's why we've seen some of the results we've seen this season.
05:19But just every so often, and it's been less so this season, but every so often you just
05:26feel that maybe they could come unstuck against teams that like to sit in. And last night
05:30was one of those examples. You know, Bromley play some good football and on the attack
05:37they looked, you know, dangerous. They looked a threat. They had the post, had a couple
05:41of other chances. Tommy Simpkins was forced into a couple of saves. So it's not like,
05:46you know, Bromley kind of just sat in at all game, but it was clearly a ploy to kind of,
05:51you know, sit deeper and then break on the attack with their pace of wingers. And they
05:55had a couple of towering centre backs who were really commanding at the back. And, you
06:03know, Michael Cheek reached double figures for the season. He was a threat throughout.
06:07So yeah, it was a difficult evening, a really tricky evening for Walsall to negotiate their
06:12way through. And I think it shows the character in the team that they came through that to
06:16still get the point. I mean, even at times they had to weather the storm against Wimbledon,
06:22but clearly, you know, Walsall were off the ball, been very efficient. And just sometimes
06:27when they're tasked with having to have more of it, sometimes they struggle to break the
06:31opposition down. I mean, Accrington's another example, the goal of Straw. And I think it
06:37was a defeat against Tranmere earlier in the season where Tranmere sat in and made life
06:41difficult for Walsall. So, you know, I mean, it's not something that I would be majorly
06:46concerned about. Walsall have been in great form this season and have shown time and time
06:49again just how dangerous they can be. And, you know, they've been solid defensively.
06:55They've been good in front of goal. But yeah, that would be the only concern I'd have in
07:00certain games possibly.
07:04Just moving away from some of that, let's go and talk Wimbledon. Victory on Saturday.
07:11Like I say, I'm beating in quite a few games now, George. What did you kind of make of
07:18that one at the weekend in terms of, well, we talked about getting rid of that hoodoo
07:23from last season, you know, the monkey off their back with that awful result. But, you
07:28know, on the road, seem to be doing just as well as they are at home.
07:32Yeah, I mean, five matches unbeaten now on the road. And last season, the home form was
07:37great. And it was kind of the away form that really derailed that playoff push in the end.
07:43Walsall have been so much better on the road this season. I mean, yes, like I said, five
07:49unbeaten, back-to-back clean sheets on the road as well. And it was the ultimate away
07:56performance, really, because, you know, it was a really scrappy affair in that first
08:01half. I mean, you know, the conditions made life difficult for both teams. The ball was
08:07kind of spinning around in the air and players were misjudging the flight of the ball. There
08:11wasn't a great deal of quality. A lot of the passes were going into touch. You know, it
08:16wasn't a great spectacle in that first half. It came to life in the second. And, you know,
08:21one thing that Walsall have done has been kind of a trend in some of the away games is
08:26using that first 15 minutes in the second half as kind of a platform just to fly out of
08:30the traps. I mean, I think they scored nine goals between the 45th and 60th minute, and
08:35that's by far the most in the league. And it's clearly a ploy of Walsall's in the game
08:40plan in a lot of games to try and sort of be in that contest by halftime and then fly
08:46out the traps. And, yeah, they really did that again. Like I said, David DiCaglio flying
08:51down that right-hand side, that underlapping run found beautifully by Connor Barrett. And
08:57then Nathan Lowe stole in and, yeah, tapped the ball home. Continued his fantastic run
09:03of form because seven goals in as many games. Obviously, last night didn't score, so it's
09:08now seven and eight. But, yeah, moved to within one of Andy Cook, although Cheek scored
09:16last night, so he's now on nine. So he's won a drift in the race for the golden boot. But,
09:21you know, his goals this season have been so, so crucial and what a signing he's proved
09:26to be. But, yeah, it was. They had to weather a storm, actually, against against Wimbledon
09:30because, you know, after Wimbledon fell behind, they didn't buckle. They had some good
09:36opportunities and, yeah, also had to really show some grit and determination. They did
09:41that. And, you know, even sort of the point last night, although it was a disappointing
09:46performance, they still managed to get something despite not being at their best. And, you
09:51know, although I think they probably deserve the three points against Wimbledon, there
09:54were times where possibly the tide could have turned. So, you know, in those challenging
09:59moments, it's important to show character and grind out results. And that's what they
10:02did on Saturday as well.
10:04Yes, it's exactly what they did. Let's just have a look at the last couple of results.
10:08Leave the promotion picture. Three points adrift of Port Vale. We played third place
10:12crew on that Monday evening. They played Notts County fifth and Port Vale first in the next
10:19couple of weeks. You know, we talked about Walsall being in the promotion race. Are they
10:25in the automatic promotion race now, George, given, you know, that we've played a significant
10:30chunk of the season?
10:32I'm calling it the early promotion race at the moment. But, yeah, I mean, at the moment,
10:37that's where they are in the table. So, you know, you're going to be looking at those
10:41games against teams at the top end of the table. And Walsall are going to be wanting
10:46to make a statement and sort of, yeah, mark their territory at that point of the table.
10:52I mean, it's a really big week for Walsall next week. I mean, you know, if they could
11:00come away with anywhere between three to six points out of that, that puts them in
11:03a great position heading into Christmas. And you want to be picking up points against
11:08teams in that area of the table. And that Port Vale game could be very, very tasty.
11:14You know, a local rivalry. Walsall three points behind, but got that game in hand. So, yeah,
11:21it could be a really interesting battle. But you would like to think really that Walsall
11:27will be hoping to come away with as many points as they can out of those two games.
11:32Because, you know, yeah, it would just help add to the momentum which is already building
11:37at the moment.
11:39A few questions from you Sadler's fans. If I can just find them. I say a few. All from
11:47the same person. Matthew Sadler's Barmy Army. I'd like to hear about George Hall's performance
11:51last night and how he can improve. What did you make of George's first start, I think,
11:54since MK Don's in September, I believe I read. What did you make of him? How did he perform?
12:01Yeah, well, it was his first league start. He obviously played against Shrewsbury in
12:05the EFL Trophy and scored. And yeah, there were glimpses. And I feel like, you know,
12:14he's going to be one that will grow over time and become an important player for Walsall
12:19in the second half of the season. And you could see glimpses of that quality. But definitely
12:26faded after the break. And it just felt, without Jealous on that right hand side, the connection
12:31between him and Conor Barrett wasn't quite the same as when Jealous is on the pitch.
12:35Conor Barrett had one of his quieter evenings down that right hand side. So it was a challenging
12:41evening for him. But, you know, I think Matt Sadler has been very careful with kind of
12:47easing him into the fold and he'll benefit in the long term from that start for sure.
12:52And, you know, we've seen glimpses in the second half against Shrewsbury. He's fantastic.
12:58And just hopefully he can kind of gain that consistency, you know, across the 90 minute
13:04period and start to get some regular minutes under his belt.
13:08He's also asked, would, also would like to theorise why the midfield three was chosen.
13:16He's kind of leaning into thinking they put the wrong midfield. What did you make of the
13:20midfield collectively, George, last night?
13:22I think in the first half, well, you know, there were flashes from George Hall. I actually
13:27thought Jack Aaron played well in the first half. Pickpocketed one of the Bromley players
13:32at the halfway line, set up a really good chance for Nathan Lowe, which you would have
13:36expected him to put away. It was a good save by the Bromley goalkeeper, albeit.
13:40And then they just both faded after the break. And, you know, the changes were required,
13:47really. Jealous sort of brought a bit of an injection of energy down that right hand side.
13:54Commonly even actually helped create overloads in the end when he came on. But, you know,
13:59Matt Sadler has said he's going to be using his midfield options and felt that when I
14:05spoke to him about his decision to change that midfield to freshen things up, you know,
14:11his question marks over whether it worked. So, yeah, I mean, with the way Jealous has
14:17been playing, you would have maybe expected him to be in the starting line-up last night.
14:21But those midfield options are there and Matt Sadler's going to use them.
14:25Sadler's fans, thanks for your questions.
14:29Just finally, big Dale Sadler-George Moore FA Cup potential upsets.
14:37What are you saying? Can the Sadlers get over the line? Can they get to the third round?
14:42Yeah, well, I won't be there, actually. I'm signing it up in Tenerife.
14:46Oh, nice. Well, you've picked a bad one to miss, really, haven't you?
14:51Yeah, you know, it's another great occasion for the club.
14:54And we've seen their record against League One teams this season, you know,
14:58in the League Cup against Huddersfield and Exeter, in the EFL Trophy against Shrewsbury
15:03and Birmingham with that draw and the shootout victory to gain the extra point.
15:08And then, of course, in the previous round against Bolton,
15:10that was a really great occasion. Jamie Jealous's stoppage time winner.
15:17And yeah, you know, Walsall will be wanting to continue what has been a really good season
15:22in Cup competitions. You know, we saw the plumb tie against Leicester
15:26and Walsall took them to penalties in that third round in the EFL Cup.
15:31They're now in the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy.
15:35So, yeah, Walsall's been sort of competing on all fronts, really,
15:39and that shows the depth across the squad.
15:41It'll be interesting to see sort of what sort of line-up he goes with
15:44ahead of an important week against Notts County and Port Vale.
15:48But I would still expect him to go relatively strong and take it as seriously as possible.
15:53But yeah, Walsall's track record against League One clubs have been brilliant this season,
15:57and that'll give them plenty of confidence going into the game on Saturday.
16:02But, you know, last season, travelled to Southampton for that third round tie.
16:08The season before, in the fourth round, played Leicester City.
16:12So, you know, Walsall will want to be creating more of those occasions
16:16and getting through to the next round will hopefully help them do that.
16:19Well, hopefully it can. George, you'll be signing up in Tenerife,
16:22so enjoy your holiday, mate. Sadler's fans do enjoy the game on Saturday.
16:28Hopefully get in the third round and get a plumb tie.
16:31Thank you very much for listening. Until next time from me and George, goodbye.