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Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Reports and reaction from the 2009-10 season as Walsall finished 10th in League 1
fatboyslim
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Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Wed Nov 25, 2009 2:39 pm

Anyone going to watch the game tonight at the Hawthorns? WBA likely to be very strong!! Usual mix of youth and 1st team fringe.

Would have liked to have seen Will Grigg starting - not a big fan of Parkin at all.

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tape66
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Re: Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Wed Nov 25, 2009 9:39 pm

Last I heard it was 3-3. Not sure of the final score though.

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Re: Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:10 pm


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Re: Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Wed Nov 25, 2009 10:14 pm

Tesco Bagladies 3 3 Super Saddlers Reserves
(Played at the Whore Thorns)
Attendance:- 467

Walsall (4-4-2)
Rene Gilmartin

Darryl Westlake
Alex Hickman
Clayton McDonald (capt.)
Louis Keenan

Peter Till
Richard Davies
Sean Geddes
Sam Adkins

Sam Parkin (Will Grigg, 72 min.)
Alex Nicholls (Jamie Patterson, 79 min.)

Unused substitutes:-
Tim Cooney (gk)
Dan Partridge
Jordan McCourt

Manager:- Martin O'Connor

Goal Log:-
45th min. - 0-1 - Parkin seizes on a loose clearance and drives home a fine cross-shot from about 20 yards.
46th min. - 1-1 - Sam Mantom cuts through the right side of the Saddlers' defence to make it a half-time "goal sandwich".
48th min. - 2-1 - yet another cross from the Albion right leaves Chris Wood with an easy chance.
52nd min. - 2-2 - super skill from Nicholls as he cuts inside to level the scores.
59th min. - 2-3 - Ashley Malcolm, in the heart of the Baggies' defence, mars an otherwise fine display by being caught in possession by the alert Nicholls who coolly slots the ball home past the advancing Dean Kiely.
70th min. - 3-3 - substitute Saido Berahino equalises with a superbly struck free kick, conceded because of yet another clumsy challenge by McDonald.

A very entertaining second half more than compensated for a poor first half. The Baggies should have been comfortably ahead at the interval but missed many chances with Kiwi, Chris Wood, being the main culprit. He had better sharpen up for South Africa, next year! Parkin showed that he hadn't forgotten how to score with a fine goal with our first and only on-target shot of the first half, right on half-time. We decided to take part in the second half and it made for a much better spectacle. Nicholls was my man-of-the-match as he ran the Baggies ragged in the second half. His performance was best summed up by some Albion fans, sitting near me when they said "They must have some good strikers if he can't get in the first team".
Defence:- Gilmartin did o.k. but could have been a bit "bossier" on their second goal. Hickman and Keenan looked what they are - raw novices. Westlake was satisfactory but the big disappointment was McDonald. If this was typical of his current form then he is nowhere near as good as Smith and Hughes. He was lumbering and clumsy at times and did not look ready for a first-team recall, even allowing for the poorer quality of his team-mates.
Midfield was largely outplayed until the later stages. It was good to see Davies back in action again. He was a feisty competitor and was the pick of our midfield. Till contributed nothing. This guy is a total waste of a wage. Geddes and Adkins struggled to make an impact. Both Till and Adkins, as the wide players, did little to support the full-backs, particularly Adkins who frequently drifted inside or too far forward, leaving Keenan frequently exposed to Albion's attacks.
Our strike force took their goals well. Parkin did his fair share of work but, as stated above, the best performer was Nicholls who must be very frustrated that Byfield, Deeney and Jones have firmly established themselves in the first team. I hope that he is patient and grabs his chance if and when it comes.

fatboyslim
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Re: Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Thu Nov 26, 2009 9:13 am

thanks for the report, that is an excellent summary. here are my comments for what it is worth:

gilmartin - did ok. agree with your comment on the 2nd goal.
westlake - steady.
hickman - did ok, young and a lot to learn
mcdonald - disappointing! first time i have seen him play really and he made numerous mistakes and looked clumsy. very poor decision making.
keenan - did ok, young and a lot to learn.
till - awful, waste of space. poor first touch and only redeeming moment was a decently weighted through ball for nicholls to score the 2nd.
davies - battled in midfield, scrappy.
geddes - similar to davies although no real impact.
adkins - slightly redundant out on the left - no real impact.
parkin - couldn't win a header agaisnt their 5'8'' right back in the first half. good job he finished his goal well otherwise he would have been in the same bracket as Till!
nicholls - good energy and good finishes for his goals. always looks a handful.

grigg - sat deep when came on and didn't do much. competed well in the air from the long ball.
patterson - decent energy but not much to do when came on - lacks a little strength.

overall it was an ok performance and a decent result. nobody stood out hugely on either side but nicholls looked good for us along with reid, sawyers and their number 7 for them.

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Re: Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:25 am

Cheers guys, thanks for the reports.

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Sadders
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Re: Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Thu Nov 26, 2009 12:07 pm

Glad to see Nicholls in the goals again, isn't that 3 in 2?. I'd start Nicholls wide left if Richards doesn't keep up to scratch. The lad deserves a long run in the team in his favoured position, he's always asked to play out of position and STILL hasn't been given the long chance he deserves to play in his favoured position. I'd say WFC owes him that.

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Re: Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Thu Nov 26, 2009 12:25 pm

Sadders wrote:Glad to see Nicholls in the goals again, isn't that 3 in 2? I'd start Nicholls wide left if Richards doesn't keep up to scratch. The lad deserves a long run in the team in his favoured position. He's always been asked to play out of position and STILL hasn't been given the long chance he deserves to play in his favoured position. I'd say WFC owes him that.


Agree 100%. If Jimmy Muddle had given Nicholls the extended run in the team that he gave to Deeney, then I feel that Nicholls would have turned out to be better than Deeney. Nicholls is quicker and technically more skilful than Deeney - yet another Jimmy Muddle error, imo. As matters stand, Deeney, to his lasting credit, has grasped the opportunity offered to him and that, coupled with the (very good) signings of Byfield and Jones, has restricted Nicholls' chances. I hope that both he and the club will persevere.

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Re: Reserves v WBA 25/11/2009

Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:21 pm

Pedagogue wrote:
Sadders wrote:Glad to see Nicholls in the goals again, isn't that 3 in 2? I'd start Nicholls wide left if Richards doesn't keep up to scratch. The lad deserves a long run in the team in his favoured position. He's always been asked to play out of position and STILL hasn't been given the long chance he deserves to play in his favoured position. I'd say WFC owes him that.


Agree 100%. If Jimmy Muddle had given Nicholls the extended run in the team that he gave to Deeney, then I feel that Nicholls would have turned out to be better than Deeney. Nicholls is quicker and technically more skilful than Deeney - yet another Jimmy Muddle error, imo. As matters stand, Deeney, to his lasting credit, has grasped the opportunity offered to him and that, coupled with the (very good) signings of Byfield and Jones, has restricted Nicholls' chances. I hope that both he and the club will persevere.


Spot on.

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