Mat Sadler said after Walsall’s 2-0 loss to Forest Green Rovers that “everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.”
Jamille Matt replaced Tom Knowles at halftime due to a hamstring problem after the Walsall manager announced that Knowles had to leave the game early due to a suspected ankle injury.
On the rebound, Emmanuel Osadebe scored the first goal after Christian Doidge’s attempt struck the post. Vicente Reyes denied Josh Gordon twice, and the Forest Green custodian also stopped Mo Faal’s header before Walsall went down.
Another superb stop kept Isaac Hutchinson from scoring, and for some reason, he blazed over the follow-up from point-blank range. As soon as David Okagbue received a second yellow card and Rovers’ Kyle McAllister scored from the penalty nine minutes remaining, Walsall’s afternoon took a turn for the worse.
With that outcome, Walsall’s five-game winning streak came to an end, and they were knocked out of the League Two play-off spots.
It felt like one of those days, according to Sadler. We had a few opportunities in the first half, but we didn’t exactly bring our clinical boots today.
Sadly, we didn’t take a chance when they arrived. We had made sure to lock down during a transition, which is what they were hoping for, to get a lot of players behind the ball, and I felt like we were really in charge. We had highlighted a few times during the play.
When we didn’t, it became a goal that one time. Bravo to them for that; they’re fighting for their lives, and if we don’t take a chance, it gives them a slight advantage to believe that today could be their day.
This one will be attributed to experience. Almost anything that might go wrong did. Isaac missed the penalties, David was sent off, and Jamille and Tom had to leave.”
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