Stop conceding late goals!

Once again Walsall concede in the dying minutes of the match. All to often in the last 5-6 years this has happened.
I’m not sure if it is inexperience or what it causing this happening to Walsall so often.
Yesterday’s defeat to Carlisle was a hard one to take since we had loads of chances in the first half to kill the game but our strikers missed some great opportunities.

I saw a worrying sign though that might come back and haunt us in January if we don’t dip into the transfer market as early as possible when the transfer window open. We lack squad depth. Especially in central midfield where we missed Sinclair and Kinsella and with them away Danny Guthrie and Alfie Bates had to put in a 90 minute shift with no central midfielders on the bench other James Hardy but he is more of a winger not a central midfielder.

It is clear we need to add to the squad asap with several players taking up knocks and Adebayo had to go off injured just ten minutes after he came on is a worry. The striker position is probably the position we have the most squad dept but with games coming thick and fast this time of the year every injury we get will affect us greatly.

Looking back at the match several players didn’t perform as good as they been lately. Alfie Bates is young and you can’t expect him to turn out perfect outings every match. It is bound to happen that young inexperienced players have some dips in their performance. The same could be said by Callum Cockerill-Mollett who maybe was rushed back from injury to early. He didn’t look comfortable with the ball yesterday. His first touch let him down at several occasions. To many players didn’t come up to the standards we have been used to see the last few matches. McDonald was ineffective up until his drew a powerful shot in the woodwork that Adebayo could finish of to level the score to 1-1.

I felt we stressed to much in the dying minutes as well. Instead of calming the play down we wasted possession to much. This is one area I feel Liam Roberts have to develop. At several occasions he was too eager to start counter attacks when our players wasn’t in the right position to do so. That ended in Roberts kicking the ball out and giving possession away.
Even if he takes a few more seconds and calm down the play to try and distribute the ball to a player in position to create something.
I hope Maik Taylor see this an work more with his anticipation and tell him a quick distribution isn’t always the key to start a counter attack.
Darrell Clarke wants to play possession based football and by kicking the ball out we give the ball away more than half the time which is not a good idea late in the match when we know we have a habit to let late goals in. It is better to turn the ball out to one of the fullbacks on the side were the opponents leave most space and start attacks from there.

Yesterday’s negatives
– Strikers wasting too much good chances.
– Too many had an off day at the same day.
– Clarke’s red card.
– Adebayo walking of injured.
– A few too many players picked up knocks.
– Liam Roberts distribution.
– Conceded late again.
– Missed Kinsella and Sinclair massively.
– Me jinxing on Twitter that we usually concede in stoppage time.

Yesterday’s positives
+ Adebayo once again finding the net.
+ Zak Jules back from injury.