Jonny Drury and George Bennett give their take on Walsall's narrow 1-0 loss to AFC Wimbledon in the League Two play-off final.
The Saddlers were behind just minutes before the break - but went on to have the two best chances in the second half.
They could not find an equaliser though as their campaign ended in devstating fashion.
George and Jonny discuss what went wrong and Mat Sadler's words on the January transfer window, its impact and the released and retained list.
The Saddlers were behind just minutes before the break - but went on to have the two best chances in the second half.
They could not find an equaliser though as their campaign ended in devstating fashion.
George and Jonny discuss what went wrong and Mat Sadler's words on the January transfer window, its impact and the released and retained list.
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00:00Sadlers fans, welcome to ExpressTheStar.com, my name is Jonny Dre, I'm here with George
00:11Bennett. After a season has ended in heartbreak today for the Sadlers 1-0 loss to AFC Rimbledon
00:19in the play-off final. George, the game isn't one that's going to go down in the memory,
00:23Sadlers fans, I want to forget this pretty quickly, but call it what you want, anti-climatic,
00:28you know, also just didn't turn up today, did they? No, they didn't, I think that's the
00:32best way to summarise it, really. We looked at each other a number of times and said it
00:37just doesn't feel like they're going to swap, and I know there were a couple of chances,
00:42you know, Matt had that finish cleared off the line after some really good work by Nathan
00:48Simway, obviously Levi Manchi, I mean, you know, way from goal and it was far too tight. Great
00:54opportunity, squandered, and I guess the other one was David Akagwai, but I mean, yeah,
00:59David Akagwai's chance would really be regarded as much as the first half. Yeah, it's not even
01:06the fact that, I mean, the first half, you're not looking at, well, we didn't get a shot at
01:10the target, but you know, I think the 10th particular, that tells a story, I mean, it
01:14rumbled it on to them, just too passive, I mean, you know, it talks about him being disciplined,
01:20doubt and possession, and they were offering nothing on the ball, and I think that had come
01:23back as hard as well, yeah. Yeah, it certainly did haunt them, you know, there was nothing in
01:27that first half, you know, a goal kind of added nothing, poor closing down from also,
01:31probably got it funny. It's the most disappointing thing today, George, is that Walsall had the two best
01:36chances of the game, with Jamil Matt off the line, and Levi Manchi there at the far end,
01:41you know, when they go away and ready to their side today, is that the most disappointing thing,
01:46that, you know, they haven't had to, I'm not saying they haven't had to do a lot, you know,
01:49they've come to a final today, they've held out well in that second half, haven't they, but,
01:53there wasn't a stark difference between the two sides, but one side's going out happy today,
01:58the other one's going out happy today. It was hardly a dominant display, but, I mean,
02:01they did what was needed, to the goal well, I thought it applied, but again, you know,
02:07you look at the defending from the 7th East, I mean, defending the 7th East is something
02:12we've also had several wins this season, a lot of the time in the long throw in particular,
02:16and we had a conversation not so long ago on the pod about how many times will they leave
02:22a spare man on the edge of the pod completely apart. I mean, you know, firstly, to get to that ball
02:28the lolly that was blocked, left unmarked and then for him to pick up and run onto that second ball
02:34and score, really disappointing there. And, yeah, I just feel like the nerds got to a lot of them,
02:41maybe inexperience showed, you know, I don't really want to highlight players too much,
02:46but, you know, it was a rough afternoon for someone like David Kabue,
02:51he just kind of spoke about that too. Yeah.
02:53Oscar McKenney had a difficult afternoon after what was a difficult task having to replace Williams,
02:58and that felt like a big moment, losing Williams.
03:01Defensively, you know, Walsall had stayed relatively solid,
03:05and I think that was a big miss to lose him, being one of Walsall's stand-up players this season.
03:09But, yeah, just, you know, all well, frustrating, disappointing.
03:13But the damage had been done a long time ago, you know, we're looking at this now, and...
03:18It shouldn't have got to this, should it really?
03:19It's a strange one though, because if Sadler Windruss, he is still deemed a hero.
03:24Yes, there are going to be the reservations, and if Walsall had won the playoffs today,
03:28it would have come with the caveat of, I mean, we'll look at the second half of the season.
03:32But, he is still a playoffs winner.
03:34But, you lose that game, and I mean, the pressure's on now.
03:38Erm, is it quite make or break, I guess, a reaction,
03:43sort of, over the coming days and weeks,
03:46we'll realise just how impactful this will feel likely.
03:50You've been down to speak to him, I know you've spoke to a couple of players,
03:53Sadler's fans can see it, you know, the next few hours and the next few days,
03:56but some interesting, kind of, stark words on the January transfer window,
04:02when you reflected on, you know, what's gone wrong in the last few months.
04:05Yeah, well, I mean, in the pre-match press conference, he talked about, you know,
04:10losing George Hall, Jack Earing to it, Jack Earing to injury,
04:14and obviously, Nathan Lowe being the most notable one.
04:18And, you know, they struggled to replace him, didn't replace him.
04:22He said, you know, at first, they kind of added the first half of the transfer window,
04:25the difficulty of strikers not wanting to join the club,
04:28because they thought they were struggling to get him, because Nathan Lowe wasn't playing so well.
04:33And then it was a case of having too many options.
04:36I mean, you know, I don't know, January clearly was a sticking point for Walsall, really.
04:42I mean, you know, we've spoken about the Loneys, and Alfie Chan came good eventually.
04:47But, I mean, we're having to kind of wait an eternity to see him in Walsall colours.
04:52Obviously, it's not Darius Lipsick, hasn't even been in a match for his squad.
04:56Ellis Harrison's tailed off since his injury towards the end of the season.
04:59Levi Amanchi, I mean, you know, whether he comes good or not,
05:03it wasn't going to be one that gave him an immediate impact,
05:06and he's at his moments.
05:08So, yeah, you know, January was this one, even really, you know, struggle for minutes,
05:13not quite worked out in that respect.
05:15In terms of the contracts, again, you know, you said some will stay, some won't.
05:21I mean, that's something we'll learn again over the coming days,
05:25just what sort of job, either Matt Sadler or however,
05:28whatever direction the club decided to go in,
05:30but how much of a job Matt Sadler has on his hands in terms of what happens next?
05:36Yeah, it certainly does.
05:38The disappointment of today will sting for a little while,
05:40but it will soon be moving on and a potential rebuild.
05:43And I know some fans will be questioning Sadler's future,
05:45but it's one to watch out for the coming days and weeks.
05:49So, George, fan of Scoria, 1-0 to Wimbledon, a disappointed end.
05:53But as a Walsall fan said to me, actually, I'd go again next season.
05:57For our Scoria coverage, head over to expressionstar.com.