Northampton Town v Walsall Preview: the Saddlers’ resurgence

The Turkish Messi – zimbio.com

Not only have Walsall won their previous three games, they are starting to knock the ball around with a little more confidence than we have seen previously.

The Saddlers played some excellent one-touch stuff in the build-up to Kieron Morris’ long-range winner in the win over Scunthorpe and some of the combination play between Florent Cuvelier and Erhun Oztumer was impressive. The ‘Wizard of Oz’  also saw a second half penalty saved and the 1-0 scoreline didn’t quite reflect the dominant nature of the performance.

It is difficult to imagine seeing that type of display from Northampton Town. The Cobblers have taken just one point from their previous four league games, scoring just the once – a hollow consolation goal from Sam Foley in last week’s 5-1 thrashing at Oldham and even that was helped by a goalkeeping error.

At Boundary Park, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink perhaps tried to crowbar five players who naturally operate in central areas into the same midfield. Billy Waters and Matt Crooks were the two wide men, yet both had enjoyed their best seasons at League Two level down the middle – as a second striker at Cheltenham in Waters’ case, or in Crooks’ case, as a box-to-box man at Accrington.

Those decisions would suggest that Hasselbaink is working with an imbalanced squad, especially with the inconsistent fitness of Daniel Powell and Sam Hoskins, who are among the few who provide pace in wide areas.

The lack of natural cover for full-backs Brendan Moloney and David Buchanan could mean gaps for Walsall to exploit. Zeli Ismail poses a threat with his runs down the right, as we saw when he set up Amadou Bakayoko for the opener in the 2-1 win at AFC Wimbledon.

Attacking left-back Luke Leahy is beginning to rediscover his early-season form and there is potential for him to combine well with Morris, while Adam Chambers provides the necessary defensive balance.

When Walsall are on the offensive, it is important for the long-serving veteran to cut off any passing lanes into Chris Long, who has looked isolated for Northampton in recent weeks. Long is a talented forward with plenty of energy, but his strengths perhaps don’t extend to holding the ball up for other players, so Kory Roberts and Jon Guthrie will be confident of another solid performance at the back.

While Northampton are in serious trouble, Walsall are upwardly mobile. While a play-off push remains unlikely,  a final run of winnable fixtures in 2017 means their prospects might look interesting once the New Year bells chime.

The Football Lab’s Verdict: 0-3