Walsall gave the fans and under pressure Manager Paul Merson a much needed boost of three points yesterday, courtesy of this season’s “forgotten man”.

Merson rang the changes again, yesterday, but this time it was the ones most of the fans had been asking for, as Ian Roper replaced the injured and out of form Chris Westwood, Simon Osborn returned from suspension, to join Kris Taylor in central midfield and Dario Larrossa came in for Jorge Leitao. As expected, Murphy replaced Ruddy, due to return to Everton after the game.

First of all the basic facts. Walsall kept a clean sheet at last and Jorge Leitao scored half way through the second half with his first touch, after replacing Larossa, following a superb cross from mark Wright. Apart from that, this was a very curious game.

Merson had chosen to go with two out and out wingers, in the shape of Wright and Demontagnac, yet the play in the first half especially was compressed into the centre of the park, much to Merson’ own frustration, as he was continually signalling for the team to stretch the game. This is despite the fact that both players, when they were given possession, produced some scintillating play, full of promise.

Equally, the match will be remembered for some superb defending from Roper especially and Bennett, yet the reason they had to keep throwing their bodies on the line was the fact that Doncaster were opening us up at will throughout the first half and for a fair proportion of the second. Indeed, it is fortunate that Rovers had not brought their shooting boots with them, as they shot straight at Murphy from excellent positions no fewer than five times, whereas the oddly named Jan Budtz, despite looking in trouble every time a cross came over, didn’t have a real save to make until the Saddlers scored, other than one at the near post from Pead that any ‘keeper should really have dealt with, given the narrow angle.

The reason? The Saddlers’ strength this season has been, without a doubt, the central midfield, but the whole unit went AWOL yesterday. Osborn and Taylor weren’t really in the game in the first half and the replacement of Osborn by Standing (Osborn was having hamstring problems) didn’t make much difference until the goal went in and the team started to play with a little more confidence. Why it’s difficult to say. They were outnumbered some of the time, but it’s true to say that all the creativity came from the flanks and we should be working on getting the wingers into the game more often, as Merson himself obviously realised, rather than continually trying to play the “glory ball”, something Taylor was very guilty of. Doncaster themselves gave the perfect example of this, as their left winger gave Craig Pead a really torrid afternoon and the midfielders wove some lovely patterns with their “triangles”.

Man of the Match? The sponsors gave it to Murphy, presumably for his shouting at the defence to organise themselves properly, but the saves he made were all straight at him. For me, the player on the day had to be the magnificent Ian Roper, who showed how much we have missed him. A word too for the impressive Bennett and for Matty Fryatt, for ignoring the mindless booing from a section of the crowd in the last five minutes and continuing to do eactly what he should have done and take the ball into the corner to kill the time off.

Credit where credit’s due also to Paul Merson, for deciding again to do the right thing towards the end and killing the game off by bringing on Gerrard and going five at the back, to counter Penney throwing on three forwards.

All in all, then, a welcome three points, but, if Merson is to be a success as a Manager, he desperately needs to get someone in who can coach the whole team to defend properly and not leave it to the individual efforts of the two centre backs. On another day, this game could easily have gone the other way.