People have asked more than once this season why I describe this Division as “God Awful” and why it’s so important to get out of it. Yesterday proved the point.

Notts County have one of the best away records in Division 2, having lost only one game away from Meadow Lane in the League this season. They turned up, however, with a first half tactic of hitting it long to the big centre forward (the one and only Jason Lee), with a whippet (Junior Mendes) running off him. Add to that a physical approach in defence and midfield (no fewer than three players were forced to go off with blood injuries), plus some well drilled set piece routines, and this was no spectacle of fast flowing football. The Saddlers had to earn their right to play.

Richard Money lined up with:

Ince, Westwood, Dann, Roper, Taylor, Mark Wright, Kinsella, Dobson, Keates, Butler and Tommy Wright, making his debut.

The first twenty minutes were devoid of decent chances, other than Clayton Ince proving his worth yet again with a tip round the post from a header that was worthy of any game and the Saddler being very fortunate when Parkinson deflected a shot from his own player wide when it seemed County had to score. The oportunity, needless to say, came from a set piece..

Wright was looking lively, in fact a little too lively, when he picked up a yellow card for an over the top reaction from the referee when letting the keeper know he was around. Not that long afterwards, the ref (Mr Swarbrick - remember that name) did get one of his few decisions right, giving the same player a finger wagging, despite the County fans baying for blood, when he went for a ball with the keeper he had every right to go for.

By this time, the Saddlers had started to get a grip on the game and it paid off in the 27th minute. Kinsella got ahead of the strikers, produced a run into the box and, when held up, slipped the ball to Wright who gleefully smashed home a left foot shot.

Walsall were now getting on top and Butler, set up by Tommy Wright, contrived to miss a superb chance.

A long range effort from Tommy Wright also went just over, along with a Dann header, while, at the other hand, Ince had to be alert to prevent Dann putting through his own net, before, just before half time, Keates took a free kick on the right, Roper made the run across the keeper and the ball sailed right into the far corner.

Second half saw the Saddlers keep that edge, carving out the better chances. Butler had one wonderful chance that he failed to put away from a wonderful through ball from Bedeau, on for Mark Wright and also should have done better with one headed chance.

However, Walsall had, by then, conceded their first home League goal this season, when the referee, not for the first or last time, gave a free kick for no one knew what (the County players didn’t appeal) and the shot from it squirmed under Ince after he’d made the save. An error always did look the only way we were likely to concede.

All in all, the centre backs were superb, Kinsella and Dobson won the midfield battle and Tommy Wright’s support for Butler was exemplary.

Man of the Match for me, however, had to be the wonderful Chris Westwood, who had a fantastic game against the tricky former Tranmere man, Parkinson.

After all that, three of our four rivals lost and we stand seven points clear, 10 clear of the play off spots and an incredible 14 ahead of 8th place. Lovely.