The Saddlers travel to Sixfields to play Northampton Town in the 3rd round of the EFL Trophy….
The Opposition
We face Northampton for the 2nd time this season having already played them at home in the group stage of this competition. A rather dull game was snatched in the 88th minute by Northampton who won 1-0.
The Proposition
The Saddlers are on a dismal run of 3 straight losses in both League and FA Cup with the last game being a 5-1 loss to Norwich City to knock us out of the cup. A fantastic goal from Courtney Clarke was small consolation for a game that was dominated by Norwich leaving Walsall chasing their tails.
Northampton are also not in good form with 1 win in their last 7 games (3 draws/3 losses). Their last game being a 0-0 away draw with Bolton on the 4th January. They will have had 10 days to prepare for this fixture compared to Walsall’s 3.
The First Time
The first meeting between the sides was in Division Three (South) on the 5th November 1927, which resulted in a 10-0 away loss for Walsall.
The Last Time
The last meeting was 3 months ago in the EFL Trophy group stage when we lost 0-1 at home.
The Worst Time
That first game was also the worst result for us between the teams.
The Best Time
Our best result was an 8-0 away win in Division Three (South) on the 11th October 1947.
Played for both
Alex Nicholls played as both a midfielder and a striker. He has previously played for Walsall, Burton Albion, Northampton Town, Exeter City, Barnet, Dundee United, Crewe Alexandra and Solihull Moors.
Walsall
After impressing in reserve and youth team games, Nicholls broke into Walsall’s first team in the 2005–06 season. In that same season Nicholls went on to make 13 appearances which included a Football League Trophy clash with Swansea City, it was in this game that he scored his first professional goal for the club. However, his season ended prematurely as he broke his leg while playing in a youth cup tie with Hednesford Town.
In 2007, Nicholls went on loan to Burton Albion. He made 14 appearances for the Brewers before returning to Walsall at the end of April. During the 2007–08 season, Nicholls played as both a right winger and a striker, making 24 appearances and scoring three goals, which included an FA Cup goal in an away replay with Millwall.
Nicholls was offered a new two-year contract by the club on 10 May 2010 which he accepted. He scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season against Brentford in a 2–1 victory, by scoring a well placed lob. In his final season for the club he was joint top goal scorer with 8 goals. Nicholls went on to make a total of 219 appearances for the club before leaving on a free transfer in 2012.
Northampton Town
In June 2012, Nicholls joined League Two side Northampton Town on a free transfer after his contract expired.
Nicholls soon became a fans favourite at the club with his all energy displays and some vital goals, he scored 8 goals in 16 games before his season was ended prematurely when on 27 October he broke his leg after a late challenge from Port Vale defender John McCombe.
Also:
Andy Williams, Jon Guthrie, Mark Highes, Mat Sadler …
Comment if you know any more!!!
Lump On
After recent displays I can’t recommend lumping on but our overall record against them is slightly in our favour, (W37/D19/L34).
Lump Off
As above, expect a loss… then a win is a bonus.
Goal Tally (sponsored by Owly McOwlface)
Daniel Kanu - 12
Aaron Pressley - 4
Evan Weir - 4
Ryan Finnigan - 4
Connor Barrett - 3
Albert Adomah - 3
Ricoh Richards - 2
Aden Flint - 2
Jamille Matt - 2
Courtney Clarke - 2
Harrison Burke - 1
Charlie Lakin - 1
Jid Okeke - 1
Rico Browne - 1
Priestley Farquharson - 1
UTS Match Poll
- Walsall Win
- Draw
- Northampton Win
