Date:23 Oct 2010
Kick-off:15:00
Venue:Banks's Stadium

Macken (64)
Welsh (33) Showunmi (58)
Welsh (87)
Thomas-Moore - pen (77)

Goal!

Live Commentary

The referee blows for the end of the match.

92mins John Welsh challenges Martin Devaney unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct effort from the free kick comes in from Martin Devaney, save made by Peter Gulacsi.

90mins Short corner taken by Matthew Richards.

89mins Unfair challenge on Martin Devaney by Liam Darville results in a free kick. Ryan McGivern restarts play with the free kick.

88mins Arnaud Mendy is brought on as a substitute for Joss Labadie.

87mins John Welsh scores a goal from just outside the area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Walsall 1-4 Tranmere.Assist on the goal came from Joss Labadie.

85mins William Grigg has an effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the left of the goal.

81mins Jonathan Macken leaves the field to be replaced by William Grigg. Dale Jennings leaves the field to be replaced by Ryan Fraughan.

80mins John Welsh takes a shot. Jon Brain makes a save.

79mins Corner taken by Matthew Richards from the right by-line, Ian Goodison manages to make a clearance.

76mins Aaron Lescott receives a yellow card for unsporting behaviour. Penalty scored by Ian Thomas-Moore. Walsall 1-3 Tranmere.Foul by Aaron Lescott on Dale Jennings, Penalty awarded.

74mins Dale Jennings takes a shot. Save by Jon Brain.

73mins Effort from outside the area by Jonathan Macken goes wide right of the goal.

71mins Ian Thomas-Moore is caught offside. Jon Brain takes the free kick.

69mins Zoumana Bakayogo joins the action as a substitute, replacing Aaron Cresswell. Andrew Davies leaves the field to be replaced by Clayton McDonald. Jonathan Macken challenges Joss Labadie unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by John Welsh.

66mins Joss Labadie takes a long range shot harmlessly clearing the crossbar.

64mins Jonathan Macken grabs a goal from close in to the bottom left corner of the goal. Walsall 1-2 Tranmere.Assist by Martin Devaney.

63mins Effort on goal by Ian Thomas-Moore from a long way out goes over the bar.

60mins Alex Nicholls replaces Reuben Reid. Corner from right by-line taken by Martin Devaney.

58mins Enoch Showunmi scores a goal from inside the penalty box low into the middle of the goal. Walsall 0-2 Tranmere.

56mins The referee shows Enoch Showunmi a yellow card for time wasting. The referee blows for offside. Jon Brain takes the indirect free kick.

50mins John Welsh is shown a yellow card. Free kick awarded for a foul by John Welsh on Jonathan Macken. Andrew Davies restarts play with the free kick.

49mins Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Aaron Cresswell from the right by-line to the near post, Aaron Cresswell takes a inswinging corner from the right by-line to the near post. Clearance by Emmanuele Smith.

48mins Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Aaron Cresswell.

47mins Aaron Cresswell takes a inswinging corner from the right by-line to the near post, Ryan McGivern manages to make a clearance.

47mins Aaron Cresswell takes a inswinging corner.

46mins Aaron Cresswell takes a shot. Jon Brain makes a save.

The referee blows his whistle to start the second half.

The ref blows to signal half-time.

43mins Unfair challenge on Enoch Showunmi by Emmanuele Smith results in a free kick. Dale Jennings takes the direct free kick.

38mins Aaron Lescott has an effort at goal from outside the box which misses left.

38mins Martin Devaney takes a shot. Blocked by Scott Wootton.

37mins Dale Jennings produces a volleyed right-footed shot from 30 yards. Save made by Jon Brain.

36mins Joss Labadie gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Richard Taundry. Free kick taken by Andrew Davies.

33mins John Welsh gets on the score sheet with a goal from long range to the top right corner of the goal. Walsall 0-1 Tranmere.

30mins The official flags Joss Labadie offside. Emmanuele Smith takes the free kick.

23mins The referee penalises Reuben Reid for handball. Peter Gulacsi takes the direct free kick.

20mins Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Richard Taundry by Joss Labadie. Direct free kick taken by Aaron Lescott.

19mins Ryan McGivern produces a left-footed shot from outside the penalty box and misses wide left of the target.

14mins Martin Devaney goes into the referee's book for unsporting behaviour. Martin Devaney challenges Scott Wootton unfairly and gives away a free kick. Peter Gulacsi takes the free kick.

12mins Free kick awarded for a foul by Ian Goodison on Jon Brain. Jon Brain restarts play with the free kick.

11mins Corner taken left-footed by Aaron Cresswell from the right by-line to the near post, save by Jon Brain.

9mins Martin Devaney is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Peter Gulacsi restarts play with the free kick.

8mins Reuben Reid takes a shot. Save by Peter Gulacsi.

7mins The referee books Steve Jones for unsporting behaviour. Free kick awarded for a foul by Steve Jones on Aaron Cresswell. Aaron Cresswell takes the free kick.

4mins Enoch Showunmi gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Emmanuele Smith. Free kick taken by Aaron Lescott.

2mins Steve Jones has an effort at goal from outside the penalty box which goes wide left of the goal.

The match begins.

Match Preview

Davis blow for Saddlers Walsall will be without David Davis for their home clash against fellow strugglers Tranmere. The on-loan Wolves youngster was on Thursday recalled by Mick McCarthy due to a shortage of midfielders at Molineux and will now be part of their squad for the trip to Premier League champions Chelsea. Captain Darren Byfield and midfielder Richard Taundry (knee) have returned to full training after their lengthy absences and will be monitored, although the encounter is likely to come too soon for both of them. Otherwise, manager Chris Hutchings has a fully-fit squad at his disposal as the Saddlers look to continue their recent upturn in fortunes and extend their unbeaten run to three games against a Rovers side who prop up the League One table. Tranmere manager Les Parry could be without midfielder Joss Labadie. Labadie has missed the last two games with a knee injury and Parry admits the former West Brom man is likely to remain sidelined. Striker Ian Thomas-Moore has been struggling for fitness in recent weeks but Parry said: "He's had almost a week's rest, so he's going to train and we'll see how he comes through it. Hopefully he'll be available." Striker Enoch Showunmi and midfielder Paul McLaren are nursing knocks and will be assessed but a trio of other players will hope to feature. Marlon Broomes, Adam McGurk and Sam Morrow played for the reserves against Carlisle in midweek and could all come into contention.

Formation:442Manager: Chris Hutchings

Walsall

Formation: 433Manager: Les Parry

Tranmere

Jon Brain
Aaron Lescott
Emmanuele Smith
Andrew Davies
Ryan McGivern
Steve Jones
Matthew Richards
Richard Taundry
Martin Devaney
Jonathan Macken
Reuben Reid
SUBS
David Bevan
Darryl Westlake
Clayton McDonald
Alex Nicholls
Paul Marshall
Julian Gray
William Grigg

Home

Away

Peter Gulacsi
Liam Darville
Scott Wootton
Ian Goodison
Aaron Cresswell
Maximo Blanchard
John Welsh
Joss Labadie
Enoch Showunmi
Ian Thomas-Moore
Dale Jennings
SUBS
Joe Collister
Tim Cathalina
Zoumana Bakayogo
Arnaud Mendy
Ryan Fraughan
Lucas Akins
Sammy Morrow

Match Report

Hutchings under fire after heavy loss Tranmere lifted themselves off the bottom of League One with an easy win 4-1 at the expense of fellow strugglers Walsall who crashed to their fifth home league defeat of the season, putting severe pressure on manager Chris Hutchings. Rovers, who knocked the Saddlers out of the Carling Cup at the Banks's Stadium earlier this season, were much the better side and took the lead in the 34th minute when home keeper Jonny Brain saw his punched clearance land at the feet of the impressive John Welsh who lobbed into the empty net from 40 yards. Walsall had little to offer going forward and were even worse in the second half, so it was no surprise when, in the 59th minute, home defender Andrew Davies, on loan from Stoke City, lost possession easily leaving Enoch Showunmi to run on and shoot low past the keeper for number two. Walsall did raise the hopes of their dejected fans in the 65th minute, Jon Macken driving in a cross from the lively Martin Devaney, but that was soon cancelled out when Aaron Lescott brought down Dale Jennings and Ian Thomas-Moore scored confidently from the penalty. And to rub it in Rovers pushed forward to grab number four against the dreadful home defence, substitute Ryan Fraughan crossing for Welsh to notch his second of the match with two minutes remaining.

Form Guide

LLDLWD Walsall VS Tranmere DLWDLL

Last Meetings

Walsall 2 - 1 Tranmere 10/04/2010 Tranmere 2 - 3 Walsall 12/09/2009 Walsall 0 - 1 Tranmere 11/04/2009 Tranmere 2 - 1 Walsall 28/12/2008 Walsall 2 - 1 Tranmere 05/04/2008 Tranmere 0 - 0 Walsall 12/10/2007

Top Scorers

Walsall R Reid 3 J Macken 2 J Gray 2 D Byfield 1 M Devaney 1 M Richards 1 P Marshall 1 A Nicholls 1 E Smith 1 Tranmere E Showunmi 3 I Thomas-Moore 1 A Cresswell 1 S Wootton 1 A Mendy 1 D Jennings 1

Goals

Walsall Total goals 30 Goals per game 13 2 (For) 1 (Against) Period 0-10 mins 1 (For) Period 11-20 mins (For) 3 (Against) Period 21-30 mins 1 (For) Period 31-40 mins 4 (For) 4 (Against) Period 41-50 mins 2 (For) 3 (Against) Period 51-60 mins 2 (For) 3 (Against) Period 61-70 mins (For) 1 (Against) Period 71-80 mins 1 (For) 2 (Against) Period 81-90 mins Tranmere Total goals 26 Goals per game 9 (For) 5 (Against) Period 0-10 mins (For) 3 (Against) Period 11-20 mins (For) 2 (Against) Period 21-30 mins (For) 2 (Against) Period 31-40 mins 2 (For) 1 (Against) Period 41-50 mins 1 (For) 2 (Against) Period 51-60 mins (For) 2 (Against) Period 61-70 mins 1 (For) 1 (Against) Period 71-80 mins 5 (For) 2 (Against) Period 81-90 mins