A stunning injury time save from Ben Garratt denied the Saddlers what would have been a barely deserved win, but only after a spectacular Mark Ellis 90th minute own goal had rescued a point for Walsall after another below par performance.
It would have been rough justice on Crewe, who themselves had barely done enough to win the game, but who had lead for the whole of the second half against home side who were borderline useless for the first 90 minutes, only to galvanise themselves into action in injury time.
The highlights of the first half included a man on the back row dropping his phone, someone three seats down eating a pie, and me getting a Facebook like for something I posted pre-match.
An unprecedented half time substitution by the Saddlers saw Lalkovic, who was axed from the starting line-up for Westcarr, replace the ineffectual Hewitt. We did carry a bit more of a threat in the moments that followed, but in the same way that a mosquito carries slightly more threat than a moth. Our steadfast refusal to have a shot was becoming more and more infuriating with every misplaced pass, and always leaves us susceptible to a sucker punch.
This, predictably, is exactly what happened. A low cross from the right bounced in the box and was tucked away by Chucks Aneke, who amazingly managed to celebrate his goal without antagonising a single Walsall supporter.
We were playing so badly that when the introduction of Michael Ngoo happened, he actually improved us, firing against the post within minutes of coming on. Nicky Featherstone was then replaced, about a game and a half later than it became necessary, to give a rare but impressive cameo to James McQuilkin, who also came close when he fired wide with 5 minutes to go.
We were never going to score ourselves if we`d have still been playing now. Actually, I very much doubt we`d have scored in the Wolves game yet if that was still being played. Thankfully, Crewe centre back Ellis took sympathy on us and planted a diving header from a Ben Purkiss cross past the helpless Garratt.
The Saddlers suddenly realised there was a game to be won, and actually attempted to snatch it, but it was all too little too late. A Lalkovic volley from just outside the area saw Garratt produce a spectacular fingertip save on the bar, and then pushed Westcarr`s headed rebound over the top, even though the latter attempt had already been ruled offside.
We wouldn`t have deserved the win anyway, but we sure would have welcomed it.
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