Walsall Under-18s returned to EFL Youth Alliance action on Saturday as they played host to Shrewsbury Town at Ray Hall Lane.
After failing to win any of their three games heading into the match with the Shrews, including last weekend's 6-0 hammering to Oldham Athletic in the Alliance Cup, Walsall were looking to get their first points of the campaign on Saturday morning.
Opponents Shrewsbury Town hadn't played an Alliance game ahead of kick-off but it was they who would start the game on top as they went into the lead with just two-minutes on the clock, a dismal start for the Saddlers.
Though the visitors went on to create many more goal-scoring opportunities they didn't add another goal to their tally as Walsall's defence displayed some welcome strength as they restricted their opponents to just the one goal.
Up at the other end, Shrewsbury stopper Xander Parke had little to do for much of the match as the young Saddlers struggled to create openings in the final third, with shots on goal proving to be difficult to come by.
However, that wasn't the case for the whole of the game as Walsall went on to level the scores shortly before full-time as their patience was rewarded and they grabbed their first point of the new campaign.
FULL-TIME
| WALSALL | 1-1 | SHREWSBURY TOWN |