Walsall Under-18s returned to competitive action on Saturday morning as they welcomed Oldham Athletic to Ray Hall Lane for an EFL Youth Alliance - North West clash.
After seeing last weekend's meeting with Accrington Stanley postponed, this would be the youngsters' first outing of the month, with the Reds still searching for their first win of the new campaign.
WALSALL
Hedge; Baldwin, Sawyers, Wilkes, Beckford, Shaw, Chakki, Christofaro, Juliff, Onabirekhanlen, Sarvari
Substitutes: Kilroy; Robinson, Willock, Toor, Cox
Fielding a team which consisted of a mixture of scholars and apprentices, the Saddlers started the game brightly and were handed a golden opportunity to take the lead with around a minute on the clock.
Forcing a young Latics defender into action, the Saddlers were awarded a penalty which second-year scholar Samim Sarvari was only too happy to fire into the back of the net as Walsall made the most of their dream start.
Unfortunately for the Saddlers, their lead wouldn't last as the visitors went on to be awarded a spot-kick of their own as the Walsall defence struggled to regain possession inside their own area.
Aaron Atkinson was the man to step up and score as he slotted the ball past Zach Hedge in the Walsall goal, the Welsh youth international 'keeper frustrated at not being able to retain his clean sheet.
Completing their rebound from going a goal down, Oldham were soon in the lead as they capped off a swift counter-attack to place the ball into the back of the Saddlers' net. A dismal few minutes for the home side.
Despite 'keeper Hedge producing a series of fine saves to keep the game alive, the Saddlers went on to concede a third just before half-time as Frazer Cookson completed a well-worked set-piece as he headed the ball beyond Zach and in to the back of the net.
HALF-TIME
| WALSALL | 1-3 | OLDHAM ATHLETIC |
Walsall's second-half was no better than their first as the visitors went on to further extend their lead, putting the Saddlers' promising start well and truly to bed.
The Latics went on to grab their fourth goal as the game reached the hour mark, before adding a fifth some five minutes later.
The Saddlers made changes both before and after their visitors' goals with goal scorer Samim Sarvari being replaced by Tayshen Robinson, Marvellous Onabirekhanlen making way for Shay Willock and Arjun Toor taking the place of Piers Juliff.
Unfortunately, none of the substitutes were able to thwart the visitors as they netted a sixth goal some nineteen minutes from time, the strike coming in the form of the game's third penalty as the Walsall backline continued to crumble.
Oldham's seventh goal of the game arrived with ten minutes of normal time remaining, the visitors running rampant as their hosts struggled clear the danger as their terrible start to the season showed no sign of coming to an end.
FULL-TIME
| WALSALL | 1-7 | OLDHAM ATHLETIC |
| SARVARI [P] (2') | |
| AT | RAY HALL LANE |