Walsall's 2023/24 League Two campaign began with an away trip to Morecambe, with Mat Sadler's side looking to build upon their undefeated pre-season and begin with a win.
Walsall started the game slowly and allowed Morecambe to take control of far too much of the play and were unsurprisingly punished as Adam Mayor opened his account for the season with around twenty-five minutes on the clock.
The Saddlers didn't allow their heads to bow and, around thirteen minutes later, were back on level terms as Danny Johnson netted his first goal of the season after slotting the ball home after finding himself one-on-one with the 'keeper.
Walsall's hopes of beginning with a win were dealt a blow in second-half stoppage time as Ferrand Rawson finished off a goal-mouth scramble by poking the ball over the line to ultimately secure all three points for the Shrimps.
SKY BET LEAGUE TWO
| MORECAMBE | 2-1 | WALSALL |
| MAYOR (25') RAWSON (90+2') |
GOALSCORERS |
JOHNSON (38') |
| KING (25') | ASSISTS | |
| 49 | POSS (%) | 51 |
| 7 | SHOTS (TOTAL) | 10 |
| 5 | SHOTS (ON TARGET) | 1 |
| 5 | CORNERS | 3 |
| 11 | FOULS | 6 |
| 6* | YELLOW CARDS | 4 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
| AT | MAZUMA STADIUM |
| ATTENDANCE | 4,609 (1,327 WALSALL) |
| REFEREE | MARTIN FOY (DURHAM) |
MORECAMBE
Moore; Love 🟨, Bedeau 🟨, Rawson 🟨, Songo'o 🟨, Bloxham (Slew, 90+2'), King, Mellon (C.Smith, 90+2'), McKiernan 🟨 (Davenport, 90+2'), Mayor, Senior
Substitutes: A.Smith; Stokes, Brown, Melbourne
Derek Adams 🟨
WALSALL
Evans; Williams, Daniels, Hussey; Riley 🟨, Stirk (Matt, 90+5), McEntee 🟨, Gordon; Hutchinson 🟨; Johnson 🟨, Oteh (James-Taylor, 67')
Substitutes: J.Smith, Foulkes, Comley, Allen, Tierney