Walsall boss Mat Sadler praised his team after they battled their way to three points on the opening day of the 2025/26 campaign.
Taking on Swindon Town at a busy Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium, the Saddlers went into the lead with under ten minutes on the clock as attack-minded defender Evan Weir unleashed a superb free-kick into the back of the Robins net.
Sadler's team didn't make it easy upon themselves, however, as midfielder Brandon Conley was shown a straight red card for, what the referee adjudged to be a last-man foul, leaving the team with something of a battle on their hands.
After thwarting their opponents' advances for the rest of the first-half, the Saddlers were ultimately pegged back as Will Wright levelled from the penalty spot.
The goal-scoring didn't end there, though, as Connor Barrett went on to take advantage of some slack Swindon defending to put the Saddlers back into the lead in second-half stoppage time.
Speaking to the assembled media, Sadler admitted the game was a chaotic one, when he said: "That was mad.
"To play in those conditions for seventy minutes or whatever it was, and to show all the sides to us that we did.
"Maybe some of the sides that we come to expect, but someone just said to me that the team finished last season, there were ten new guys that started this game.
"It shows the team that we are and the collective that we want to work with. I thought the players were outstanding."
You can find more quotes from the gaffer, here.