Attention turned to cup action on Tuesday evening when Walsall welcomed League One side Stevenage to the Bescot Stadium for their opening group stage game of this season's EFL Trophy.
The opening goal went the way of the visitors, who capped off a strong start to the contest when Carl Piergianni's flick from a Pheonix Patterson corner fell to Michael Mellon, who tapped home from close range.
Walsall wasted very little time in dragging their visitors back onto level terms when Lewis Simper squeezed a header past the Stevenage 'keeper after getting on the end of an Albert Adomah cross.
The visitors went back into the lead near the thirty-minute mark when Jordan Houghton sent a pass over James Furlong and into the path of Wanya Marcal Madivadua, who controlled the ball well before curling an effort into Wooster's top corner.
Not happy with only providing an assist, Houghton was soon on the scoresheet himself as he was first to react to the loose ball when Wooster had saved from a Patterson corner, Houghton first to react to a loose ball as his side built a three-goal lead.
Not happy with only providing an assist, Houghton was soon on the scoresheet himself as he was first to react to the loose ball when Wooster had saved from a Patterson corner, Houghton first to react to a loose ball as his side built a three-goal lead.
Stevenage made it 4-1 in the latter stages of the first-half when Harrison Burke misjudged the bounce of the ball, his header stranding Wooster, allowing Mellon in to score his second of the game.
Walsall's woes continued into the second-half when Mellon secured his third and Boro's fifth with a finish from a tight angle, goalkeeper Wooster will feel he could have reacted a little quicker.
Ben Broggio was the next Stevenage player to score as he broke the line to add more disappointment onto an already struggling Walsall backline.
EFL TROPHY - SOUTHERN GROUP B
| WALSALL | 1-6 | STEVENAGE |
SIMPER (17')
|
GOALSCORERS
|
MELLON (11') MARCAL (29') HOUGHTON (32') MELLON (42') MELLON (58') BROGGIO (63') |
ADOMAH (17')
|
ASSISTS
|
CASEY (11') HOUGHTON (29') SMITH (58') MARCAL (63') |
| 41 | POSSESSION (%) | 59 |
| 7 | SHOTS (TOTAL) | 22 |
| 1 | SHOTS (ON TARGET) | 11 |
| 5 | GOALKEEPER SAVES | 0 |
| 3 | CORNERS | 9 |
| 7 | FOULS | 10 |
| 0 | YELLOW CARDS | 0 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
| AT | BESCOT STADIUM |
| ATTENDANCE | 1,205 |
| REFEREE | ROBERT MASSEY-ELLIS |
WALSALL
Wooster; Furlong, Dixon (Harris, 19'), Leak, Burke; Simper (Sodje, 46'), Crew, Bunn (Moore, 78'), Etheridge (Straw, 61'), Adomah, Dallas (Sjoerdsma, 62')
Unused: Ward; Kandemiri
Unused: Ward; Kandemiri
STEVENAGE
Barden, James-Wildin, Houghton (Thompson, 79'), Piergianni, Earley, Casey (Thornett, 71'), Smith, Marcal Madivadua (Campbell, 67'), Broggio (Kemp, 71'), Mellon (Turhan, 79'), Patterson
Unused: Woodford, Sanderson
Unused: Woodford, Sanderson
