Walsall Under-18s were back in EFL Youth Alliance - North action on Saturday morning as they made the trip to South Yorkshire and took on Doncaster Rovers Under-18s.Taking place at Rovers' Cantley Park Training Ground, the young Saddlers, who have recently been on a strong run of form, were looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Rochdale last time out.
Their opponents, meanwhile, had enjoyed a far more successful recent outing when they made the short trip to West Yorkshire and defeated Bradford City in the Alliance.
Their opponents, meanwhile, had enjoyed a far more successful recent outing when they made the short trip to West Yorkshire and defeated Bradford City in the Alliance.
Played on a blustery afternoon in South Yorkshire, the match was a hard-fought affair, with both sides creating promising goal-scoring opportunities, as defenders at either end of the pitch had to be alert to the ball being carried by the ongoing storm.
Walsall's most promising openings of the first half saw both Oli Nash and Vasilis Vreto denied by the home goalkeeper; Nash's effort coming from distance, whilst Vreto was denied from an angle inside the area.
The opening goal of the game arrives with ten minutes of the first-half remaining, and saw the home side take the lead when a Harry Glaves cross found Dylan Hartley inside the area. The young striker finishing with a well-taken volley past Fraser Hamilton-Wright.
The home side, buoyed by their goal in the first-half, added to their lead in the second when Luke Hamer found space on the edge of the area, and fired a low, powerful effort into the back of the net.
Doncaster went on to add a third in the final five minutes of the contest when Hartley showed plenty of determination to win the ball back before punishing the Saddlers' defence by grabbing his second goal of the game.
Walsall, however, weren't going out without a fight and went on to score a goal of their own as Ethan Khan, who had earlier been denied by Rovers stopper Tom Rowbotham, got the better of his rival this time around, the prospect finishing with aplomb.
There were no further goals as the young Saddlers slipped to their second defeat in as many games.
FULL-TIME
| ROVERS | 3-1 | WALSALL |
HARTLEY (35') HAMER (63') HARTLEY (85') |
KHAN (87')
|
| AT | CANTLEY PARK |
