Walsall 2-1 Wednesday

WEDNESDAY three away victory late on for the second game on the spin at Walsall on Boxing Day as the Saddlers came from behind to bag a 2-1 victory in npower League One.

Ryan Lowe’s second-half strike had Wednesday en route to victory before the hosts grabbed two stoppage time goals to send Gary Megson’s men back to South Yorkshire pointless and frustrated by another late collapse.

The Owls were leading Huddersfield 4-3 last time out before the Terriers grabbed a leveller seven minutes into stoppage time and a lack of concentration late on at the Bescot Stadium cost Wednesday again.

Megson made two changes to the side that drew with Huddersfield, with Richard O’Donnell taking his place between the sticks, with Stephen Bywater having returned to Derby County from loan, while Lowe replaced Sanchez Watt in attack.

Chances were at a premium in a first-half that had plenty of fast-paced action but little in the way of clear-cut chances for either side.

Wednesday were favourites going into the contest, with the Owls looking to retain their spot in the top-two and Walsall battling against relegation midway through the campaign.

Former Barnsley man Jon Macken had the first real chance but he struck his half-volley wide as the Saddlers looked to break the deadlock going into the interval.

The effort only acted to wake Wednesday up and the Owls finished the half strong, albeit failing to find the back of the net for their efforts.

Danny Batth had an effort blocked before the Owls defender, who recently agreed to an extended loan stint from Wolves until the end of the season, headed over from a Ben Marshall cross.

Half-Time: Walsall 0-0 Wednesday

The Owls manager clearly had strong words to his men at the interval and the visitors came flying out of the traps at the start of the second half. Marshall created an opportunity for himself but he curled his shot wide of James Walker’s goal.

Chris O’Grady then set-up strike partner Lowe, but the former Bury man couldn’t hit the target as Wednesday started to look the most likely to find the breakthrough.

The visitors’ momentum was halted ten minutes after the restart when skipper Rob Jones was forced off through injury, loanee Miguel Llera coming on to take his place.

Walsall’s chances were few and far between but they came a whisker away from making the breakthrough when Jamie Paterson saw his good effort come crashing back off the woodwork with O’Donnell beaten.

The Owls went better not long after, however, when Lowe headed them ahead. Chris Lines was the architect, using his pace to stroll past his men before providing a superb ball which glanced off Lowe’s head and into the far corner of the net.

The Owls could have doubled their lead just minutes later but O’Grady forced a great save from Walker when he turned and shot.

The hosts were looking to get on level terms and Macken fired a warning shot just over the bar on the volley before they got on level terms a minute into stoppage time.

Substitute Claude Gnakpa was the scorer for the hosts, launching an effort from the edge of the box which took a deflection and found its way beyond O’Donnell and into the back of the net for the equaliser.

Things got worse for Wednesday deep into added time. Walsall had the momentum and Manny Smith looped an effort over the Owls stopper to complete the turnaround and leave the Owls with a long trip back up to South Yorkshire.

Full-Time: Walsall 2-1 Wednesday

Walsall: Walker, Sadler, Butler, Smith, Chambers, Macken, Beevers, Taundry (Gnakpa 77), Paterson (Bowerman 77), Nicholls, Peterlin. Substitutes: Grof, Westlake, Halliday.

Wednesday: O’Donnell, Tavernier, Jones (Llera 56), Batth, R Johnson, Marshall, Lines, Semedo, Prutton, Lowe (Morrison 85), O’Grady. Substitutes: Jameson, Watt, J Johnson.