Football Days

Bescot Stadium - Walsall FC

Walsall 0-2 Swindon Town

10/11/12 - League One

Att: 4,139

Like a lot of people I've been past the Bescot Stadium more times than I care to count during numerous treks up and down the M6 over the years, but despite this I'd never actually been there to see a game. One positive thing about kick off times being moved for TV coverage is that with Villa's annual "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory" act against Manchester United kicking off at 5:30 gave me a chance to take in Walsall's 3pm kick off at home to Swindon Town as the two grounds are just a short train ride apart from each other.

It was an early start and after leaving home at 9am I got on the train and arrived in Walsall just after midday. I met my mate Dan in the Imperial for a swift pint before paying a visit to Ladbrokes and jumping on the train to Bescot Stadium. Yes, it has it's very own train station.

Walsall moved to the Bescot in 1990 after 104 years at Fellows Park. It was constructed at a cost of £4.5m and was one of the first newly built stadiums in England, opened two years after Scunthorpe's Glanford Park. It was originally opened with a very similar design to Scunthorpe's home, with four sides of equal height and a terrace behind one goal but following a stint in the second tier at the start of the millennium the terrace was converted to seats and a second tier was added to the Tile Choice Stand, bringing the capacity of the ground to over 11,000. There were plans to mirror the impressive stand at the opposite end of the ground but three years after relegation from the Championship The Saddlers found themselves in League Two and the plans to extend the ground were shelved.

Once we'd arrived at the ground we had a look in the excellent programme shop before heading to The Saddlers Club for a few pre-match drinks. Entry was £2 on the door and it was a decent place for a few jars and a chat before the game with a very friendly atmosphere amongst the locals. There seems to be a real sense of pride within the Walsall supporters, who have turned their back on the bigger clubs in the area and have stuck by their local side when so many others in the town travel to Wolverhampton or Birmingham to watch their team. The town itself has a population of over 250,000 but despite this the club's average crowd is around the 4,000 mark.

There have been some tough times on the field in recent years for The Saddlers. They were promoted as League Two champions in 2006/07 and upon their return to the third tier they were in the thick of the play off race until the sales of Fox and Dann to Coventry, which lead to the resignation of Richard Money and they eventually finished 12th after a down turn in form. A year later they finished 13th and in 2009/10 a respectable 10th place was achieved. Chris Hutchings' second full season in charge was considerably less successful as they got off to a dreadful start and with Walsall cut well adrift of the safety Hutchings was sacked at the turn of the year following a 4-1 loss to Peterborough. Current manager Dean Smith took over and secured his first win with a 6-1 hammering against Bristol Rovers. Results continued to improve, including a notable 5-2 win against Hartlepool after they were 2-0 down and a 1-0 victory over Southampton. Walsall picked up 8 points from their matches in April and went on to secure their League One status by a single point ahead of Dagenham & Redbridge, with Plymouth's ten-point deduction also aiding Walsall's miraculous survival.

Last season was another difficult one for the club but survival was secured on the penultimate match of the season and they finished in 19th place. This season started a lot brighter, despite a 3-0 defeat to Doncaster on the opening day. Walsall collected early season wins against more fancied clubs such as Notts County, MK Dons, Portsmouth, Preston and Bournemouth and found themselves in the play off places at the end of September. Unfortunately since the early season promise they went into this match against Swindon on the back of a nine match winless run and had been soundly beaten 4-1 at home by Scunthorpe last time out.

This afternoon's opponents Swindon arrived having held Sheffield United to a goalless draw three days after being knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Macclesfield. I had been at the County Ground ten days earlier to see Swindon v Aston Villa in the League Cup and I had been thoroughly impressed by Di Canio's side and it was clear that they would provide a stiff test for The Saddlers.

After finishing our beers we got into the ground as the teams were entering the pitch. With no pillars blocking the view from the Tile Choice Stand it provided a good vantage point for the match and Walsall's more vocal supporters in the lower tier did their best to create a good atmosphere. At the far end there was a good turnout of around 900 Swindon supporters who had made the trip to the West Midlands.

Following the minute silence of remembrance the match got underway and in the blink of an eye Swindon took the lead when a cross wasn't dealt with and Simon Ferry smashed the ball home after just fifty seconds to give Walsall the worst possible start. Following the early set back the hosts tried to force their way back into the game but Swindon continued to enjoy the majority of possession and had several chances to extend their lead before the break.

After half time Walsall came out with a purpose as they tried to force an equaliser. Adam Chambers missed a promising chance and the introduction of Febian Brandy provided a threat in the final third. Wes Foderingham produced a fine save to keep out Jamie Paterson's free kick but just moments later Walsall were made to pay for their lack of cutting edge in front of goal when a swift counter attack saw Swindon double their lead through a long range effort by Matt Richie. That goal killed the game and the remainder of the game was pretty academic as Walsall slumped to another defeat as their early season form becomes more of a distant memory.

We made a swift exit after the match as we caught the train from Bescot to Witton to see the Villa game. It was a very enjoyable afternoon and although the stadium lacks a bit of character and isn't in the best location there is a really friendly feel to the place and given their difficult situation I can't help but find myself wanting them to do well. They're going through another difficult time on the pitch and I really hope they can turn it around - This is a club that deserves a bit of success.