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Walsall v Scunthorpe: Darrell Clarke wants to see Saddlers consistency

Manager Darrell Clarke is urging his team to keep their momentum after picking up their second win of the season.

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It took them nine games to do it, but with another win at last under their belt, Saddlers prepare to host fellow strugglers Scunthorpe tomorrow. Paul Hurst’s side travel to the Black Country after picking up four points in their last two league games, igniting a resurgence for the Lincolnshire outfit.

Despite Tuesday’s result at Morecambe, Clarke isn’t celebrating yet, insisting that the focus now turns to tomorrow’s opponents.

“We’re not getting carried away to be honest, nothing changes really, we’re disappointed with our points return, it’s nice to get a win but we’re looking for that consistency; consistency with results,” Clarke said.

“Wins for managers last about 30 seconds, even after the game, while the lads got a 20-second pat on the back the rest of the talk was about making sure we back it up on Saturday. There were no high-fives and all of that after the game, it was a case of back to work, get cracking, next game.

“I certainly think we’ve played a lot better in games that we’ve lost this season but we ground it out, limited them to very little and deserved the points – we’ll take that and see what we can take into Saturday.

“Paul Hurst is a good friend of mine, he won’t be come three o’clock Saturday but we’ll have a drink after.

“They’ll be pleased that they’ve got a couple of results now and they’ll be moving in that direction, I certainly see them nowhere near the bottom of the table when the end of the season comes.”

Clarke kept the same side for the two games running for the first time this season after the same XI that lost 1-0 to Bradford started the game at Morecambe.

The same 4-4-2 formation was also kept but Clarke hinted that changes could be made for tomorrow’s match. “We’re showing glimpses of what the potential partnerships can be while there’s good players behind the scenes pushing for starts themselves,” he added.

“It’s the third game in a week coming up so it’ll be interesting to see how the boys’ legs are over the next couple days.”

One of those who has kept his place in recent weeks is defender Dan Scarr, who has partnered skipper James Clarke at centre-half in the last two fixtures.

Looking forward to the Iron clash tomorrow, the 24-year-old said: “They’ve got a good team on paper, it just hasn’t really clicked for them. We know it’ll be a tough game but I’m looking forward to it.

“We need to start building on the points that we’re getting, even the draws. A draw is good when you can build on it the next game so as long as we can keep getting the points and then we can try to get to where we want to be by Christmas”

The opposition: Iron starting to show their mettle

Paul Hurst during his time at Ipswich.

Darrell Clarke is facing a friendly face in Paul Hurst tomorrow when Walsall welcome a struggling Scunthorpe side.

But the Lincolnshire side have found some form in League Two after picking up four points in their last two games.

Before Saturday’s fixture with Morecambe, Scunthorpe had registered only one point in seven games, a 2-2 home draw with Crawley in mid-August.

Now, the picture looks much less bleak after a 3-0 win over Morecambe was followed with a 2-2 draw against Oldham on Tuesday.

The manner of that draw may be more important than the point itself as Hurst’s men fought back from 2-0 down, levelling the score in a 15-minute passage of play.

As one of the teams relegated alongside Walsall from League One last season, they’ll be looking to pick up more points against teams around them in League Two. Midfielder Matty Lund and striker Kevin van Veen have both been on the scoresheet in recent weeks and will be looking to pose problems for Walsall who have struggled at home to Scunthorpe over the years.

In the last seven fixtures between the clubs at the Banks’s Sadium, Walsall have only won once and have been beaten 4-1 on three occasions. They’ve shipped 16 goals in those games, scoring seven.

Memory lane:

January 12, 2019

In recent years when Walsall have welcomed

Scunthorpe it’s been a high-scoring affair – unfortunately that’s usually for the away side. The Saddlers have lost 4-1 on three occasions in the last seven meetings in the Black Country.

In that time Walsall have won once, 1-0 on December 9, 2017. Last time they met at the Banks’s, on January 12, 2019, the Saddlers lost 2-1, with a goal from Nicky Devlin.

Key battle:

Stuart Sinclair v Matty Lund

Coming off the back of his winning goal against Morecambe, and an impressive midfield display, Sinclair could have a job on his hands against free-scoring midfielder Matty Lund.

The 28-year-old has scored three league goals this season, including two in his team’s last two games.

With both sides expected to play a 4-4-2 formation, Sinclair’s license to get forward may get revoked in order to nullify the attacking threat of Lund.