Opposition view: Sadler not surprised by Walsall's EFL Trophy defeat at Sixfields
Walsall manager Mat Sadler was not surprised to see his side come off second best during Wednesday’s 4-2 EFL Trophy defeat to Northampton at Sixfields.
Like Cobblers, Walsall named a heavily rotated side but they failed to build on Albert Adomah’s early header, comfortably beaten in the end despite Daniel Kanu briefly sparking hope when making it 3-2 with 15 minutes to go.
"It was about more than just the result tonight and you’ve seen how we have used the competition this season,” said Sadler. “We have made a point of using young players in our academy. That’s not something we’ve done before but we have committed to it this season and we stayed committed to it tonight.
"The game was kind of what I thought it would be. We knew it would be a bit of a mixed bag and I think you saw that. We had a fantastic start and we could have done with riding out the storm from them in the first 20 minutes but what I saw in that 20 minutes was heart, desire, grit.
"We had to change it around for different reasons and it was a real mixed bag in the second half, the goals were disappointing, but the biggest disappointment of the night was Jake (Hollman) going off with what looks like a really bad hamstring injury. We’re gutted about that.
“I’m not under any illusions as to what the game was going to be, and it was tough for us and we expected that, but our group have lots of fight and desire and they’re willing to throw themselves into challenges.
"I’m gutted we’re out and I detest losing football matches but I understand that one and now we’re looking forward to getting back to the proper stuff because we have 22 big games coming up.”