Where can Walsall go after their FA Cup exit

Walsall have exited this season’s FA Cup at the first round after a 1-0 defeat at home to Macclesfield.

Walsall created very little throughout the game except for a few good bursts from right back Joe Edwards and couple of penalty shouts that were turned down.

The tactics of the day were poor and lacked any real impact and it showed as Walsall looked like the conference side and Macclesfield looked the League 1 team. Macclesfield looked strong throughout and were rewarded with a spot in the next round of the cup. There were thoughts that Jon Whitney might shake things up at half time but it was John Askey who changed his system to secure the win by bringing on Mitch Hancox who is a left back for centre back Neill Byrne to add a bit more width to stop Ginnelly from getting many crosses in.

Simeon Jackson barely got any service the whole afternoon except when he had a single shot that bobbled just wide of the left post which was their best chance of the game as well.

The fans grew more and more frustrated as the game went on, as they felt their side could only play the ball either side to side or backwards rather than anything more penetrative.

Now that the team have gone out at such an early stage, they should look towards pushing themselves up the table and into a play-off position. They have great goal getter in Oztumer and a huge talent in Makris who only came off of the bench in the game that can be the difference makers in the league.

Next up for Walsall is a trip to Premier League Champions Leicester and their Under 23’s side in the EFL Trophy. This will a good pallet cleanser for both the players and the fans to get the taste of the FA Cup defeat.

Walsall should use the game to maybe experiment with the line-up and see what works and take that into next week’s fixture against MK Dons.