Ian Watson praises Rochdale’s warrior spirit after battling draw at Walsall
The result was Walsall’s fourth 0-0 draw in eight games.
Rochdale boss Ian Watson hailed the “warriors” who fought for a precious point in a 0-0 draw at Walsall days after he received a vote of confidence.
Dale released a statement in support of the summer appointment on Wednesday following one win from five League Two matches since promotion from the National League under Jimmy McNulty.
While Walsall had 70 per cent possession and 24 shots, Watson’s men kept clear opportunities to a minimum, hit the bar through Baba Adeeko after half-an-hour and carried the greater threat late in the first half.
Watson said: “Sometimes you need to set up a little bit differently away from home and we talked about Walsall being in a really good moment.
“We spoke about the mentality we would need, being warriors and stopping the ball going in our net, making sure we were all connected and working hard without the ball.
“We didn’t want as many moments without the ball as we had, we caused way too many turnovers and that allowed them to come on to us, but you could see how much the players wanted to run and get in the way.
“They were really willing to work hard for the supporters and the club, we saw that really connected group that wanted to do everything it possibly could not to lose.”
Walsall pressure built after a tame start, with Nils Ramming producing a smart double stop at the near post from Mason Hancock and Aaron Pressley after 25 minutes.
Adeeko’s cushioned effort from the left edge of the box hit the face of the bar after 29 minutes and Dajaune Brown’s low drive towards the near post drew a smart save from Jed Ward five minutes before
half-time.
Walsall skipper James Connolly’s follow-up header was scrambled off the line by Dan Moss seven minutes into the second half and, while the Saddlers kept plugging away, the killer ball was lacking.
Harvey Gilmour’s kamikaze backpass went straight to Pressley 11 minutes from time, but a heavy touch allowed Kaiden Wilson to clear and Walsall’s fourth 0-0 draw in eight games was confirmed when Lewis Simper’s bicycle
kick flew straight into Ramming’s gloves deep into added time, leaving boss Lee Grant with a “weird” mix of emotions.
“It is probably as proud as I have ever been as a head coach or manager,” he said.
“To put together a new group, 15 new faces, and for a really good team to come here and give us that amount of respect shows us where we are.
“At the same I am bitterly disappointed that we dropped two more points at home in a game that we have to win. Our deficiencies are clear, the group has owned them, I own them and I take full responsibility along with the
players.
“While we can be really proud of what we’re giving, the control and the dominance, it doesn’t mean a great deal if we don’t put it to bed.”