Midlands | Walsall unlucky to exit cup against Stoke

Stoke City 0 - 0 Walsall (Stoke won 4-3 on penalties)

Walsall suffered a narrow penalty shootout defeat against Championship side Stoke City after a goalless 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup.

Author | Paul Haworth

Stadium | Stoke City stadium

A tough battle between the two sides

Stoke threatened early, with Jamie Donley forcing Sam Hornby into a diving save inside ten minutes. Walsall responded, but the visitors carved out another opening soon after, Ronan Maher producing a crucial block before Bosun Lawal fired over.

Josh Gordon went close midway through the first half, hitting the side netting from a tight angle. Chances were scarce for the remainder of the opening period, the teams heading into the break level.

The second half began with Donley striking the crossbar from distance. The match appeared to be destined for penalties from this point.

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Walsall were the better team and continued to press late on. With six minutes left, Jamie Jellis swung in a cross that found Aden Flint rising highest in the box, but his header drifted just wide.

In stoppage time, Jonny Stuttle almost snatched the lead after pouncing on a loose pass from Jamille Matt, only for his first-time strike to be tipped behind. The resulting corner caused chaos in the area and fell to Stuttle once more, but he could only find the side netting.

With no breakthrough, the tie was decided from the spot, Stoke holding their nerve to progress. Despite the ultimate, Walsall should be fairly pleased with a spirited performance against a side in the Championship. 

Walsall fan reaction 

Over 1,300 Walsall fans were in attendance and made a fantastic atmosphere at the Championship side. 

One of these was full of pride the away side's performance. Aiden Flint said: "I can’t recall many chances for either side apart from a Stoke effort that struck the bar. Against a Championship side you have to be satisfied with that. The players worked tirelessly, gave everything for one another, stayed disciplined in their shape and showed real athleticism in getting forward."

Another fan added: "The club is still evolving from last season, having just missed out on promotion. There were a number of debuts against Stoke, and they looked like they have settled in well. You can imagine that the manager is working them hard on the training ground. This will be a huge positive for us as the season progresses.”