Sadler wants Walsall to finish season strongly

Aaron Pressley celebrates a goalShutterstock

Aaron Pressley's header earned 10-man Walsall a point at Grimsby

Walsall boss Mat Sadler said he wants his side to go on a good run to finish the season after a hard-fought away point at Grimsby.

The Saddlers were 1-0 up at Blundell Park when goalkeeper Myles Roberts was shown a straight red card for a mistimed challenge on Andy Cook in first-half injury time.

Cook scored twice to put Grimsby in front before Aaron Pressley nodded home the equaliser on 71 minutes, and Sadler said he was pleased with his players' "heart and willingness" to get back into the contest in the circumstances.

"We were disciplined, aggressive and rightfully went 1-0 up, but we were gutted to then go down to 10 men and that obviously changed the course of the game," he told BBC Radio WM.

"Until the sending-off we were outstanding and played some fantastic football. After the sending-off we had to show a different side to us.

"You know you're going to come under pressure as they are a very good team. It's a difficult pitch to get too much football on."

Walsall had a four-point lead at the top of League Two in December but are now ninth, 14 points behind leaders Bromley, after a run of six games without a win.

They have only won once in 2026 - a 3-1 win over Tranmere on 17 January - but Sadler has challenged his players to put their poor form behind them and finish the campaign positively.

"We know what a good team we are and it's up to us to keep putting that together. We're at 50 points, there's 15 games to go, so we want to go on a run to finish the season strongly.

"I thought tonight we showed the way that we want to play - the new kind of version of us post-January, and I thought we saw really good signs of that."

Myles Roberts is shown a red cardShutterstock

Walsall goalkeeper Myles Roberts was sent off for a challenge on Andy Cook in first-half injury time

Pressley's work-rate and attitude impressed his boss and it was the Edinburgh-born striker's close-range header that secured a point.

"As a team we showed unbelievable desire, hard work and determination to stay in the game, especially going down away at Grimsby, it's a difficult task," Pressley said.

"That's what we need to take into the games we have left. The conditions were difficult but we played them well.

"In the 90th minute we were still pushing forward, still pressing, and I think that says a lot for the team."