Matt Taylor: Extending unbeaten run at Oldham gives Walsall players real belief

Delighted Walsall boss Matt Taylor is confident his side’s 3-1 League Two victory at Oldham ought to give his players “real belief” as they extended their unbeaten league run to four matches.

The Saddlers crucially struck twice shortly before the break and then sealed a precious win thanks to Emmanuel Osadebe’s 85th-minute goal as the hosts failed to build on their first home win of the season on Saturday.

“I really enjoyed our ruthlessness in the Oldham box tonight,” said Taylor. “It was a terrific effort from all of the lads, who delivered in the final third.

“That ruthlessness was fantastic, but this kind of performance has been coming.

“This result ought to give the players real belief now.

“The fans deserve to celebrate this one, too, because their loyal support has been invaluable.

“We are starting to see the rewards now, but it was the way in which the lads had to dig in for one another, especially in that second half, that pleased me as well.

“We had to surrender a bit of space after half-time, particularly in the wide areas, but we dealt with their crosses really well.

“We’ve given ourselves something to build on, and we can go on a roll now.

“We’ve got that vital momentum and we can head into the game against Barrow at the weekend with real confidence.”

The Saddlers had been second best when they broke the deadlock in the 34th minute as Jack Earing curled the ball home superbly.

The visitors then doubled their lead before the interval when George Miller slotted comfortably past Jayson Leutwiler.

Oldham gave themselves hope as early substitute Hallam Hope headed home in the 67th minute, but this was destined to be Walsall’s night.

Osadebe made it 3-1 with a neat finish five minutes from time.

Oldham boss Keith Curle is again looking at lessons to be learned after another troubling home defeat.

He said: “The third goal really killed us – and that’s the biggest disappointment for me.

“At that stage in the game we had Walsall on the ropes, but we were just maybe missing that killer instinct again.

“Credit to the lads for the way they battled.

“They could have gone under at 2-0 down, but the reaction in the second half was good.

“We missed leaders and captains too tonight.

“To lose Carl Piergianni (suspended) and Alan Sheehan (injured early in the game) is a big blow for any team.

“They are both big characters in the squad and we are always going to miss players like that.

“They have an effect on the lads around them, so they were missed badly.

“It’s just a big disappointment the way we conceded all the goals really – I don’t like conceding one goal.

“There’s definitely lessons to be learned again after that.

“I’ve got confidence in the players I’ve got available, though.

“Arguably we created the better chances tonight, but they took three of theirs.”