Five Key Points From Midlands Derby Stalemate

Walsall extended their unbeaten run to six matches after their 1-1 draw against Coventry City at the Banks’s stadium.

The two midlands rivals shared the honours with goals from Erhun Oztumer and Andy Rose respectively.

The draw lifts Coventry City out of the relegation zone and extends their undefeated run to three matches.

The visitors took the lead towards the end of the first half as Rose, finished off a cross from the right side courtesy of Marvin Sordell with a coolly taken volley past home goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.

Rose only started the game due to an injury suffered to Chris McCann against Rochdale last Saturday.

Oztumer’s second half strike put the host’s level and his effort from just inside the area was his eighth goal of the season. The goal itself came from a cleverly worked move by Oztumer, Kieron Morris and substitute Simeon Jackson as their passing move contributed heavily to the goal.

Walsall back to their best

Manager Jon Whitney took charge of the Saddlers in March, and despite a shaky start to this campaign, Whitney has got his side in a good run of form.

His side have picked up 21 points so far in their 15 league games this season with 11 of those points coming in their last five last Football League One fixtures.

Whitney has said; “I’m really pleased with our progress in the opening third of this season” with his side sitting just three points shy of the play off places.

Coventry out of the relegation zone

 The draw at Walsall lifts Coventry City up two places to 19^th in the League One table and out of the relegation zone.

The club have had their difficulties this season with the continuous battle between supporters and the board of directors, which has affected the players mentally.

However, the Sky Blues are now unbeaten in their last three matches and have won four of their last six in all competitions.

Coventry possesses some of the strongest players in the division, and with results starting to go their way; Mark Venus’ side could start to fly up the league table.

Erhun Oztumer’s Wonderful Form

Since arriving at Walsall from Peterborough United in the summer, Erhun Oztumer has been in stunning form and is one of the strongest players in Jon Whitney’s side.

The attacking midfielder has notched eight goals this term with five of them coming in his last four league games. The 25 year old is nearly surpassing Whitney’s targets for the season, as he only expected “ten to a dozen goals” for the midfielder in this campaign.

Oztumer is a joy to watch and if he can keep playing to this standard, big name clubs will soon be knocking on the door for this in form midfielder.

Coventry City’s Support

For the local midlands derby, Coventry City took an impressive 1,981 fans on the 28 mile journey to Walsall.

With less than 7,000 fans at the Banks’ Stadium, Coventry out sung the hosts for the vast majority of the afternoon.

These are encouraging signs for the West Midlands side as regular large attendances both home and away will help maintain their current run of results.

Kieron Morris

The Walsall midfielder had an impressive afternoon, but the home fans will definitely be concerned as Morris was forced off injured just before the end of the match.

Morris was on the end of a reckless challenge from Coventry’s on loan left-back Lewis Page which Page was very fortunate only to receive a yellow card for his awful challenge.

The Saddlers will now face an anguishing wait over their midfielder who set up Oztumer’s goal.