Saddlers have no reply to Thornton

WALSALL slipped to another away day defeat, having no reply to two second half strikes at Leyton Orient.

Any faint hopes of a late play-off push were snuffed out by Sean Thornton's brace, which saw the Saddlers slip into the bottom half of the table still six points off the 50-point mark that would surely secure their League One status for another season.

Hutchings reflected on a frustrating afternoon for his inconsistent outfit by bemoaning their lack of meaningful goalscoring opportunities.

He said: "We didn't test their goalkeeper enough and that was disappointing.

"The first half was even-stevens but after the break we didn't create too much.

"We tried to change things around in the second half, but it failed to have the desired effect and they passed the ball better than us.

"A lack of concentration cost us dearly in the end and the players have to learn from that."

Much like last week's concessions that saw the Saddlers pegged back from a two-goal lead at home to Millwall, Thornton's double owed much to defensive lapses.

After a largely chanceless first half, Orient capitalised on Rene Gilmartin letting Aaron Doran's cross-come-shot slip under his body, allowing Thornton to tap the ball home and earn his side a 63rd minute advantage.

The former Sunderland midfielder struck his second ten minutes later, this time after picking up on a scrambled clearance by Netan Sansara.

He jinked through the static Walsall to slot under Gilmartin and cement the O's lead.

The Saddlers introduced Darren Byfield, Peter Till and Mark Bradley in the last 15 minutes but it was Orient substitute Ryan Jarvis who threatened to add to the scoresheet, as his left-sided cross saw Jamie Vincent come close to putting the ball in his own net.

Walsall's fourth straight game without a win means any lingering hopes of a late push for a play-off berth has been extinguished, and afterwards Hutchings was under no illusion that a top six spot was still a realistic aim for his side.

He admitted: "The play-off places are a long way off.

"There's a cluster of clubs in the top ten who are a million miles away from us."

Coca Cola League One

Leyton Orient 2

Walsall 0

WALSALL: Gilmartin, Westlake, McDonald, Vincent, Sansara, Jones (Till 76), Taundry, O'Keefe (Bradley 82), Gray, Deeney, Nicholls (Byfield 76). Subs (not used): Ince, Hughes, Smith, Grigg. ATTENDANCE: 3,685.