Walsall are League Two’s last unbeaten side after Pressley double sinks Oldham
Thursday 22 October 2026 · By Ross McAndrew
Walsall are now the only unbeaten team left in League Two. Lee Grant’s side beat Oldham Athletic 3–0 at Bescot on Tuesday night, on the same evening that Barnet and Crewe Alexandra both lost for the first time this season.
Goalkeeper Jed Ward set up the opening goal. Sky Sports reported that he collected a cross and drilled a long, low pass forward for Tai Sodje, who outpaced Manny Monthe and scored on 21 minutes. Five minutes later Aaron Pressley lifted a calm finish over Mathew Hudson after Declan Skura’s through-ball. Pressley added a penalty on 58 minutes after Mike Fondop handled.
Walsall then had to finish the game with ten men. Elicha Ahui was sent off around the hour mark for bringing down Favour Fawunmi as the last man, but Oldham could not find a way back. The crowd was 5,147.
Grant explained that he had made four changes from the draw at Swindon Town on Saturday. “I have just trusted my whole group,” he told PA. “I don’t know whether the lads are thinking, ‘is the gaffer all right?’ but I just trust them all.”
He was pleased with both halves of the performance. “We got to see both sides of the group tonight - a team really going after the game first half, lots of control, shots, opportunities and threat, and two excellent goals,” he said. “Then we see the other side which is becoming a clear trend in terms of the character of the group, the fight and determination, and in some ways that feels sweeter.”
Ward earned special praise from his manager, himself a former goalkeeper. “He made a big save at 0–0, a big save at 1–0, an incredible assist and his distribution was so well executed,” Grant said.
PA reported that Pressley’s double took him to seven league goals this season. The Express & Star said it was eight in all competitions, already more than his total last season. Sodje has also found form. Grant told the Express & Star that the forward had worked hard for his chance: “The credit certainly lies with Tai and nobody else.”
Walsall have four wins and seven draws from 11 games. They are fourth on 19 points, with a game in hand on Salford and Crewe, who are both above them.
They do not play on Saturday. Instead, leaders Salford City visit Bescot on Monday 26 October (8pm GMT). It has not been confirmed whether Ahui’s red card will rule him out. Walsall then travel to Colchester United on Saturday 31 October (3pm GMT). The home game with Crawley Town, postponed on 3 October, still has no new date.
In the FA Cup first round, Walsall are away to Newport County over the weekend of 7 November.
Monday’s game is first against fourth, and the leaders against the last unbeaten side. It will show how much substance there is behind Walsall’s draws.
Bescot Stadium — currently branded Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium — has been home to Walsall Football Club since August 1990, when the Saddlers left Fellows Park after 94 years. It sits on Bescot Crescent (WS1 4SA), less than a mile from Junction 9 of the M6 and a two-minute walk from Bescot Stadium railway station. Capacity is 11,300 all-seated. For visiting supporters it is one of the more straightforward League Two away days: compact, close to the action, and unusually well served by both motorway and rail.
The ground is four separate stands rather than a bowl. The tall two-tier NorthStarr Stand (green sector) is the home end behind the northern goal and holds just under 5,000 after its 2003 extension. Opposite, behind the southern goal, is the single-tier B.A.T Stand (blue sector). That is where away fans sit, typically around 2,000, with a licensed bar and televisions on the concourse. Along the west touchline is the Pallet-Track Stand (red sector), the main stand with hospitality, the tunnel, dugouts and television gantry. Facing it on the east side is the Experienced Energy Solutions Stand (yellow sector), the community stand, with pitch-level wheelchair bays at the front — including spaces used by disabled away supporters.
On a large following the club sometimes also opens part of the east stand to visitors, so check your ticket for stand and turnstile before you queue. B.A.T Stand turnstiles are usually 27–28; extra away seating in the Experienced Energy Solutions Stand is often turnstiles 1–2. Supporting pillars in both the away end and the community stand can clip the view from some seats, so if you have a choice, avoid the very front rows immediately behind a post.
Getting there is simple. Leave the M6 at Junction 9, follow the A461 towards Walsall, then the A4148 Wallows Lane, and the stadium is on your left. Away parking is the Blue Zone immediately behind the B.A.T Stand, closest to the motorway and the station — take the second entrance on Bescot Crescent, by the hotel, not the first. Stadium parking is card-only and should be booked when possible. Trains from Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton stop at Bescot Stadium; the walk is short and obvious. Buses from Walsall town centre also drop outside.
The stadium is cashless for tickets, food, drink and parking. Programmes, when sold from a stall, have sometimes still been cash. Concourse food is the usual pies, sausage rolls, burgers and hot drinks. The Locker bar at the ground has admitted both home and away fans on some matchdays (a small entry charge for adults). There is little else immediately around the ground, so most visitors drink on the train, in Walsall or Wolverhampton, or go straight into the away bar, which typically opens well before kick-off.
Atmosphere travels well in this tight, rectangular ground. Even a modest away following can be heard from the B.A.T Stand. Flags and banners usually need prior consent from the club; drums are not allowed. Turnstiles commonly open around 90 minutes before kick-off. Leave time after the final whistle if you used official parking — some home car parks are locked two hours after the game. It is not a grand stadium, but it is practical, close to the pitch, and easy to reach. For most visiting supporters that is exactly what you want on a Saturday in the Black Country.