Walsall 1 Shrewsbury 1: Salop dig in to impressive point at league leaders

Salop's dreadful away form has been an Achilles heel this season but they more than matched the league leaders and were good value for their point at the Bescot Stadium.

It looked like it could be a long afternoon when Daniel Kanu rifled in the opener off the crossbar after just three minutes.

But Michael Appleton's side stuck to the task and carved out chances - with Anderson's second half deflected strike enough to secure a valuable point.

Appleton was able to bring back Josh Ruffels from suspension - but lost Sam Stubbs who was banned, paving the way for Will Boyle to return to the side.

It was a derby clash that both sets of fans had not seen in the league since late 2019 - when the Saddlers were consigned to relegation from League One.

Things are very different these days, with Salop struggling while Mat Sadler's men are seeking promotion back to the third tier.

And they showed the gap between the two sides after just three minutes - when in form loanee Kanu spun his man before rifling in off the underside of the bar to leave Salop shell shocked.

It was the worst possible start and it should have been two moments later - but the forward was denied by Will Brook.

The frantic start rocked Salop but they did settle and started to get a foothold in the game.

A chance of note came midway through the half as Anthony Scully's goal bound effort was deflected wide by his own player.

Ismeal Kabia was also causing issues for the home side down the right flank, but Salop were pretty blunt in attack throughout the first period.

Walsall threatened in patches at the end of the first period - but it was Salop who went closer as a Anthony Scully cross fell to George Lloyd and his goal bound effort was cleared.

Their best chance came just after the restart when Scully spun on the edge of the box and forced a one handed save out of Myles Roberts.

Then just after the hour mark they netted a deserved equaliser - as Anderson's deflected effort wrong footed Roberts and nestled in the net.

It was deserved from Salop - who had hung in the game and got their reward.

A piece of brilliance almost then undone the good work - as Courtney Clarke cut in from the right and saw a superb curling effort cannon off the of the crossbar.

Despite the pressure, Salop were trying to find a winner on the break as substitute Tommy McDermott fired a free kick wide of the mark.

A nervy moment came in the final seconds of the game as the Saddlers won a free kick on the edge of the box - but Will Brook was equal to Evan Weir's strike.

Salop: Brook, Hoole, Anderson, Boyle, Clucas, Perry (McDermott 84), Ruffels, Scully, Kabia, Lloyd, Marquis

Subs not used: Harrison, Benning, McDermott, Sang, Aneke, England, Gray