Walsall are moving forward despite defeat - Sadler

Mat Sadler's Walsall had set up Monday's League Two play-off final off the back of beating Chesterfield 4-1 over two legs in the semi-finals

Walsall boss Mat Sadler believes his side "moved forwards" this season despite missing out on promotion having previously held a 12-point lead at the top of League Two.

The Saddlers were top of the table at the start of the year with an impressive margin on their promotion rivals, but a poor run saw them tumble to end the regular campaign in fourth.

Sadler's side went on to beat Chesterfield over two legs to reach Monday's League Two play-off final but they were defeated 1-0 by AFC Wimbledon in a cagey affair at Wembley to miss out on promotion as a difficult 2025 continued.

"Clearly we had a good lead this season and we lost some really good players, that happens," Sadler told BBC Sport.

"The only thing for me is can we recruit a bit better.

"We certainly have moved the football club forward and I won't be swayed at all with that."

The Saddlers were impacted by the loss of teenager Nathan Lowe, who was recalled by his parent club Stoke City in January.

Lowe scored 18 times across his 30 appearances while on loan with the club and remained the club's top goal scorer despite only playing for half the season.

While Sadler felt the loss of playmakers in his squad post-January, however, he is adamant not to focus on the negatives.

"We are not victims, we are fighters so there will be no feeling sorry for myself or the group won't feel sorry for themselves," Sadler added.

"We've had loads of adversity and loads of hits and knocks and we've kept going forward.

"People didn't expect us to get to the final and we did that. Unfortunately, we didn't quite get over the line."

What changed for Walsall?

Walsall had a massive lead at the top of League Two in mid-January prior to Nathan Lowe's departure

Walsall led the league and recorded a club record nine-successive wins after beating MK Dons on January 18, which took them 15 points clear of fourth place.

Without their main source of firing power, Walsall only cobbled together four wins after Lowe's departure, compared to the 17 victories they registered with the 19-year-old in the squad.

Lowe would go on to appear in just 10 matches for the Potters after returning to the Championship club.

"We took a lot of creativity out the squad at that point," Sadler added.

"I think everyone knows we don't have the biggest budget so when you have hits like that, that's difficult to make sure you overcome."

The Saddlers went on a 13-game winless streak before the final game of the season to put them just one point outside the top three.

A victory against Crewe Alexandra ended their season on a high, breaking their poor run, but their celebrations were short-lived when they discovered rivals Bradford City scored in added time to seal third place and shove Walsall into the play-offs.

Walsall then won both their legs against Chesterfield to take a 4-1 victory on aggregate into the final as, yet again, promotion seemed to be within their grasp.

But Walsall offered little in response after Myles Hippolyte's strike for the Dons just before half-time in Monday's final, as a nightmare latter half of the season finally reached its conclusion.

Walsall defender Taylor Allen (right) played a large role in the Saddlers season, appearing in 45 of their 46 League Two games and 57 games in total this term

A tale of two halves

It would not be a stretch to say Walsall's season was firmly split in two; a storming start and fizzling finish.

Sadler had extended his tenure with a new long-term contract on January 7th.

Besides, Lowe was not the only star in the squad.

Defender Taylor Allen scored the second most goals from distance across the top four tiers of English football across the 2024-25 season, while midfielder Ryan Stirk was joint-fourth for winning possession.

But shortly after Lowe departed, Walsall's form dipped, leading to their unenviable winless run until their win on the final day, backed up by two strong performances against Chesterfield in the semi-finals.

It looked like they were bouncing back for the play-offs, just in the nick of time, but then the final arrived.

The first-half on the Wembley ground saw them stripped back to the type of football that lost them their healthy lead in the first place, offering no creative solutions in the final third.

According to Opta, the Saddlers are the first team not to register a single shot in the opening half of an EFL play-off final since they began recording in 2012.

They put in a better showing in the second-half, with Jamille Matt's effort needing to be cleared off the line, but they could not find an equaliser to keep themselves in with a chance.