Mat Sadler insisted he was proud of his Walsall side despite seeing them surrender a two-goal lead in the dying minutes to draw 2-2 at Cheltenham.
The Saddlers had opened up a seemingly comfortable advantage through Ellis Harrison’s strike inside a minute and Albert Adomah’s 79th-minute effort.
But ex-Walsall forward George Miller pulled one back in the 90th minute and Jordan Thomas levelled in the third minute of time added on.
“It was frustrating at the end, certainly, but I was very proud of the performance throughout the game,” Sadler said.
“It’s disappointing because I felt like we’d seen out the game and you are looking for another goal on the counter.
“It felt like the game was drawing to a conclusion, but the first goal gives them that lifeline that something might happen and evidently in the end it did.
“I am disappointed we didn’t go on to win the game because we deserved to. We played some fantastic football against a very good team, who throw caution to the wind, especially at their home ground.
“We controlled and handled the game really well and controlled a lot of their attacks very well too.
“On another day we are going away with three points, but I am proud of four points from the last two away games, showing qualities I’m sure we will show until the end of the season.”
Sadler’s side made the perfect start when Jamie Jellis’ long throw-in from the right was headed towards goal by Oisin McEntee.
Goalkeeper Joe Day could only claw it as far as Harrison, who tapped in his second goal since arriving on loan from MK Dons in January.
Walsall’s lead was doubled 11 minutes from the end when an error from Sam Stubbs gifted the ball to substitute Adomah, who finished calmly to send the 1,053 travelling fans behind the goal wild.
But Miller volleyed in after Thomas’s deflected shot fell to him in the box and Thomas snatched a point with a clinical finish after a throw-in from Ethon Archer the left was nodded down to him by Miller.
Cheltenham’s former Walsall boss Michael Flynn believes his team are now a match for any side in the division as they prepare for a late play-off challenge.
“100 per cent it was a point deserved,” Flynn said. “We went toe-to-toe and I probably thought we were the better team without the goals in it.
“But they are such a good, strong team, well-drilled and you can see why they are top of the league.
“They all know their roles and responsibilities and they have a team that don’t stop running, running, running, but so have I and nobody has played us off the park this season.”
