Walsall beat former boss to cause FA Cup shock

There wasn’t many FA Cup shocks produced from yesterday’s FA Cup Third Round fixtures but fans of Walsall were certainly celebrating a little bit of cup magic last night.

The Third Round draw had paired The Midlands club with a trip to Griffin Park to face former Manager Dean Smith and his new club Brentford.

Smith spent 5 years at The Bank’s Stadium prior to his move to West London and completely changed The Saddlers’ fortunes on a tight budget from relegation battlers to unlikely promotion chasers.

Smith’s highlight was leading the club to it’s first ever Wembley appearance in 2015 in the Johnstones’ Paint Trophy Final where they were defeated by Bristol City.

The Saddlers appointed the experienced Sean O’Driscoll as Smith’s replacement and he looks like the perfect fit to help continue the club’s promotion push after winning 3 of his first 4 league matches in charge.

Walsall caused something of an FA Cup shock yesterday after beating Brentford 1-0 at Griffin Park and getting one over on their former Manager in the process.

The Bees boss rested a number of key players for the clash as The Championship club prepare for big games with Middlesbrough and Burnley in the near future, but Walsall must deserve credit for taking the game to Brentford.

Midfielder Sam Mantom scored the only goal of the match in the first half to send Walsall into the Fourth Round.

Walsall will surely now be dreaming of a glamour trip to a Premier League club such as Manchester City or Manchester United in the next round.

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