Walsall boss Mat Sadler said his number crunchers had provided the inspiration for the Saddlers to end a decade of despair against bogey side Crewe by beating the Railwaymen 2-0.
Headers from Freddie Draper and Oisin McEntee gave Walsall only a second win in their past 20 meetings with the Alex – and a first victory in 11, a rotten run dating back to 2013.
“I was told about that by my analyst yesterday and I made sure my players knew it,” Sadler said.
“That went into my motivation for today – we want to right a few wrongs through the season which I think we’ve done on quite a few occasions so far.
“I thought we were brilliant and I thought we could have won by more, considerably more.
“We controlled the game – the back three or back five were very, very strong and the front two were absolute pests, a real handful.”
Teenage striker Draper, on loan from Lincoln, moved into double figures for the campaign and Sadler admits he hopes the Imps do not trigger a recall clause in the season-long deal come January.
“We have a really good relationship with Lincoln and we’ll keep talking. Obviously, Freddie has done great so let’s see how things materialise over the next few weeks,” he added.
“Did I know he was going to score this many? You never know. But did I know there was a player in there that would do really well at the level? Yes.”
Crewe stayed sixth but have gone five games without a win and boss Lee Bell was unhappy after both Walsall goals came from corners.
The Alex also needed goalkeeper Tom Booth and the crossbar to deny Isaac Hutchinson a brace while their only real threat saw Ryan Cooney’s sweet volley saved by Jackson Smith.
“It’s two really poor set-plays that have ultimately cost us the game today and we’ve got to address that quickly,” Bell said.
“We’ve got illnesses and we’ve got players on the pitch who probably shouldn’t be on the pitch, they should have had a couple more days’ rest but that’s how dedicated they are.
“But it was soft goals, really soft goals and I’m asking players to take a bit more responsibility with set plays, move people around and try to help with the danger.
“We’ve got some tough games coming up so we hope we can get some bodies back to freshen things up because people do need a rest, but we’ve also got to look at what’s killing us at the minute.
“We should have more points on the board – obviously we are going through a sticky patch but teams go through these types of situations and it’s up to us to respond to it.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Man United could be without Toone until Christmas, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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