Walsall manager Mat Sadler saluted his “brave and bold” side after they sunk high-flying Wrexham 3-1 with goals from Jack Earing, Isaac Hutchinson and Taylor Allen at the Bescot Stadium.
Earing, starting his first game for a year after an ACL injury, put the Saddlers in front early on.
Paul Mullin soon equalised from the penalty spot but second-half strikes from Isaac Hutchinson and substitute Taylor Allen secured the Saddlers a deserved win.
Sadler was thrilled with the way his resurgent side overcame the promotion chasers.
He said: “We could have scored more than the three we did. We were brave and we were bold which is what I asked the guys to be and I thought we played some fantastic stuff.
“It is a great result for our belief because we were really good against a Wrexham side which will go up.
“They are a fantastic team with players from levels above. They will go up, no doubt about that, but tonight we showed what we are all about.
“This division throws you up against so many different styles and threats and, in the main, we dealt with the threats that were posed to us and then we played some great football.
“Most pleasing was the way we came out in the second half and dominated the first 20 minutes.”
The Saddlers opened the scoring after 16 minutes when Freddie Draper’s backheel sent Earing behind the defence and the midfielder slotted past Arthur Okonkwo.
The lead lasted just eight minutes as Wrexham equalised from the spot.
Tom Knowles’ block of Paul Mullin’s thunderbolt was adjudged handball and Mullin blasted the penalty straight and high into the net.
It was the first goal Walsall had conceded at home in 390 minutes.
Walsall regained the lead on the hour when Hutchinson curled a 20-yard free-kick into the bottom corner.
Mullin then blasted against the underside of the bar but Allen secured the points with a tap-in from David Okagbue’s cross seven minutes from time.
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said: “Obviously we are disappointed to lose but it was a good game.
“There was some good football played from both teams. In the second half I thought their second goal just gave them a huge lift of energy.
“It was two teams who have played back-to-back games quickly and that goal gave them a lift of adrenaline.
“We found it difficult to respond and probably tried to force things after that instead of going about it in a more constructive way.
“But we enjoyed the win at Swindon and we will take this one on the chin together and move on to Barrow on New Year’s Day.”
No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus
Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.
Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January.
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King's Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King's Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
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