Jacob Maddox nets rare goal to earn 10-man Walsall point at Sutton

Walsall substitute Jacob Maddox’s first goal for nearly four years earned the 10-man Saddlers a precious away point in a battling 1-1 draw with Sutton.

Maddox struck with four minutes to go to cancel out Robert Milsom’s 72nd-minute opener from the penalty spot

The visitors played nearly three-quarters of the game with a man less after Brandon Comley’s 26th-minute dismissal for two yellow cards.

Comley was sent off for two heavy challenges on Sutton skipper Craig Eastmond within the space of 10 minutes, the second of which forced his fellow midfielder off with a facial injury after a high boot.

Eastmond had earlier looked to have opened the scoring when he netted from the rebound after Will Randall’s shot came back off the post, only to be denied by an offside flag.

And although Sutton dominated the rest of a first half that included six minutes of injury time, the home side found it frustratingly difficult to break down the Walsall defence, goalkeeper Owen Evans thwarting Adam Lovatt with a smart block from the best of the chances.

The second half was a similar tale as Walsall packed their defence and restricted the U’s to shots from range.

Evans got down low to deny Milsom, but then Peter Clarke pulled down Coby Rowe as they contested a corner, and Milsom converted the penalty to put the hosts ahead.

Evans made another fine save to tip over a Randall shot and it proved crucial as the visitors snatched a point from only their second shot of the game when Maddox placed a low effort in from the edge of the area.