‘Brave’ Man City youngster praised after Saddlers win

Walsall boss Sean O’Driscoll has praised the maturity of Manchester City youngster George Evans and wants to extend his loan deal.

Evans, 21, was signed by O’Driscoll’s predecessor Dean Smith and played a key role as the Saddlers knocked Smith’s new side Brentford out of the FA Cup.

It is the third League One loan spell for Evans, who has spent time at Crewe and Scunthorpe, and the Walsall boss is impressed with his attitude.

He said: “A lot of kids at his age don’t play any [first-team] football.

“Sometimes they turn their nose up at League One because they all want to play in the Championship or the Premier Division, but this is a difficult league to play in.

“I think the more they get experience of it the better they become. He took a brave decision and that’s a sign of maturity which will stand him in good stead for his career.”

O’Driscoll was pleased with the result at Griffin Park, which secured Walsall’s place in the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 10 years, but admitted they were indebted to keeper Neil Etheridge for a clean sheet.

He said: “I thought we were clever with what we did, especially in the first half.

“We got a goal, something to hang on to, and we were grateful to the goalkeeper in the end.”