Smith salutes Walsall showing

Walsall manager Dean Smith praised his team after they raced to their biggest win of the season at the Banks's Stadium.

The Saddlers took a giant step towards securing their League One status with a 5-0 victory on Tuesday night and sent Crawley deeper into relegation trouble. Young striker Jordy Hiwula, on loan from Manchester City, scored two goals while Kieron Morris, Andy Taylor and substitute Jordan Cook also got their names on the score sheet. "I thought we were excellent throughout the game," said Smith. "We know as a group we have not scored enough goals this season, hence our position in the league, but this is the first time we have had a full squad of players available." Asked if he felt his team are safe now, Smith replied: "Teams below us have only got three games left, and they would have to win all three to get above us. "We have won 5-0 without [top scorer] Tom Bradshaw scoring a goal." Disappointing Crawley rarely looked like scoring, and their interim manager Dean Saunders said: "The scoreline looks like an absolute pasting, but they scored four unbelievable goals. "We had three full-backs in a make-shift defence and that's what killed us, but they were better than us. "We have lost four central defenders in three months and it's caught up with us. We didn't defend well enough, but most of the goals were unbelievable. "It's only three points, but we have got to win two games, and we have Notts County on Saturday. They are in trouble as well, so we have to re-group and bounce back."