Satisfied Smith makes his point

Dean Smith is confident his Walsall side are heading in the right direction following a tough test in a goalless draw at Coventry.

The draw means that Walsall have now gone five games unbeaten in League One and Smith said he was always confident this side would not have to leave the Ricoh Arena empty-handed. "I suppose a draw was a far result in the end, but we should have won the game inside the first half," Smith said. "If we had scored then I think it would have been game over because they would have lost confidence. "We knew there would be a threat in the second half because they are a very big team - there are a few of them who have been in the greenhouse over the summer! "They won a lot of corners and put a lot of balls into the box so we had to defend that threat. "It's another point and now five unbeaten. "We know there is a lack of goals and that is a concern if we are not creating chances, but we are. "We had a few from outside the box in the first half and James Cook went very close with an overhead kick." Neither side managed a single effort on target until 10 seconds from the end of the first half when home skipper Jim O'Brien forced a fine flying save out of Richard O'Donnell in the Walsall goal. Coventry thought they should have won a penalty when Gary Madine appeared to be pulled back inside the area by Andy Taylor but their claims were waved aside. Madine, on loan from Sheffield Wednesday, tested O'Donnell from 40 yards with an impudent lob after the break and Coventry had a concerted spell of pressure around the hour-mark but O'Donnell made two further saves. Coventry manager Steven Pressley, who handed a debut to Matthew Pennington, on loan from Everton, said: "They have the best defensive record in the division and you can see why because they defend very well and are very hard to break down. "We put them under pressure in the second half, put in some great crosses and I thought we were unlucky not to win the game. "Gary Madine was outstanding - he is very good at linking and bringing other players into the game. "We didn't get the call (for the penalty), but if you keep working hard these decisions will turn in your favour. "It is very difficult for our players to keep their feet on this pitch. "I asked some of them if they had on the right footwear but they did. The pitch is too far gone now and it will be a nightmare for the rest of the season."