THE MONTH of September kicked off with a long trip down to Gillingham.

After Gary Mulligan had given the home side the lead on the quarter-hour mark, The Saddlers hit back with a sweet strike from Daniel Fox.

Mulligan grabbed his second of the game to put The Gills 2-1 up going into the break and despite a much-improved second half display from Richard Money's side, resplendent in our new yellow and red third kit, we couldn't find a way past the experienced Simon Royce in the home goal.

We were back on the road again on the following Tuesday for a Johnstone's Paint Trophy first round tie at AFC Bournemouth.

Two goals in the opening eight minutes by one-time Saddler, Lee Bradbury effectively settled the tie as we slipped out of the competition at the first hurdle.

Our first home game of the month saw the visit of local Staffordshire rivals, Port Vale.

Despite having the majority of possession, it was another case of missed opportunities as we failed to convert a host of chances and in the end had to settle for a point in a goalless draw.

On a positive note, it was our first clean sheet of the season.

Next up it was a trip to The New Den to take on Millwall.

For the second time in the month, Daniel Fox was on the mark with a fine goal to put us in front just before half-time.

Again we played some decent stuff and were deserving of our lead, however, Andrew Frampton's equaliser with just seven minutes left on the clock looked like snatching a vital win out of our grasp.

That was until an inspired substitution saw youngster Troy Deeney score with virtually his first touch in the 86th minute to send the loyal band of travelling supporters wild with delight as we secured our first win of the season.

We were back on home soil for the visit of an Oldham Athletic side who found themselves somewhat surprisingly at the bottom of the table.

In what was a disappointing all-round display, goals from former Saddler, Michael Ricketts, Andy Liddell and Craig Davies gave the visitors a convincing 3-0 success to really put a dampener on our 'Bostin' Black Country Family Fun Day.

The month ended with another long journey as we took on a Hartlepool United side who had gained promotion alongside ourselves during the previous season and had made a particularly bright start to the new campaign.

We approached the game in a positive frame of mind, determined to bounce back from the disappointment of our last game, and with Dwayne Mattis making his debut in midfield following his loan switch from Barnsley, we frustrated our hosts for long periods.

Inspired by a solid defensive display, we went on to take all three points courtesy of substitute, Paul Hall's late winner.