Walsall boss Matthew Taylor insisted his side must not allow Scunthorpe’s injury-time equaliser to rock their confidence after the Saddlers conceded at the death in a 1-1 draw.

Alfie Beestin fired home Tom Pugh’s cross a minute into time added on to deny former Portsmouth and Bolton full-back Taylor a first win in senior management.

Walsall enjoyed 17 shots but only one was on target – Kieran Phillips’ coolly-taken opener at the start of the second half – and Taylor says the Saddlers must improve their finishing after one point in three games.

He said: “I think there was only one team in it for 88, 89 minutes. To limit the opposition to one opportunity in the second half is great – but then they score that opportunity.

“The players are confident in possession. I just felt those big chances we had, we weren’t ruthless enough and we got punished. It’s a difficult one to take.

“You can see the confidence is coming and it’s imperative now it doesn’t knock them for the next game because we were really good tonight in big spells.

“We’ve just got to be more ruthless when those chances come. I know Scunthorpe will be far happier with a point than we are.

“We will have games this season when we are unplayable but at the moment we are just maybe snatching, just maybe not making the right decision.

“When they start relaxing, we will score a hatful of goals, I have no worries about that.”

Scunthorpe edged the first half as a Pugh header hit the bar and his follow-up was cleared off the line by Stephen Ward.

The Iron, like Walsall, are without a win in four games in all competitions but boss Neil Cox was delighted with his side’s spirit.

Cox said: “It is a positive that the goal is at the end of the game, the way we keep going away from home. We keep pushing, keep trying to play, we don’t lump hopeful balls into the box.

“We lacked a bit of quality with our crossing, hit the first man too easily, and then the last one pops into the box and the Beest (Beestin) is running into the area from midfield, which is old school, and he finishes it really well.

“I thought we deserved it and the first half was the best we have played this season but we didn’t test the keeper enough.

“But we kept going and the character we showed after going 1-0 down was excellent. We could have collapsed and said ‘we’ve had three hard games away from home’ and given in.

“But they showed a lot of character and had it come a few minutes earlier, we could have pushed for the winner.”