Walsall boss Mat Sadler said his side’s efforts without the ball were key as they edged a 3-2 thriller with Notts County to move a point off the top of League Two.
The Saddlers withstood an early second-half onslaught from the Magpies before Taylor Allen scored direct from a corner and George Hall steered in a neat second.
Promotion rivals County made them work hard for the win as David McGoldrick pulled one back from the spot and, after Nathan Lowe made it 3-1, Jack Hinchy’s half-volley set up a nervy finale.
Only a late equaliser for leaders Port Vale at Cheltenham kept Walsall from going top of the division – and the two sides meet at Vale Park on Saturday.
“We had to weather a bit of a storm, which you are going to get in every single game you play,” said Sadler. “I thought our out-of-possession play was outstanding – we worked really hard.
“It was a bit jittery at the end and their late goal probably gave the game what it deserved in a sense because it was such a good game.
“It was a proper team effort from everybody in a ding-dong game. We had to show a load of different sides to us.
“It was tough but we’ve got resilience and heart. The lads just keep going and giving everything they possibly can.
“We’ve got to keep going, I spoke to the lads before the game about living in the moment and the here and now.
“There are 29 games left, we’ve played 17. So we’ve got to do it all again, and again.
“Vale’s a good game, one to look forward to. We’ve had some good ones already this season but we want more.”
Magpies boss Stuart Maynard felt there was a foul on goalkeeper Alex Bass for Walsall’s opener but hopes their injury crisis eases soon.
“We’re all frustrated, disappointed with the result, but we’ve got a group of lads that are giving absolutely everything once they’ve crossed that white line,” he said.
“We’ve pulled one back and it’s probably a bit too late but if we have another 10 minutes in that game I think we get the equaliser.
“But we have six or seven players out at the minute and that does take its toll over the course of the amount of games we are playing.
“It’s frustrating because in the first half we were in total control and we didn’t make that dominance count.
“But we’ve got to stick together – success doesn’t always look like winning every week.
“It would have been a totally different game if we were coming here with a fully-fit squad but we are getting bodies coming back and closer to being selected.”
