Carabao Cup: Walsall 0 Leicester City 0 (0-3 pens) - Report

The Saddlers managed to keep the Premier League team from scoring during regular time, finishing with a score of 0-0. They also had two excellent opportunities to take the lead: Charlie Lakin was stopped at close range, and Albert Adomah shot wide.

Leicester's goalkeeper Danny Ward made crucial saves against Taylor Allen, David Okagbue, and Liam Gordon during the penalty shootout. Meanwhile, Ricardo Pereira, Conor Coady, and Oliver Skipp successfully scored their penalties, leading the team to advance to the next stage.

Walsall got off to a strong start, and Lakin had a great opportunity to score again, but Danny Ward blocked his close-range shot.

Connor Barrett sprinted down the right side after making a strong connection with Ronan Maher and spotted Nathan Lowe getting free from his defender. He delivered a low pass to Lakin, who was unguarded, but Ward dove to his right to stop the shot from close range.

Leicester had most of the ball, but Walsall maintained a solid defensive structure that limited Leicester's opportunities in the first half. The best chance for the away team came from Facundo Buonanotte, but the Argentinian couldn't connect properly with his header from Abdul Fatawu's high cross.

However, Lakin had another good chance to score around the 30-minute mark when Harry Williams took a long throw that was redirected to the back post. Unfortunately, the Walsall midfielder couldn't manage to get the ball on target from a sharp angle.

Harry Williams played a crucial role in a solid defensive display during the first half. He made an impressive acrobatic interception to thwart Boubakary Soumare's diagonal pass, preventing Odsonne Edouard from making a run behind the defense.

After halftime, Walsall came out looking energized and put pressure on a hesitant Leicester, forcing them into several careless mistakes. Just a minute and a half into the second half, Lowe seized on one of these poor passes, but Adomah, in his 700th professional club match, unfortunately sent his low shot just past the post.

Fans from both sides united to honor Craig Shakespeare, the former Leicester City assistant who helped them win the Premier League, as well as the iconic ex-midfielder for Walsall.

The visiting supporters were becoming increasingly impatient, prompting Steve Cooper to make substitutions in the final moments of the match, bringing on players such as Jordan Ayew and Kasey McAteer.

Fatawu posed Leicester's most significant danger throughout the night on the left flank, playing a key role in several near-misses for the team. He sent a clever pass to Buonanotte on the right, but Edouard could only manage a high shot that safely landed in Simkin's arms following the cross.

Fatawu fired a powerful shot that went well off-target from the edge of the penalty area. Simkin had to step in twice to stop Thomas, blocking his attempts at close range, and a few minutes later, he easily saved a weak header from Buonanotte.

Walsall faced a penalty shootout for the second time in this tournament this season, and Danny Ward stepped up as the standout player, successfully saving all three of the Saddlers' penalty attempts.

Following that, Walsall will play against Colchester United at home in an early match on Saturday, and then they will host Fleetwood Town at Bescot the following Tuesday.

Leicester lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation: Ward was in goal; the defense consisted of Pereira, Coady, Okoli, and Thomas. Soumare and Choudhury held the midfield, with Skipp coming on for Choudhury in the 80th minute. The attacking trio featured Decordova-Reid, Buonanotte, and Fatawu, with McAteer replacing Decordova-Reid and El-Khannouss coming on for Buonanotte, both in the 80th minute. Up front, Edouard was substituted by Ayew in the 69th minute.

Not utilized: Iversen, Justin, Faes, Golding, Alves.

Walsall set up in a 3-1-4-2 formation, featuring Simkin in goal; a defensive trio of Okagbue, Williams, and Weir; Stirk as the captain holding the midfield; with Barrett, Maher (substituted for Allen in the 70th minute), Lakin (replaced by Jellis in the 66th minute), and L Gordon contributing to the midfield; and Lowe (who gave way to Johnson in the 75th minute) and Adomah (substituted for Matt in the 75th minute) leading the attack.

Not utilized: Hornby, Daniels, Comley, Hall, Browne.