ALLY McLaughlin crashed over from the final play of the game to salvage a four-try bonus point from Worcester Wanderers’ 37-20 home defeat to Walsall in Midlands One West.

Chris Griffiths (2) and Richard Ralph scored the hosts’ other tries, but the Black Country visitors secured a comfortable victory.

Wanderers had plenty of possession and territory with Griffiths, McLaughlin, Gareth Owens and Simon James prominent in an excellent opening spell, which led to Ralph’s score.

Walsall responded with a penalty, before an interception led to a converted score to hand them the lead.

Wanderers came back with Griffiths claiming the first of his brace of tries after a period of pressure on the Walsall line.

The visitors won a penalty and Mike James was sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on, which signalled a period of Walsall dominance as they racked up 17 points to take a commanding lead.

Griffiths’ second try brought Wanderers back into the game, but Walsall continued to look dangerous in open play. The visitors then converted a penalty to stretch their lead to 15 points.

Wanderers were desperately searching for another score to reduce the arrears when a box-kick was gathered by the Walsall right wing, who showed good pace and footwork to score a solo try from 60 metres.

The hosts, however, regrouped and showed great resolve to force Walsall onto the back foot for the remainder of the game.

It seemed as though they would run out of time due to a mixture of solid Walsall defence and missed opportunities. However, with three minutes remaining, Wanderers launched one last attack.

They retained the ball well and were rewarded when McLaughlin crashed over in the left-hand corner to seal the point their hard work deserved.