Player of the weekend

Walsall's Kevin Harper

Harper was at the double for his Walsall debut, netting twice in an important 4-1 thumping of Barnet.

Harper...Pompey Days

With the game poised at 2-1, on cue new lad to secure the points and the Saddlers first win in five in the process. A performance of pure quality steered the promotion chasers back to top form for the visit of the struggling Bee's.

The Scotsman has a one month loan deal at Walsall from Championship outfit Stoke City. It certainly hasn't taken him very long to make an impression in the fourth tier of the English game.

Harper, 31, made almost 100 appearances for boyhood club Hibernian, where he netted an impressive 15 goals from midfield. Harper made a name for himself in the SPL in the late ninety's before being touted by a number of Englsh Clubs.

Derby County's Jim Smith captured his signing in September 1998 for a fee of £300,000. Failing to impress at ride Park, he joined Walsall but made limited appearances after being quickly signed by Pompey in March 2000.

Injury plagued his spell at Fratton but he was eventually a crucial member of Portsmouth's Division One promotion side on the season of 2002/03. A whole host of decent performances earned him a place in the Scotland senior squad.

Next stop Norwich on loan for the Scot, where he will be most remembered for a horrendous two-footed challenge against Derby. He was soon shipped out again to Leicester where his impact was limited. The much travelled Scot was eventually sold to Stoke in 2005.

The middle man has already enjoyed a spell at Carlisle this season but now at Walsall on a month's loan, boss Richard Money will be hoping to extend the deal until the end of the season.