In the circumstances it was not a very impressive performance and player-manager Paul Merson, who worked tirelessly to lift his side, still has some major problems on his hands.
Peterborough's Barry Fry, likewise, is facing a hard winter as they too struggled to make an impact against a struggling Walsall who had to come from behind to win.
Walsall's problems began as early as the 11th minute when Peterborough took a shock lead to the dismay of the home fans who had been hoping for an immediate improvement on the disappointment of the FA Cup defeat at Slough.
Wayne Purser, a recent signing from Hornchurch, notched his first goal for the Posh following the best move of the game when Peter Kennedy, Clive Platt and Andy Legg combined to set up the newcomer to score with a low angled shot.
This was a terrible setback for Walsall. They lost their composure and direction.
As a result their performance slumped badly with Merson unable to lift his side until the second half.
Peterborough, who have also been struggling this season, were hardly a severe test but Walsall's shooting lacked conviction and they failed to get a single shot on target in a depressing first half.
Darren Wrack suffered more than most in the first half as was illustrated when he took advantage of a pass back by Chris Plummer. But he hesitated and checked his run on goal as Peterborough recovered to shut out the threat.
Peterborough's attacking options were hardly any better than Walsall's attempts to retrieve a desperate situation.
Central defenders, Sean St. Ledger and Plummer, worked tirelessly to keep Posh in the game but they were assisted by a hapless Walsall display which raises serious doubts to their immediate future.
A more positive second-half performance enabled Walsall to save themselves and they finally managed to equalise in the 62nd minute with their first effort on target seconds after Purser had wasted a chance to seal the game for the Posh.
A delightful free-kick was picked up by Wrack to side-foot the ball past Mark Tyler.
The goal made a tremendous difference and six minutes later striker Gary Birch raced through the middle on to another Merson pass to rifle his shot past the advancing Tyler.