It’s been a difficult spring season for Valour FC in the inaugural Canadian Premier League campaign – there’s no denying that. For a team many expected to be competitive for the CanPL title right off the bat due to impressive depth in the front 6 and a plethora of quality individual talent, nothing seems to be working for Rob Gale’s side at the moment.

One of those aforementioned quality individual talents is none other than former Montreal Impact player, Louis Beland-Goyette, who has been starting as the deepest midfielder all season long for the Winnipeg-based side – in a role known widely as the “regista”, or deep-lying playmaker.

While Beland-Goyette brings some impressive vision to the table, which partners quite nicely with his high-quality ball-retention and tempo-keeping abilities, he did tend to struggle off the ball in the early part of the season, especially in those crucial moments when Valour were transitioning into their defensive shape, and the opposition attacked with speed.

Not that Beland-Goyette is incapable of tracking runs and blocking passing lanes, but it’s very difficult to do those things alone in midfield, and that’s what he was often asked to do earlier in the season. In the first few matches, the 23-year-old lined up in midfield alongside the likes of Golubar, Carreiro, Sacramento, and Bustos, players who are very much at their best when on the front-foot – and most importantly, players who also aren’t particularly well-drilled without the ball. Therefore, Beland-Goyette was often anchoring the midfield by himself, and was often caught isolated at the base of midfield when his opposition won the ball back in their own half.

All of this was causing major issues for Valour, until Raphael Ohin, a one-of-a-kind player on this roster, came into the fold.

Anyone who had followed soccer in Winnipeg over the past few years was well aware of the talents Raphael Ohin possessed coming into the season, but many fairly questioned his ability to take the step up to professional football. Ohin was playing in the PDL with WSA Winnipeg, and seemed to be nothing but a depth option throughout the first month or so of the Canadian Premier League season.

That was until the 2nd leg of the Canadian Championship tie against HFX Wanderers, when Ohin slotted into the XI and never looked back.

It’s true, Valour haven’t won a match in nearly a month, and none of Ohin’s 4 starts have been in victories, but his play is not to blame for that by any means. His introduction has been a breath of fresh air in a midfield that was becoming very one-dimensional following the season-ending injury to Josip Golubar.

Ohin’s tenacious, energetic, and fearless style of play has him looking a shoe-in to gain “cult hero” status among the IG Field faithful, and he is also starting to bring the best out of one of the more disappointing players of the early season in Louis Beland-Goyette.

I think one positive to take away from a tough week for Valour FC is that Raphael Ohin has proved his worth in back to back starts and added some extra energy to the midfield. You can tell it’s a work in progress so excited to see where he’s at by season’s end #CanPL — Ryan Brandt (@Ryan_Brandt) June 18, 2019

With Ohin next to him, Beland-Goyette finally has the freedom in midfield that he was once deprived of. Ohin does the dirty work, and Beland-Goyette subsequently is able to focus more on his distribution from deep positions, which is certainly his key strength. The latter’s performance levels have quite visibly increased since Ohin’s introduction, and that will likely continue as long as they continue playing next to each other in midfield.

Ever since his introduction, Raphael Ohin has been winning a stunning number of duels in the middle of the park, winning the ball back for his team high up the pitch on the regular. In 2 of his 3 league starts thus far, he has won the most duels out of all of the players on the pitch for either side.

Josip Golubar won’t be back anytime soon, but it seems as if Valour have found their midfield pivot for the fall season in Louis Beland-Goyette and Raphael Ohin. Now, it’s time for the team to start scoring some goals and getting the results that their fanbase deserves, and their talent warrants.

Like what you read? Become a Patron.

Mahith Gamage Website An avid football fan right from his first experiences with the sport, Mahith Gamage has been dabbling in football journalism for a few years now, creating his own world football blog and podcast, freeflow football, whilst featuring frequently on many other football media outlets, covering European football. With the start of the Canadian Premier League in 2019, Mahith began coverage of his hometown club, Valour FC, through NSXI. He enjoys spreading his knowledge and opinions of the beautiful game to fellow football fanatics in Canada and throughout the world, using articles and tweets, thriving particularly on tactical analysis and player scouting. You can find him tweeting about world football day and night, at @mahithgamage.

Share with a Friend Facebook

Twitter

Reddit

LinkedIn

WhatsApp

Telegram

Email



Like this: Like Loading...