What the Remo Stars win tells us about our season
Three points, a clean sheet and the first real sign that the shape the coaching staff have drilled since pre-season is starting to hold under pressure.
Sunday at the Ogbemudia was not the prettiest ninety minutes of the season. It may have been the most instructive.
The shape finally held
For the first time since March, the midfield three stayed compact through a full half without the ball. That is not an accident. It is the product of six weeks of unglamorous work on the training ground, and it showed in one number above all others.
- Zero shots conceded from inside the box in the first half
- 68% of duels won in the middle third
- 14 recoveries inside ten seconds of losing possession
We have talked all season about being hard to play through. On Sunday we were hard to play through.
Where it still breaks down
The second half told a different story. Once Remo pushed their full-backs high, the same midfield three found themselves defending a much wider pitch, and the recoveries dried up almost completely.
That is the trade-off with this system, and it is one the staff have accepted openly. You press high, you win the ball early, and you live with the space behind. Against a side with Remo's pace it nearly cost us.
The run-in gives us four home games in six. If the shape holds the way it held for forty-five minutes on Sunday, this is a team that can take something from all of them. If it does not, we will be having a very different conversation in September.
