You Ahadme at hello
You Ahadme at hello
Just how many Gass puns is it possible to fit into 800 words, anyway?
United head into tonight’s Carabao Cup tie at Sutton United in good spirits following a 2-0 victory over Oxford in the League One curtain raiser on Saturday. It was a supremely comfortable victory for Mark Bonner’s new-look U’s, one that not even the presence of an unnecessarily loud pre-match DJ in the Habbin could ruin.
Fortunately everything on the pitch was very much in tune, and there was a lot to enjoy about United’s display, from Jack Stevens’ calm debut between the sticks, to the welcome positivity of George Thomas in midfield and Saiko Janneh’s eye-catching scurries down the wing.
Janneh, whose previous appearances in the first team have, for better or worse, been largely vibes-based, is showing signs he can make a positive contribution this season. His defensive work seems to have come on significantly, and going forward he looked a real threat and had a hand in both goals, first powering in a shot which Oxford keeper James Beadle could only parry into the path of Jack Lankester, who drilled home the opener from 12 yards. Thirteen minutes later Janneh was at it again, providing the perfect cross for Gassan Ahadme to nod in the second.
Oxford defence in Gass Panic!
I found Ahadme’s performance to be particularly encouraging, and though it is dangerous to draw too many conclusions from one match, he appears to have the potential to add a new dimension to our attacking play.
For the last couple of seasons, Bonner has been choosing between the physical but fairly static presence of Joe Ironside and the the more mobile, but less robust, front play of Sam Smith in the striking role. Both performed admirably for us, and I continue to love Big Joe more than most things in life, but both are, in their own ways, quite limited.
On Saturday we saw signs Ahadme could be a considerable upgrade. On several occasions he showed himself capable of receiving the ball with back to goal, either to his feet or on his chest, before turning and quickly finding a team mate.
The Ipswich loanee also excelled in the air, winning the majority of his battles with Oxford’s experienced centre backs Elliott Moore and Jordan Thorniley.
And though he noticeably tired in the second half, there was plenty of the hard running we got used to seeing from Smith on his good days. Here’s Ahadme putting on the afterburners, or the Gass burners if you like.
Oh yeah, and he scored, which was alright too I suppose.
Cooking on Gass?
But while our new striker’s link-up play was undoubtedly delightful, it will be important to ensure we continue to get bodies around him if we are to make the most of his talents.
Ahadme’s WhoScored heat map from Saturday shows just how deep he was coming to collect the ball, often receiving it in wide areas just inside the Oxford half, as well as the comparatively few touches he had in the opposition box.
A common problem last season was that our strikers looked very isolated when we got the ball up the pitch quickly, and to that end it was good to see Lankester getting into the box to score the first goal, as well as Thomas regularly driving forward to add an extra body to the front four. We’ll need more of this attacking intent from midfield in the coming matches if we are to continue to carry a threat.