Newly promoted Coventry hosted newly relegated Bournemouth in game week four of the championship. Bournemouth asserted their dominance from the start, controlling possession and threatening the Coventry goal, they opened the scoring within 10 minutes and they continued to dominate the first half, Coventry equalised on the stroke of half time through a penalty but that it all they created. Coventry played a 3-4-3 formation and they were completely overrun all over the park, especially in midfield as the trio of Lewis Cook, Dan Gosling and Jefferson Lerma were levels above the two-man Coventry midfield of Ben Sheaf and Gustavo Hamer. Bournemouth ran out 3-1 winners after continuing on from their good first half performance, Bournemouth completed 636 passes which is the most of any championship team this season which shows the nature of the game.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for their level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Callum O’Hare
Player Profile
- Nationality: English
- Age: 22
- Date of Birth: 01/05/1998
- Current Club: Coventry
- Career: Aston Villa, Carlisle United (L), Coventry
- Position: Attacking Midfield
- Secondary Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
O’Hare played on the right of the front three but he was involved everywhere on the pitch; he knew his defensive duties and when to track back but he also made central runs forward and found himself on the other wing a couple of times. O’Hare was the only Coventry player with a bit of energy about them. He pressed at times with good energy, but he also wanted to get involved in every attack trying to find pockets of space. He picked up nice areas where he wasn’t always found, he was found just inside the box where he tried to finesse a shot in at the far post but it just skimmed the outside of the post, but the idea was clear to see. His passing was very solid, and he usually followed his passing up with a forward run which is simple but effective.
O’Hare’s dribbling was also good as he liked to dribble inside and out of the defender, and he won a few fouls from his burst of acceleration to get away from defenders. Overall, O’Hare had a good game and showcased sound technical ability, he looked like he could be a championship player with better players around him.
Rating – B1
Gustavo Hamer
Player Profile
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 23
- Date of Birth: 24/06/1997
- Current Club: Coventry
- Career: Feyenoord, FC Dordrecht (L), PEC Zwolle, Coventry
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Hamer was one of Coventry’s brightest sparks in the first half, he was the only one looking to create something, whether this would be a forward pass, long ball, shot or cross. He hit a well struck shot from a difficult angle about 25 yards out that forced a good save and he followed this up with another shot which Coventry lacked in the game. The Dutch was very inconsistent on the ball and his passing deteriorated as the game went on. Although he was on the ball a lot of the time and was the only player trying to create something, he gave the ball away too many times when the pass was fairly easy to make which left Coventry exposed in the middle of the park.
Gustavo came across as a very aggressive player and he liked a physical battle as well as a shoulder to shoulder contest which gave some much needed physicality to Coventry’s midfield. However, he did pull out of a challenge where the ball was available to win which was surprising, he came across very frustrated during the game and he crossed the line in the second half when he was sent off for raising an arm to a Bournemouth face which sealed the Bournemouth win. Coventry are now without an important player for three games and they can’t afford to have a hot-headed liability on the pitch. He still showed glimpses of quality, included a lovely cross field ball with great curve on it avoid the opposition player.
Rating – B2
Ben Sheaf
Player Profile
- Nationality: English
- Age: 22
- Date of Birth: 05/02/1998
- Current Club: Coventry, on loan from Arsenal
- Career: West Ham United (Y), Arsenal (Y), Stevenage (L), Doncaster (L), Coventry (L)
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Sheaf struggled in the first half as him and Hamer were both overran and couldn’t cover the ground between the two of them. Sheaf wasn’t the quickest which allowed Bournemouth to easily pass or dribble the ball around them when there was lots of space. Sheaf’s passing was average throughout the match, he’s comfortable passing short sideways passes but left the more dangerous passes for Hamer to attempt. He struggled in small spaces with opposition players around him where his close control let him down.
In the second half, Sheaf played better and used his physicality more, he is good in the air standing at 6-foot-tall and headed away a few defensive corners. Sheaf was useful in breaking down Bournemouth attacks and picking up loose balls and offered more defensively compared to Hamer, however they both put in average performances.
Rating – B2
Leo Skiri Ostigard
Player Profile
- Nationality: Norwegian
- Age: 20
- Date of Birth: 28/11/1999
- Current Club: Coventry, on loan from Brighton
- Career: Molde FK, Viking (L), Brighton, FC St.Pauli (L), Coventry (L)
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Østigård started on the right-hand side of the back three and was tasked with marking Dominic Solanke who posed many challenges, Østigård showed good pace to get to a through ball first and intelligence to get his body in between the man and ball to win a freekick. Østigård defended very tight to Solanke when he was receiving the ball and his good close pressure forced him to play backwards or have a loose touch and lose the ball. Østigård wasn’t overly convincing in his positioning, the opening goal came down his side after a poor clearance and he easily let a through ball round the outside of him, unaware of what was going on around him.
Østigård could have been sent off before half time after he mistimed a slide tackle on the edge of the box when he was already on a yellow card, his slide tackle had no momentum to it which made it easy for the attacker to dribble round him and win the freekick. He was withdrawn on half time.
Rating – C
Jordan Shipley
Player Profile
- Nationality: Irish
- Age: 23
- Date of Birth: 26/09/1997
- Current Club: Coventry
- Career: Coventry
- Position: Left Wing
- Secondary Position: Attacking Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Shipley has a very physical build, he is tall and very stocky for a winger. He utilised his build well when he ran in behind and made a nice lay off with his head to an on running Coventry player. On the ball he was too slow; he was slow when dribbling with the ball and takes one too many touches before he releases the pass.
Defensively, Shipley was very energetic and impressive. The Coventry front three tended to press together well but the midfield didn’t follow this up, so it was easy for Bournemouth for bypass the press. Shipley pressed the Bournemouth left back but also the centre-backs and midfielders, he almost pressed too much as he didn’t have enough energy when he was on the ball and was subsequently taken off at half time after having no impact on the game.
Rating – C
Ryan Giles
Player Profile
- Nationality: English
- Age: 20
- Date of Birth: 26/01/2000
- Current Club: Coventry, on loan from Wolves
- Career: Wolves, Shrewsbury (L), Coventry (L)
- Position: Left Midfield
- Secondary Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Giles had a quiet game at left wing-back as most of the play came down the other side. Giles never ventured forward in the first half compared to the Coventry right back, when he did get on the ball his passing was very basic. He never looked like he was going to pass forward, he always passed backwards or sideways even if there was a pass forward. On the one occasion he got forward, he controlled a cross field pass very well on the run and played a nice low ball to O’Hare who hit the post which made it even more surprising as to why he didn’t go forward more often.
Giles was suspect defensively, in the second half Giles was positioned higher up the pitch. His opposite man wasn’t getting forward but there was always space to exploit in behind him that he failed to realise and adapt. Giles has a slim figure and he pulled out of a 50/50 challenge where the ball was there to won which was disappointing, he also let a cross in easily with no real desire to stop it.
Rating – D
Written by Andrew Hunter / @HunterAnalysis
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