This season, 45% of the goals scored by the Ruthenians have come from a stopped phase of play. All but a coincidence for the barrage who got out of a delicate situation on Saturday in the North after a good free kick.
So of course, Boissier’s off-center free kick for his midfield duettist Douline during the equalizer on Saturday, in the second period at Valenciennes (1-1), did not land directly on the man’s head. Match ; having needed a Ruthenian extension from the first to the far post. But all the same. Once again, for the fourth in nine goals scored since the start at the end of August exactly, the Aveyronnais found the loophole during a stopped phase of play.
This asset was already in the hands of the blood and gold last season. It is still relevant today, while the chief gunner of the previous exercise, Pierre Ruffaut, is now subscribed to the substitute bench.
Beyond the daily work to which this obviously comes, it also highlights a certain difficulty in converting “classic” opportunities into goals, or even in creating real opportunities to score. Finally, with regard to this last statement, Saturday evening in Hainaut, Valentin Henry and his family reassured. They even finished this game, the sixth in a row without success it should be remembered, with 18 strikes towards the goal, their most important total so far this season, them whose statistics also said at kick-off that they had only shaken the nets in 50% of their matches.
Envy, common front, and offensive combinations were found by a formation articulated again in 3-4-3 and, above all, with a new offensive trident. Dembelé, Gueye and Kérouédan thus illustrated themselves with a good activity, but also a glaring lack of efficiency, especially valid for the last two cities which had, both, the ball of victory at the end of the feet. A real problem of finishing which could have cost dear to the Aveyronnais, deprived all the same on Saturday of Ugo Bonnet their best trigger, because injured.
Better efficiency in front of goal? “We are working on it”
“We’re working on it and we’re gonna keep doing it“, indicated after his (good) first match as a holder, replacing the goleador blood and gold at the forefront of the team.
Capital in Ligue 2 as elsewhere, this offensive efficiency is usually the hallmark of Ruthenian successes most often built by rapid attacks and therefore possession left to the opponent. On Saturday, Valenciennes almost showed Raf how to do it at this level, scoring his goal on his first shot on target, before seeing Guivarch relax beautifully on a Chevalier header and finally Henry literally save the match on a breakthrough of Cabral.
The only three shots on target in the match for VAFC.
Set pieces can also be thought of as a palliative weapon on the Aveyron side. The Bonnet penalty scored in two stages in Pau, the dead leaf on a direct free kick from Boissier in Sochaux, the corner from the former Manceau again for Douline at the far post (but with a foot this time) against Auxerre and the goal Saturday in the North are a case in point.
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