Hashtag's Speedsters PT 2: Josh Osude

Scouting and analysis

As I mentioned in my last piece, PT 2 of Hashtags Speedsters is on Josh Osude. With the deep freeze giving way to Storm Eowyn, winds of up to 112 mph have been buffeting parts of the UK. Now I’m not saying Osude is that quick, but he certainly has been buffeting defenders since his return to the league. The Tags have won five out of their last seven matches, with Osude leading the charge. Posting major victories against the league’s top 2. He scored the winner in the 2-1 win over Dover plus a brace and MOTM performance in the 5-1 away victory at league-surprises Cray Valley. With the wind at his heels, there is no reason why he can’t keep leaving defenders in his wake for the rest of the season.

What do I need to know?

Name: Josh Osude

Position: LW/RW/ST

Age: 25

Preferred foot: Right

Height: 168 cm

Osude rejoined the tags for his third spell in November 2024. He is a former winner of the Hashtag Academy Competition. Before this, he had a nomadic career in the lower leagues at clubs such as Grays Athletic, Romford, and Sittingbourne FC. Since resigning, he has enjoyed his best form for the club, scoring seven and assisting several goals in 16 appearances. What makes this more impressive is that it comes with him playing at a higher level regularly for the first time.

How does he play?

At any level pace is dangerous, ask most defenders what they worry about facing most, it is pace. Osude has plenty of it, he is easily one of the quickest players in the league (and there is plenty of competition). Far from a headless pace merchant, Osude has used his speed and dribbling ability to perform for Hashtag from both wings and as a lone striker since his return to the side. His ability to run in behind gives his manager a great option on the counter, he’s contributed some big goals this season already. Although he’s been used across the forward line, he likes to start or drift to his preferred left flank and attempt to take on opposition fullbacks with a trick or feint, trying to get the ball on to his favoured right foot.

Explosive Pace

1.

Hashtag are blessed with pace throughout the side, which allows them to move the ball forward very quickly, optimistic passes over the top or through become ‘excellent’ through-balls as the forward players race onto them. We’ve already highlighted Hassan’s attacking prowess in the last piece (he even appears in several of the examples below), Osude is even quicker and uses his best attribute in different ways. He’s got explosive pace, blistering acceleration and an unpredictable change of speed. He uses these skills to get from A to B as fast and as directly as possible, whether its knocking the ball long and challenging players to a foot race, or using sudden bursts of acceleration to weave in and out of opposition defenders. He is constantly asking the opposition to commit, either to a challenge or a race.

What I like about Osude is his ability to take a split-second pause, lulling defenders into thinking they’ve held him up, stopped him or even that they can steal the ball. A bit like when players jump before penalties, they wait for the keeper to unbalance, Osude has the habit of doing that to opposition players.

Below are some examples

Here, we have Osude taking down a long ball into the channel, turning a clearance into a counter. With a smart touch, he takes a second for the opposition's number 2 to step towards him. Latching on to that moment of indecision, Osude hits the ball past the defender and races onto it. Unable to change direction quickly enough and despite the opposition defender having yards on him, he easily beats him and sets up an opportunity for an easy square pass.

Far from a headless speedster, he slows down and slips a controlled pass across the 6-yard box for Hassan to easily top home. It looks simple but players who travel at such a speed often can’t compose themselves and complete the basics when they enter dangerous areas.

2.

This example is almost identical to the previous one. The image above shows Osude meeting the ball on the bounce, smartly controlling it with the outside of his foot, and firing it forward for him to run on to. On this occasion, the defender underestimates Osude’s speed and attempts to meet the ball simultaneously. Unfortunately, he is left going the long way around as he aims to catch up.

Driving forward, he easily gets into the box uncontested, once again squaring the ball for a teammate to run onto and tap home. This time showing his composure and ability with his weaker left foot, firing across a perfect pass.

3.

This example has Osude in a classic winger vs fullback battle. Slowing the play down and stopping in front of his opponent. Tapping the ball through the defender's legs, in a split second he is around his man and running towards the edge of the box. Osude’s reactions, agility and acceleration allow him to make instant movements that even the fastest defenders struggle to react to.

The opposition then looks to double up on him, moving another player across to cover, by now though Osude is already up to speed and has the confidence to hit the ball beyond the cover for himself to run on to, judging well the second defenders inability to change direction in that instant. The action is almost him passing to himself, something he backs himself to do regularly.

Goal scoring

We’ve seen how Osude uses his speed to create opportunities for his teammates and beat opponents. He also utalises this attribute to great effect when presented with chances to score goals himself. What makes his goals and assist tallies particularly impressive is that he only rejoined Hashtag in the first week of November. Indicating an ability to hit the ground running and integrate well with his new teammates.

Osude has a level of composure that a lot of fast wide forwards lack, resulting in his manager being more than happy to use him as a lone striker. Despite not being your clinical cold-blooded number 9, he will occasionally miss chances when played alone upfront, his excellent movement and speed give him plenty of opportunities to get on the score sheet.

Below are some examples of his goalscoring exploits

1.

Osude regularly uses his pace to break opposition offside traps, in this example, we can see him peeling off the back of the Dulwich defence. When operating against a high line, the Hashtag midfielders have the luxury of being able to be less precise in their passing. Here the midfielder slides the ball through in the general direction of Osude’s run between fullback and centreback. Taking two heavy but direct touches, he is in constant control as he drives towards the goal.

The speed with which moves toward the goal means no defender can get back in time to apply pressure as he shapes for a shot. The keeper also has little time to decide on whether to come out and close him down, resulting in him taking the safer option of staying near his line. Osude opens up his body, showing good finishing technique he calmly slides the ball into the far corner for a composed finish.

2.

Here we have Osude showing off his first touch and poacher qualities. Judging the looped cross in better than his marker, he doesn’t get sucked underneath the ball like the defender. Instead, he backs away, taking the ball on his chest, he directs it down and onto his favoured right foot. Before the defenders can move across, he smashes the ball low and hard back across the goal and out of reach of the stranded keeper. This whole sequence is a good example of his speed of thought, proving some of his striker-like attributes.

3.

Osude’s speed doesn’t just let him race away from defenders, it also means he can close players down effectively. Reducing the space between very quickly, often he can lull defenders into thinking they have more time than they do. The images below are an excellent example of Osude creating his own opportunities through smart pressing.

The defender is in complete control, with a good first touch he has taken the ball down from his keeper and is scanning for a ball forward. Surprised by the speed at which Osude closes down, he is easily dispossessed. The defender is left helpless as Osude gets between the defender and the ball and sprints into the box.

After a failed attempt at a pass across the 6-yard box, the ball ricochets back to him, showing good composure he makes no mistake in whipping the ball powerfully past the keeper. Resulting in the aforementioned match-winner against league-topping Dover Athletic.

Conclusion

Osude is an explosive asset to his side and is versatile enough to play anywhere across the front line effectively. Like Hassan in the previous article, his devastating pace on the counter is an excellent weapon for his manager. He can also use it to get out of tight situations, stretch defenders out of shape and force players to commit to unwise challenges.

Being 25, he is theoretically entering his prime years. His current form is an indicator of his ability to perform easily at the Isthmian Premier Level, contributing goals and assists regularly. His experience at lower steps in the British pyramid will have also been helpful for him, where he would have encountered and competed in worse conditions with minimal time for training.

Pace is dangerous at any level and a valuable asset in any team. If Osude can continue to use it effectively and efficiently, there is no reason why Managers in step 2 and 1 leagues won’t notice in the near future.

All photos and footage used can be found on Hashtag United’s Youtube page and website

https://hashtagunited.co.uk/

https://www.youtube.com/@HashtagUnited

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