Coventry City have an unsung hero in Leo Ostigard

From his celebrations last night, anybody would have thought that Leo Ostigard had been at the club for years, but the 21-year-old has only spent this past season on loan with the Sky Blues from Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Norweigan defender was at the heart of everything against Rotherham United, his defensive stability along with his evident leadership was something that the young defender has shown throughout the season and he may well give Brighton manager Graham Potter something to think about over the summer.

Ostigard popped up with a 7oth minute winner as he headed home from a Matty James free-kick to give Coventry City all three points and create a six-point gap between themselves and Rotherham United. Although the Millers have a couple of games in hand, the positive for Coventry is there are another three teams between them and the bottom three.

It has been a positive campaign for the defender, he has managed to showcase his skills at a level that is one of the most competitive in world football. It is a physically and mentally gruelling league but that hasn’t seemed to have affected Ostigard too much, who has been one of the standout performers all throughout the season.

He is comfortable on the ball and is versatile, he can operate as centre-half in a three man defence but also as a right-back in a back four and this has been key throughout the season. His determination and desire to win shines through more than anything as he competed and fought for every single ball against Rotherham United on Thursday night.

His reaction at the full-time whistle told you all you need to know about his passion and his determination to win as he sprinted straight to the dugout the celebrate with the coaching staff.

It has been a whirlwind season so far for Mark Robins’ side but it isn’t over just yet. Getting over the line for safety would be a huge accomplishment and should they survive, Robins’ first port of call in the summer should be getting Ostigard to sign on the dotted line on a permanent basis.

 

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