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Will Marc Brys bring goalkeeper Rafael Romo to the bench at OHL? “D…

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Will Rafael Romo (31) still be under the bar at OHL on Friday, visiting Union? That is by no means a certainty. His blunder against Seraing last weekend may have been too much of a mistake for the Venezuelan. Marc Brys has a second strong goalkeeper on the bench with Arsenal mercenary Alex Runarsson. “It is clear that people are thinking about switching,” the OHL trainer admits.

Milan Augustijns

At a time when OHL still hoped to get a point out of the fire last Saturday, Romo made a serious mistake. He got way too far out of his goal, went for a walk with the ball, had to hand in and led the 1-3 in. “His intentions were noble. He wanted to keep possession of the ball”, Marc Brys anoints. And yet he is also critical of his goalkeeper. “Top athletes have to be able to tolerate being rigorously evaluated. Rafa has to question herself, and so do we. We will see whether a substitution is before Friday, but it should be clear that it is being considered.”

Alex Runarsson, a 26-year-old Arsenal mercenary and the son of Runar Kristinsson, has so far only been allowed to play in the cup, having come to Leuven with a clear ambition to play. “In the beginning there was even the question from Arsenal that he absolutely had to play,” says Brys. “But we couldn’t comment on that. The best goalkeeper plays, and it makes sense that Romo has started the season after his fantastic performance last year.”

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ice bunny

Brys liked the way Runarsson handled his bench seat status. “He expected to play. Then it’s great that he stayed motivated when that didn’t happen. He comes from a much bigger club, but is clearly willing to throw himself for OHL.”

The Icelandic has a very different style than Romo. “Two styles couldn’t be further apart than theirs,” says Brys. “Alex is a cool ice bunny who has to rely on his technical ingenuity. Rafa has more scope and is a pure match winner. You can go to war with him.”

It remains to be seen whether the changing of the guard will be at Union before Friday. Another option is that Runarsson will play again next week in the cup against Westerlo. If he does well there, there is a good chance that he will remain below the bar in the competition.

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