With just six matchweeks left of the 2024 Besta deild kvenna campaign, things could not be tighter at the top as Breiðablik Women and Valur Women, comfortably the two strongest sides in the Icelandic top flight this year, are separated as things stand by just a +5 goal differential in the former’s favour.
However, Valur will harbour a strong belief that they can overtake their title rivals and can end the year at the top of the pile, and one of the reasons for that is the presence of midfielder Katie Cousins in their ranks.
The American joined from city rivals Þróttur Reykjavík Women during the close season and has quickly established herself as a key cog in their machine, and the fact that Þróttur have gone from third in the standings last time out to eighth at the time of writing shows how influential she can be to her team’s fortunes.
With that in mind, this tactical analysis will take a closer look at why she could be an essential weapon in Valur’s arsenal as they strive to add a 15th league trophy to their honours list, breaking down what she offers tactically and showing why the former Angel City midfielder (who featured for the NWSL side back in 2022, alongside the likes of ex-Liverpool Women player Miri Taylor and Germany goalkeeper Almuth Schult) has consistently been among the league’s best performers.
Katie Cousins Creating Chances
When Katie Cousins featured for Þróttur in previous years, she tended to be used in a more offensive manner, with her former side deploying an attacking style of play that revolved around sequences of passes and playing through their opponents when inside the final third.
As the current campaign has gone on, it has become apparent that she has brought those same qualities to Valur this time around and has been a significant addition to their own attacking play.
It is for that reason that situations like this, when she has had the ball in space and with the opportunity to set up a shot on goal, have been common to see in Valur’s games, with Cousins here making an interception to regain the ball high up the field and now in a position to feed the ball into the territory behind the FH Women defensive line.
However, to simply leave it at that would be to ignore the detail that has gone into making the chance come about, with several characteristics that Cousins needed to demonstrate to ensure that Valur could apply pressure from a promising area of the field.
Firstly, she needed to anticipate the play and read that FH substitute Thelma Lóa Hermannsdóttir would look to find Ída Marín Hermannsdóttir.
Then, she needed to demonstrate a strong awareness of her surroundings to assess where her team could have the best possible opportunity to take a shot on goal.
In this case, that came through Nadía Atladóttir, who was making a run outside defender Jónína Linnet, and it then came down to Cousins timing and weighting the pass to perfection to ensure that her teammate wasn’t caught offside or didn’t see the ball travel too far in front of her.
These are traps that many in this role tend to fall into, but Cousins rarely does, and the fact that she has an 84.1% passing accuracy so far shows why she is such a dangerous player to leave in vast chasms of space such as this.
There might be an argument by some that the time she had to control the ball and to pick her pass doesn’t highlight her threat, with Birna Kristín Björnsdóttir applying some pressure but not enough to stop the ball travelling up the field, and there may well be some truth in that.
However, it is not only in open spaces that Cousins has demonstrated her precision with the ball at her feet, and it is this that makes it such a significant part of her game.
Here, FH have not afforded her as much time and so she doesn’t enjoy the same luxury as she had in the previous situation, with Andrea Rán Snæfeld Hauksdóttir (who has recently moved to USL Super League side Tampa Bay Sun) and compatriot Breukelen Woodard getting tight to her on either side.
However, she doesn’t lose her composure and instead battles hard to retain the ball. The strength she demonstrates enables her to hold off the threat of losing the duel and set up Amanda Andradóttir to fire the ball into the back of the net.
When considering that she has won 47.8% of her offensive duels this season, up from 42.3% last time out, it is undoubtedly moments like this that Valur really targeted Cousins for when upgrading their squad, with her ability to be solid in these moments giving the likes of Andradóttir and Ísabella Sara Tryggvadóttir more licence to play higher up the field and to focus on offering a constant goal threat.
The fact that both have enjoyed more productive campaigns, with Andradóttir scoring seven times and Tryggvadóttir six, compared to five and three, respectively, last time out, is a direct result of that.
Maintaining control of the ball in tight spaces was particularly useful when Valur hosted Tindastóll Women, who are based in Sauðárkrókur in the north of the country.
The latter team arrived in the capital with a game plan that saw them sit back and get numbers behind the ball, and it was clear that this approach had the desired effect, as Valur endured a frustrating match overall.
However, with Cousins in the team, there was always a chance that they would eventually penetrate the staunch rearguard action, and their persistence paid off in the end.
In this case, Cousins has been surrounded by the quartet of Birgitta Rún Finnbogadóttir, María Dögg Jóhannesdóttir, Elísa Bríet Björnsdóttir and Finnish midfielder Annika Haanpää and it looks again as though she is at a disadvantage.
Still, she instead kept the ball and slipped it through for teammate Fanndís Friðriksdóttir to fire home from a tight angle.
Therefore, when considering how she has helped Valur win games that they might have struggled with in their last outing, there is no doubt that she has been a positive signing for them to make and that she will continue to be a key asset as they chase a fourth consecutive domestic triumph.
Katie Cousins Breaking Up Play
Despite her evident threat in attacking situations, Valur have actually opted to deploy Katie Cousins in deeper areas more often than not, with her tending to operate in either a box-to-box or a holding midfield role.
This has been both to give their defensive line some additional protection whenever they lose possession and to allow them to build attacks from the back whenever they can, and it might appear to some as though that could hinder her ability to influence the game in the same way.
However, that has not been the case, as it has instead enabled her to demonstrate another side to her game, one that might not have been as evident beforehand.
In this case, she has once again demonstrated astute awareness and anticipation but this time in a defensive manner, with her recognising that Keflavík Women’s Elianna Beard is looking to get up the field and so tracking back to put herself between the ball and the Israel international.
The fact that Keflavík’s tactics in this game revolved around expansive transitions formed of long ground passes really played into Cousins’ hands in many ways, as it gave her ample opportunity to make interceptions and disrupt the flow of their attacks.
On this occasion, she didn’t need to act as the pass from Canadian midfielder Melanie Forbes ended up at the feet of her Valur teammate Berglind Rós Ágústsdóttir.
Still, the fact that Cousins has averaged 5.09 interceptions per game this year highlights how this is another key strength in her game.
Again, it is about being decisive and keeping things simple in many ways, and that mentality is particularly highlighted when she does compete in 1-v-1 duels.
Keflavík have once again launched an attack here and have, this time, reached the edge of the Valur goal area, but that is as far as Elfa Karen Magnúsdóttir can go here as she is quickly closed down by Cousins and loses the ball.
The key detail to point out here is the way that the Valur player turns on the spot and instantly puts her body between her opponent and the ball, and it is that which prevents Magnúsdóttir from regaining the ball, which then allows Cousins to create separation to clear the ball from danger.
It happens swiftly and in one movement, highlighting how well-drilled she is in making it work out, and the fact that she has won 79.2% of her defensive duels so far this season shows how she is just as capable of aiding her team inside her own third as she is when the ball is at the other end.
It is also worth noting that Cousins doesn’t only look to win the ball in deeper positions. There have been some games in which she has also looked to defend on the front foot.
The visit of struggling Stjarnan Women was one of those. With the away team looking increasingly shaky this year, Valur knew that they could take the game to their opponents and would benefit from doing so.
As a result, Cousins had the freedom to exert pressure and to get her team onto the front foot even earlier than usual, and it was no mistake that this game was the one in which she registered the most touches that she has had inside the penalty area in an individual outing this season (nine).
In this case, she recognised that Gyða Kristín Gunnarsdóttir would look to find former Orlando Pride midfielder Caitlin Cosme, so she ran forward into her blind spot, which led to the ball being won and a foul also being drawn, giving her side further attacking momentum.
This is not the only time that Cousins has drawn fouls from opponents, and it is another key trait that Valur have come to benefit from, with this graphic indicating that she has earned 28 in their 12 league matches to date, whilst it is worth pointing out that she won 41 for Þróttur last time out.
What is also indicated in the graphic is that the majority of them have come from closer to the halfway line, rather than inside the final third, where the vast majority of the ones she won last season came in.
However, that is simply a reflection of the altered role she has been given this season, and the key point to take is that, regardless of where she operates, she has played a key role in helping to break up play and stop her opponents from building any rhythm.
Katie Cousins Versatility
It has been hinted at already in this analysis, but one of the major themes that has emerged from it is that Katie Cousins is a very versatile player who is not simply limited to one area of the pitch.
However, other levels of her versatility have not yet been explored, and examining them will provide a more complete picture of how well-rounded she truly is.
The first thing to point out is that she is not only someone who creates chances but who is very happy to take them too, with it just as common to see her making runs into forward areas as it is for her to hold back and to act as the conductor behind the forward line.
This was one of those situations where she identified the gap in the FH goal area caused by her teammates and a number of defenders shifting over to the near side of the field, and so she made a run forward to provide a target for them to look for.
As well as her aforementioned spatial awareness, what facilitated this move was the slight burst of acceleration that she showed in a bid to lose her marker, with her initially being accompanied by Woodard as she made her way up the pitch, and so needing to evade her clutches to ensure that she could meet the ball under as little pressure as possible.
It might not have come to anything in the end, but she would not have had the chance to try her luck without catching her marker off guard, and that is the key thing to take from this.
With Andradóttir moving to Vrouwen Eredivisie defending champions Twente Vrouwen in the last few days, it will be interesting to see if Valur do give Cousins extra freedom to make these types of runs and to act as a secondary attacking threat for them.
They are not short of offensive options by any stretch, but it might be something worth considering as they try to ensure that they don’t lose their momentum and that they keep their foot firmly on the accelerator over the coming weeks.
The fact that Cousins has an air of unpredictability around her will only aid them if they decide to take that course, as it becomes apparent when watching her that she can offer different things from the same areas of the pitch.
To explain, she has regained the ball here as a result of Valur making another front-footed tackle and is now in a position from which Breiðablik might be expecting her to pass it into a teammate, with Guðrún Elísabet Björgvinsdóttir in a prime position to receive it just in front of the defensive line.
However, Cousins doesn’t consider that option and instead looks to test her own luck with a shot on goal from range, and she doesn’t miss by much.
Therefore, while it might not be one of her strongest traits, with her only scoring on one occasion so far and finding the net four times in 2023, she is just as capable of shooting at goal as she is of passing and creating chances for those around her.
It certainly keeps her opponents guessing with regard to her intentions whenever the ball is at her feet.
She also demonstrates versatility in defensive areas, with her capable of dropping into the back line as well as sitting in front of it.
Against Fylkir Women (who are one of the newly-promoted teams this season, alongside Víkingur Reykjavík Women), there were a few occasions when she was seen in these positions in order to allow another of Valur’s American players, Camryn Hartman, to get higher up the field and to give the team more width.
Having Cousins amongst the back line can be beneficial for Valur, as it brings a wide range of passing into the equation and allows them to either play a transitional or direct style, depending on what is happening around the pitch.
The fact that her teammates are all keeping their distance and are looking to make the pitch as big as possible shows how they trust her capabilities here, and Fylkir have to prepare for all eventualities, so they can’t simply move to close her down.
In the end, the ball is passed towards Friðriksdóttir.
It ends up moving beyond the Fylkir line, and that demonstrates how dangerous Valur can be when building from the back and shows why Cousins could be vital in allowing them to edge Breiðablik in the race for the Besta deild kvenna title.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has examined Valur Women midfielder Katie Cousins in detail, highlighting the many ways in which she has integrated into their system since joining them and why she could be a key asset for them as they strive to add another Icelandic top-flight trophy to their collection.
As has been made clear throughout the scout report, what Cousins mostly brings is an ability to move around and to influence the game without too many people really batting an eyelid, and it is that ability to play the silent role and to allow others to have the limelight that really stands out about her performances.
As the season draws to a close over the next month, it will be interesting to see how Valur continues to get the best out of her and looks to ensure that they have the optimum chance of winning each encounter. There is no doubt that she will be one to watch in the battle between them and Breiðablik to finish on the top step.
