The Canadian midfielder has started five consecutive games for the Impact
Shamit Shome’s first MLS minutes sort of went under the radar. After all, it was during the last game of the season in 2017, the Impact already knowing its postseason fate. Other celebrations were in place, however, because it was to be captain Patrice Bernier’s last game in an Impact uniform. Bernier scored a goal from the spot, before coming off late in the second half to thunderous applause – and with teary eyes.
The player that replaced him with eight minutes to play was, in fitting fashion, Shamit Shome. After being selected in the SuperDraft earlier that year, his big moment was finally here. The moment you dream of as an aspiring footballer: your first minutes in a new league. Unfortunately for him, not many eyes were on him that day.
Shome would get handful of games under his belt the following year, in his second season with the team, starting two games while getting subbed on for another three. Still, the young Canadian kept his head down and continued working hard during training, progressing under his new head coach, Rémi Garde.
It certainly seems to have paid off, as the former FC Edmonton man has started eight games already this season, scoring his first MLS goal in the process.
“He’s a clever character, and a very clever football player,” said head coach Rémi Garde. “Working with him for the past 18 months, I’ve gotten to know someone who’s focused every day, who comes to training to learn. He’s a fantastic guy in regard to that. It’s allowed him to make a lot of improvements in his game. The challenge for him is to take the next step, which is to play regularly at this level. There’s room for improvement, but he has the right behaviour to make up that room.”
It seems Shome is already on track to making that happen. The young midfielder is now on a sequence of four consecutive starts with the Impact, putting in another 90 minutes in the team’s 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake Wednesday night.
“It’s great to see my work paying off, but I’m definitely not taking it for granted because it can go away just like that,” explained midfielder Shamit Shome. “I’m happy with how things have gone this year. The past two years have been a little harder, especially since I didn’t have much playing time. I’m taking my chance now, and I’m going to do as much as I can to hopefully keep playing more.”
Increased attacking role
Part of Shome’s role in midfield has been to contribute offensively, not necessarily always on the scoresheet, but by transitioning from defense to offense smoothly, something the young midfielder has proven to be very good at, boasting a 76% passing accuracy in the opposing half so far this season. It’s allowed him to have more influence on his team’s play moving forward, while his fellow midfielders, like Samuel Piette, take on a more defensive role.
“We’ve seen in the past few games that Shome has shown some very nice offensive qualities,” explained midfielder Samuel Piette. “He positions himself well tactically and is extremely intelligent. I think it’s good to have him a little higher up the pitch.”
A lot of that has to do with confidence. With 11 games under his belt out of the 16 games played by the Impact in 2019, this is the most consistency Shome has had in terms of playing time since he was selected at the 2017 SuperDraft.
After stringing a few good performances together this season, the difference it has made in his play is evident and he keeps improving as his minutes add up.
“I think I’m playing more confidently than I have in a long time,” added Shome. “I know there’s a lot more that I have to do, but overall, I feel really good. I want to help more offensively now by scoring goals as well. Defensively, I’ve felt good about my game for a while, so now it’s about building offensively, and I feel like I’ve been improving game by game. Hopefully I can help the team more with goals and assists, because that’s what we need.”
