AFC Leopards has been raking in good numbers when it comes to match attendance. Ingwe fans have thronged the stadium in droves to push their team in what is looking to be another disappointing league campaign at the den. The ban on fans attending their next four matches seemed to further dampen hopes at the den.When AFC Leopards met KCB FC on Sunday, the 12th man would undoubtedly have been essential in their pursuit of three points.This was to be their first match behind closed doors and in this piece we get away from the club politics and look at how the two teams set up in a top encounter at the Moi International Sports centre Kasarani.From a purely tactical perspective, Coach Zedekiah Otieno’s charges approach games with a suboptimal approach while Patrick Aussems charges have approached their games in an optimal manner, looking to get on the front foot and play their opponents off the park while KCB Fc rely majorly on long balls and destabilizing the opponent. In this game the roles seemed to change with the Leopards more cautious in their approach, noting the quality KCB FC have in their ranks this was understandable.AFC Leopards surrender two goal advantage to share points with KCBAFC Leopards set out with a lineup that had Levis Opiyo in goal, Robert Mudenyu and Zachary Njite in the centre back positions. Boniface Mukhekhe and Eric Mbithi were tasked with manning the flanks outwide to deny KCB FC wide progression. In midfield was the double pivot of Eugene Mukangula and Musa Oundo with Victor Omune in the advanced attacking midfield role. On the flanks were Peter Thiong’o and Jaffar Owiti with the former looking to drop back and cover when defending, a role similar to Federico Valverde’s role at Real Madrid. Bullish Ojo Olaniyi was tasked with leading the line for Ingwe.KCB FC set up in a 1-4-4-2 formation with Kenyan International call up Byrne Omondi in goal, the impressive Haniff Wesonga was partnered with Maurice Owino in central defense with Erikson Mulu and Kevin Okumu in the fullback positions. KCB has been having a proper midfield balance being generated in Apollo Otieno and Michael Mutinda, and they stuck with this with Kennedy Okumu and Musa Masika out on the flanks while Cliff Oruko and Henry Onyango led the line.##NAJAVA_MECA_7208817##The most interesting aspect of this game was the brilliant football that KCB FC looked to play.The Bankers are not the most amazing tactical side one can come across but they sure know how to play to their strengths. In this game they showed they can get things right tactically with possession elite players in their ranks.Out of possession, KCB FC showed that they are not one dimensional in their approach when Leopards looked to knock the ball around in settled possession, KCB FC were willing to sit back in a 1-4-4-2 block and defend diligently, with Cliff Oruko and Henry Onyango leading the line. In Hanifff Wesonga, Maurice Owino and Bryne Omondi, KCB FC have man mountains in the back and they dealt well with the bullish threat of Ojo Olaniyi – they looked to not drop too deep and were aerially dominant on cross balls when asked to defend them, only their poor zonal marking structure on set-pieces was messing them up when it came to restarts.When KCB FC were successful in a turnover, they looked to hit the ball into the channels to find Musa Masika. This would be done by Apollo Otieno, Maurice Owino and Michael Mutinda who are technically very gifted players.In the build up phase KCB FC looked to play the ball with low output when not pressed high with the two centre backs splitting and Apollo Otieno majorly dropping between the lines to progress play. The movement of Apollo Otieno and Michael Mutinda who are seen to drop into the wide areas too, to allow the ball side fullback to advance with the ball forward. This advancement of the fullbacks has helped the team create overloads on the opposition last line and against AFC Leopards this was the case.In the progression phase KCB FC looked to drop Henry Onyango deep to destabilize the AFC Leopards backline when the two holding midfielders dropped wide, this action caused uncertainty with Robert Mudenyu stepping up mostly to track his man. This was an action that seemed to contain KCB FC well but coach Zedekiah Otieno resorted to long switch balls to destabilize the backline.KCB FC were also heavily reliant on creating wide overloads by playing a direct style of football. Coach Zedekiah Otieno’s charges are a cross heavy team and their crossing quality is excellent along with the fact that they have exceptional height in the box, with Francis Kahiro the super sub and Henry Onyango It was no shock when two good switch balls saw them come back into the game and salvage a draw.In a match that AFC Leopards will feel hard done by, as they should have managed the game well, KCB FC will be content with the result. With KCB FC coach Zedekiah Otieno claiming his side are still in the title race, his tactics look sustainable, tactics he should look to build around . His plan against title chasing Tusker FC will be interesting, will he take a more controlled approach or sit back and absorb pressure?
