There are a few narratives more captivating than that of an underdog football team defying odds to sit at the table of the perennial ‘big boys”. In football, as in life, nothing is truly ever impossible. With the right levels of cohesion, hard work, a clear identity and unwavering home support Nzoia Sugar FC showed that teams once termed as mere pushovers can rise. Nzoia’s is a tale of resilience, determination, intensity and unwavering belief in the face of adversity.In this piece we set out to understand from a tactical point of view how Nzoia Sugar FC under the tutelage of Salim Babu grew into one of the most intense and difficult sides to play against in the recently concluded FKF Premier League 2022/2023 season.Let us begin by breaking down the Nzoia Sugar season in numbers. Nzoia Sugar FC finished in fourth position, they had 64 points winning eighteen league games, drawing ten and losing six. They scored forty three league goals and conceded a paltry twenty three in the recently concluded thirty four game season. Now let us compare this with their 2021/2022 season with 34 league games played, Nzoia Sugar finished on position 14 on 37 points. Conceding three more goals than the thirty six they scored, Nzoia finished a paltry three points above the relegation zone. These numbers show the team struggled to find their footing in the league, their chances of success seemed bleak and the team’s stature in the footballing world appeared meager. Their ability to compete at the highest level was brought into question on numerous occasions. All this was warranted given their displays. However coach Salim Babu waved his magic wand and things got into place.Coach Salim Babu used the failures of the previous season as a fuel for transformation; he rallied his troops to believe in his tactical culture and from there, the only way was up. Rumors during the pre-season preparations for the 2022/2023 season indicated that Nzoia Sugar FC employed very strenuous double training sessions to improve on the teams fitness levels. These rumors seemed to hold some truth in them as Nzoia Sugar players were fit enough to play the way Salim Babu wanted, high intensity football, the players also got an improved understanding of each other and the game plan. They finally started playing with the right levels of intensity and cohesion.Strength of a woman: Akisa’s magic hands that keeps Nzoia Sugar players fit##NAJAVA_MECA_7347256##Nzoia Sugar looked to play high octane football, especially when at home. They would majorly not press the opposition goalkeeper from the buildup phase, they would however let the ball dissociate from the goalkeeper then they would now press. The idea was to mainly swarm the opposition player with the ball with a view to winning the ball back quickly so as to prevent the opposing team from generating any sort of rhythm in their play. Nzoia Sugar FC press started very narrow off the ball, their striker Yassin Sije would then look to arc his runs so as to eliminate opposition passing options. Depending on the dynamic of the opposition and where the opposition strengths laid Nzoia would now employ the sub principles of forcing the opposition inside where they had strength in numbers or outside where they could use the touchline as the extra defender.Moving into their in possession structure, Nzoia Sugar are dangerous in this phase of play. Their offensive players are their most dangerous players with the quality of James Mwangi, Yassin Sije, Hassan Beja and James Kibande. Coach Salim Babu looked to ensure these players got the ball as much as possible. The above forwards having a combined total of 28 goals for the side. Sije with 6, Mwangi with 14, Kibande with 5 and Beja with 3.What was often seen with Nzoia Sugar was a midfielder dropping into the backline to build up. This action would see the centre backs split wide of the box. This action pushed the fullbacks higher up the pitch, the wingers would then come into the half spaces, overloading the last line of defense. They, Nzoia, were however not shy at mixing things up. Another common occurrence would be a ball up the channel from the fullbacks or midfielder who had dropped into the last line towards the winger. This ball was played on numerous occasions into the left channels where they would look to capitalize on the gaps in behind the full-back. The most interesting dynamic of their in possession dynamic was how Nzoia Sugar would push up as a unit, this action would ensure they got more numbers in and around the box than most teams, causing overloads in attack.From the final third attacking structure, Nzoia would sometimes use the full-backs to cross into the box, and at other times the wingers. They were however not a heavy cross ball based side, majorly attacking with decoy runs by wingers in the half spaces. Instances of where Yassin Sije dropped deep and James Mwangi dribbled into the box through thee half spaces from neat combination play were applied in most games.Like in chess matches, Coach Salim Babu always planned ahead, his aspect of overload creation not only increased their chances of getting a goal but also ensured their defensive principle of swarming the ball carrier when out of position would work well, the press mentioned earlier.The measured possession based football employed by Nzoia Sugar was the one that won them most plaudits. The team employed typical movements of simple rotations when in possession. Boniface Munyendo dropping in the fullback position, Kevin Juma drifting ball near to create passing triangles. Yassin Sije detaching from the centre backs to overload the opposition defensive player with James Mwangi just to name but a few. Ian Karani’s composure at centre back also heavily helped allowing him to be able to cober the narrow and wide zones when the fullback advanced. Similarly on the right Mwale would push up well knowing Boniface Munyendo in midfield was well defensive minded and could cover him well.Nzoia Sugar were very clear on their game plan and made it work. They invested in strategic recruitment, bringing in talented players with immense potential and instilled a sense of discipline, purpose and unyielding desire to succeed. What a season for the Millers.
