In an interesting David vs Goliath clash at Police Sacco Stadium, hosts Kenya Police FC edged visiting Shabana FC by a solitary goal. But what were the interesting tactical matchups that were seen in this game?Police FC came into the match against Shabana on the back of a five-match unbeaten run and looking to get back to winning ways after a disappointing 0-0 draw against Posta Rangers the previous weekend. Coach Salim Babu named his squad full of experience to try and get back on track. He set up the team in a 1-4-2-3-1. Kenyan international Patrick Matasi started in goal. Ahead of him, club captain Musa Mohammed and David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng were the center back pairing. Badi Baraka and another Kenyan international in Abud Omar were the right back and left back respectively. In midfield, the versatile David Owino started in the midfield pivot alongside Charles Ouma. Former Gor Mahia midfielder Kenneth Muguna was the attacking midfielder in a very star-studded lineup. On the wings, we had the magical David Okoth inverting from the right with Samuel Onyango operating from the left. South Sudan international Tito Okello was leading the line for the law enforcers.Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo has been having it rough at Shabana since his midseason appointment. With only one win since he came in, a convincing 5-2 win over Nzoia Sugar, his side was languishing in the relegation spots coming in to this match. The experienced tactician was desperate for points and needed a confidence boost. A win over in-form Police would have done them a world of good. Coach Pamzo set up his team in a 1-4-1-4-1. He named Fredrick Otinda in goal. Ahead of him, Bernard Otieno and George Onyango were the center backs. Dimpol Omamo and Brian Magare were the fullbacks. Mark Okola anchored the midfield as a solo holding midfielder. Omuri Ezekia and Lloyd Khabuchi were the wingers with Japhet Lihanda and Justine Omwando were the central midfielders. Mathew Tegisi led the line as the center forward for the glamour boys. Harambee Stars CHAN team set to face Ecuador in friendly matchThe home side, Police FC looked to impose their will on the game immediately from kickoff and looked to frustrate an already mentally struggling Shabana side. In buildup, both center backs split either side of the goalkeeper. At times, Matasi pushed up to become the third center back. This was made possible by the passive Shabana press. Shabana only allowed center forward Mathew Tegisi to press the center backs meaning they had a lot of space and freedom. For Police, when Matasi was not pushing in to the backline, it was David ‘Messi’ Owino dropping in to make the three-man rest defense and to start play from deep. This meant that Mathew Tegisi was always outnumbered 3v1. It was clear he couldn’t nick the ball away from the calm and composed Police defenders. Both fullbacks pushed high up the field alongside the midfield line. Shabana’s defensive shape was a 4-1-4-1. However, the major undoing of this shape was the large spaces in between the lines. The Shabana players were also not compact enough and left large spaces in between themselves. A passive press and a defensive structure that was not compact enough was recipe for disaster. It was this spaces that Police extremely exploited throughout the game. The police build up shape almost resembled a 3-4-3 with Charles Ouma joining Kenneth Muguna in between the Shabana midfield lines. While it would have been hard for the back three to access the midfield, the large spaces between the Shabana players allowed Police to tread passes through and into their block to the feet of their midfielders and look to create chances from there. Shabana defensive midfielder Mark Okola was overloaded 2v1 when Police were in possession. From time to time, Tito Okello also dropped from his center forward position in to midfield to receive the ball and this created a 3v1 overload and even if Justine Omwando dropped to aid his midfield partner, they were still outnumbered 3v2. And it was this overloads that created havoc throughout the game. Shabana on their side had their center backs split either side of the goalkeeper during build up. However they had a problem, the distance between the two centerbacks was too large with them almost positioned as primary fullbacks. This large distance made it hard for them to come back into position quickly if they lost the ball and this led to the only goal they conceded. With the center backs to wide, George Onyango attempted a line breaking pass looking for his already advanced left back Dimpol Omamo. The pass was however cut out and Police looked to counter immediately, an already wide George couldn’t recover immediately, and Police found it easy finding David Okoth who being 1v1 against Bernard Otieno unleashed a perfectly placed powerful shot to the near post.##NAJAVA_MECA_7881637##In attack, Police had their wingers narrow and close to their center forward. These short distances made it possible for the smooth linkup play that was on show with Tito Okello doing well to bring them into play. Both fullbacks operated wide and offered width to the team. Late runs from Kenneth Muguna and Charles Ouma looked to overload the Shabana backline and led to many wasted Police chances especially in the first half. Shabana on the other hand were good at keeping possession inside their defensive third. However, they were stifled by the strong Police 4-2-3-1 defense. Their strongest attacking threat came from their wingers who were fast and direct and looked to take on their fullbacks. They therefore always looked to isolate the wingers in 1v1s. Ezekiah Omuri and Lloyd Khabuchi had a good game down the flanks. In the second half, Shabana started to play the ball behind the high Police backline for their pacy wingers to chase and this tactic worked leading to a big chance in stoppage time. EXCLUSIVE: Vihiga Bullets set to appoint Andrew Ongwae as new head coachGood game display from @Shabanafckenya. What a match.— David Cheche (@OchiengCheche) February 17, 2024 The Police backline pushed up setting an offside trap for the Shabana attackers. Shabana were in possession with Justone Omwando having the ball at his feet. Lloyd Khabuchi made a move as if he was coming infield before making a darting run behind the Police backline. Justine Omwando managed to find him with a well-timed through ball. Substitutes Brian Michira and Wycliffe Nthata made runs at the backpost. Khabuchi managed to hold the ball just enough to attract goalkeeper Patrick Matasi before releasing a low cross to the back post that was just begging for a tap in. Brian Michira could not convert the chance despite being at the mercy of a gaping goal post with his shot hitting the frame of goal and bouncing off a sliding Nthata before going out for a goalkick.In the end, Police came out deserving 1-0 winners. Shabana showed flashes of improvement and individual brilliance, they however did not create much clear-cut chances and the one big chance they created, they couldn’t take it. It’s another loss to Pamzo’s men in an already disappointing first season back in the topflight while Coach Babu’s Police are enjoying a good run of form.
