According to their recent performance, Gor Mahia’s position atop the league is no accident. The squad is coached by Jonathan Mckinstry, and they have been producing some pretty entertaining football. Benson Omalla, the team’s leading scorer, scores goals for joy, thus it only makes sense that all the credit should go to him. However, Gor Mahia has a really interesting build up pattern, using automatism developed through training to make their build up nearly faultless.Under Jonathan McKInstry, playing out from the back is one of the most crucial components. The main goal of a build-up from the back is to draw the attention of the opponent and aim to open up spaces between the lines that may be used to enter the final third. However, few teams consistently push from the top for the whole game, so what does Gor Mahia want to do? In this article, I examine the strategies Gor Mahia will use based on how aggressively the opponent decides to press.1. Opposition Pressure by first lineThis is where only the top striker / forward could look to put pressure on the defenders in the first phase. K’Ogalo looks to build up play with the two centerbacks mostly the evergreen left footed Dennis and Joshua Onyango on the right side look to split and the Goalkeeper opts for low output to either of the two.The main key in this phase is the Centre Backs look to hold the ball up and drive into space until they are pressed. They look to attract the opposition pressure and look to break the first line of play.There are two holding midfielders in the system, it is well noting that Gor Mahia are spoilt for choice in this area with Ernest Wendo, Alpha Onyango, Sydney Wahongo and John’ Champe’ Ochieng , when one of the centre backs successfully manages to drag out an opposition offensive player, one of the holding midfielders drops between the opposition attackers to offer a clear passing lane and receive the ball. This movement is key in this phase as it pushes the fulbacks higher up.The Gor Mahia defender attracts pressure before releasing the ballIn this aspect of the game, only the attackers are applying pressure therefore the holding midfielder can turn and face forward, with this they can look to play forward but as most teams are compact centrally they majorly spray the ball outwide to the fullbacks.2. Opposition Pressure by first and second line Omala’s hat-trick propels Gor Mahia to FKF PL summitThis is where the opposition will look to press high and the midfielders will look to step up and apply pressure on the Gor Mahia holding midfielder. Here the holding midfielders at the team have been very good where they have looked to receive the ball well under pressure and play a cushioned pass back to the centre backs or the fullbacks wide. In this phase the attacking midfielders and movement of Omala are very key as the former either Peter Lwasa, who is having a very good season, or Austin Odhiambo drops to offer an additional passing lane, this majorly causes confusion among the opposition midfielders on whether to follow or hold lines. They have to be narrow and this creates space outwide for the Gor wingers or Fullbacks to progress the ball.Gor Mahia holding midfielder Ernest Wendo dropping to receive from his defendersIn this phase the two holding midfielders are very close to each other for security and minimize distances.3. No pressure from the oppositionNot most teams press high against Gor Mahia , thus they find it very difficult to find space between the lines taking into consideration how compact FKFPL team are. Thus when the centerback is not under pressure they look to attack spaces in behind, where Dennis Njire Nganga has flourished this season. They look to play long balls in behind with the wingers making diagonal runs as Central Attacking Midfielder or Benson Omala drop deep to offer passing lane. The wingers stay wide to offer width and depth to pin the opposition Center Backs back. In instances where the wingers are are tightly marked there has been neat interplay shown from the wingers and the fullbacks who exploit spaces dangerously.No pressure at all by the opposition (Wazito) on the Gor defendersThe second option is they look to play in behind the opposition line by being very vertical, attributed to the high technical quality in the team, the Wingers and the Striker run in behind well and are dangerous.Final Third AttackingGor Mahia attacking in final third is majorly centered around the quality of Omala and the quality of their wingers when they play 1v1, with George Odhiambo, Boniface Omondi and John Macharia very good at 1v1 scenarios. They also attack the box very well on crosses attributing to the high number of goalsscored by Omala in the air.
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Coach Mckinstry and his backroom staff have consequently created something magnificent in the team, and as a result, the team’s recent performances have not been an accident. Their build-up play has garnered praise and made them very dangerous.
