Patrick Matasi was the talk of the town on Tuesday night, spilling over to Wednesday, following his howler that orchestrated Kenya’s 2-1 fall to Iran in a friendly match staged in Tehran.This was the first time that Harambee Stars were in action in 500 days, their last engagement having been the 2-1 win over Rwanda in November 2021 during the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.In the opening minutes of the game, the recent Kenya Police FC recruit had a perfect game, commanding not only his backline but also the entire team from just within his area to avert any form of danger.##NAJAVA_MECA_7134970##However, the experienced custodian quickly turned from a hero in the initial stages of the game, to a villain towards the latter stages.While some might feel that his positioning for Iran’s leveler made it easy for Team Melli’s Mohammad Mohebi to head home the equalizer, it was the manner in which he conceded the second goal that got everyone talking.Player ratings: Night to forget for Matasi as Harambee Stars bow to IranFrom yet another set-piece, Ramin Rezaeian feeble low-cross cum shot slithered past Matasi’s hands, an attempt that everyone expected he would pick up easily given his experience. But he did pick it, from the net.But, apart from the howler that cost Kenya the game, how did the shot-stopper perform in the game in general? We take a look at his statistics for the counter as provided by global statistics provider InStat.Shots facedIn total, Matasi faced 11 shots, with only five of those being on target. Whether that was as a result of Iran’s inefficiency or the hard work of Stars’ defenders is a topic for another day.© InsStatOf the five shots on target, he made three saves and conceded from the other two, both goals coming from attempts made more than 10 meters from the goal.Dealing with opponent’s crossesMatasi did not face as many dangerous crosses from Iran in the entire, with only six of the 20 that the hosts attempted serving their intended purpose.The former AFC Leopards goalkeeper attempted to intercept only five of the six and ended up impacting on only three, all outside the six-yard area.© InsStatHe was clinical in the first half, making two interceptions without any fault but in the second half he made two interception mistakes and got only one successful interception off his line.PassingThe 35-year-old was comfortable playing medium-range passes as opposed to long passes. In this context, medium-range passes are considered to be between 10 and 40 meters while long passes are considered those above 40 meters, with those below 10 viewed as short.In total, he made 28 passes but 20 of them reached their intended destination, a passing accuracy of 71%. 14 were from set pieces, 12 from open play, and just two hand passes.© InsStatAlthough he preferred long ones, making up to 18 of those, he was more effective with the medium-range ones and had a perfect record in terms of accuracy with them.His passing from open play was not the best, averaging a pass accuracy of just 58%, the most troublesome area being long passes from open play where he made only three accurate from the eight attempted.From the above, it is evident that there is work to be done to ensure he is comfortable with the ball on his feet.Passing networksMatasi exchanged the most number of passes with KAA Gent’s defender Joseph Okumu, one of the best performers in the match.© InsStat (NOTE: 13 – Ouma, 17 – Nondi, 6 – Akumu)The goalkeeper played six passes to Okumu, and received two from him, the most in both cases. When he opted to go long with his passes, it was Michael Olunga who was on the receiving end mostly with three, with Duke Abuya coming second on twoHe never exchanged a single pass with the duo of Amos Nondi and Teddy Akumu.
