The FKF Premier league has been churning out top fixture after top fixture with the league now gaining momentum, and the title charge now taking shape there is no room for slip ups for either Gor Mahia, Tusker FC and Nzoia Sugar FC who have an outside chance to upset the apple cart.Round 25 saw the “brewers” Tusker FC come up against Kenya Police FC in a top draw match at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Saturday.Tusker whip Police to pile pressure on Gor MahiaIn this piece we set out to look at how Tusker FC’s experienced tactician Robert Matano set out in a 1-4-3-3 flat formation and his wildcard in Siwa Shaphan Oyugi while Police FC’s tactician Francis Baraza continued with his tinkering “Russian roulette” game on his ideal line up and starting 11, a game of trial and error. Both teams had a set idea on how to play and how to nullify their opponents.Teams Set-upTusker FCTusker set-up in a flat 1-4-3-3 formation with now number 1 Brian Bwire between the sticks, in central defense were the evergreen and resilient duo of Tom Teka and Charles Momanyi with Kenyan International Daniel Sakari and left footed Levin Odhiambo in the fullback positions. Midfield maestro Humphrey Mieno was in the middle of the pack with Ouma Rodgers and Siwa Shaphan, who had a hybrid box to box and false 9 role that really frustrated the Kenya Police FC charges. The forward positions were occupied by Michael Oduor, Lawrence Luvanda and the bullish Eric Otieno. Coach Robert Matano emphasized on technical prowess and fluid rotations to be able to create uncertainty in the Police FC backline.Kenya Police FCKenya Police FC initially set up in a 1-4-4-2 diamond formation, looking to control the middle of the pack with quantitative superiority and sacrificing width, the team aimed to be more vertical. The lineup had Job Ochieng in goals as Tusker old boy Patrick Matasi missed out due to a nagging injury. Yusuf Mainge found his way back in the team pairing with Aboud Omar in the fullback positions as the centre back pairing consisted of Harun Shakava, who has also worked his way back into the team and Musa Mohammed. The midfield diamond consisted of David “Cheche” Ochieng at the base of the diamond with Francis Kahata and Reagan Otieno on the sides while Duke Abuya was at the tip of the diamond. The front two consisted of Derrick Otanga and David Simiyu.Team approaches to the gameKenya Police FC’s Francis Baraza looked for control in this match from the onset, his team looked to build up from the goalkeeper to the split centre backs, in this phase the fullback would look to step high and look to provide width in the buildup phase. This action by the fullback saw David Ochieng look to drop between the centre backs to progress play or drop into the vacated right back position to give possibilities of an outlet on the right in the right side. With David Ochieng dropping into the defensive line Francis Kahata and Duke Abuya would look to drop and offer progression in front of the Tusker lines of pressure, leaving Reagan Otieno playing as an auxiliary false 9 upfront while Derrick Otanga and David Simiyu looking to play in the halfspaces of the Tusker defence line as the advanced fullbacks offered width. This formed a 1-3-2-5 structure with emphases on verticality and quick ball progression through the Tusker FC lines of pressure.This approach seemed to pile pressure in Tusker FC in the first phase out of possession, as they looked to sit off and not press high. Allowing Police FC to progress well through the lines, Police FC however could not turn their dominance into clear-cut chances with Derrick Otanga registering the teams only attempt at goal in the first half. Police looked to press in quarters and when they did step up whole heartedly they caused Tusker FC problems in the buildup phase as their press stifled progression into the Tusker FC fullbacks, Police FC were however wary of the long ball threat in behind and threat on aerial balls.##NAJAVA_MECA_7182715##Coach Francis Baraza having not set out with wingers, mainly due to the aerial strength of Tusker hence not needing crosses into the box, he introduced wingers Alvin Mangeni and Clifton Miheso together with the main man Elvis Rupia. This saw the team shift to a 1-4-2-3-1 shape with Duke Abuya between the lines, this now saw Police FC settle in their rhythm with Duke Abuya now keenly drifting wide to create overloads and combinations with the wingers, in Elvis Rupia they always had a threat in behind and in the box and looked to find him more. The substitutions caused chaos in the game as now there were end to end actions from both sides.Tusker FC set up in a flat 1-4-3-3 structure with emphasis on creating possibilities of attacking the space in behind the advanced Kenya Police FC fullbacks, in Lawrence Luvanda and Eric Otieno they had the ability to do just this, Coach Robert Matano looked to push for fluid midfield rotations from his midfield 3 with with Humphrey Mieno and Rodgers Ouma dropping to build up play, in settled possession. From goal kicks Brian Bwire looked to play the ball to the split Charles Momanyi and Tom Teka – in the latter, Tusker have a composed centre back prospect who has an affinity for hitting good switch balls in the game. His long switches were always a threat in behind. Tusker fullbacks Daniel Sakari and Levin Odhiambo looked to play a little deeper with the introduction of Police FC wingers, however from deep Levin Odhiambo let in some really good deliveries while Daniel Sakari’s long throws were handled rather well.Meet the phenomenal Kenyan physiotherapist making strides in TanzaniaIn Siwa Shaphan, Tusker FC had an absolute wildcard, the player is the epitome of versatility, his heat map (if generated) would show he covered every blade of grass on the pitch. He could be seen disrupting Police FC attacks on the edge of his own box and then going for second balls higher up the pitch , in Siwa Shaphan Tusker have a central defensive midfielder, a box to box Midfielder, a playmaker a second striker and a very able false 9 prospect. It was therefore befitting when he was on the end of a blistering counter attack to slot the ball past a hapless Job Ochieng after showing Harun Shakava a clean pair of heels.This game ended in a 1-0 win for Tusker, seeing them move to within a point of Gor Mahia FC, spicing up the title race. Tusker FC were clinical in punishing the shortcomings of the Police FC backline, the lack of pace in the backline has seen them get punished by Gor Mahia and Tusker FC now as balls in behind leave their defense having to cover large distances, the Police Fc defenders would bite your arm off to not get into a foot race with attackers. This is something Coach Francis Baraza will look to sort out. Tusker will on their end look to take each game at a time as this win saw them get 5 wins in their last 5 games.
