Before the giants of the Kenyan game squared off at the Nyayo National Stadium, Coach Patrick Aussems had led AFC Leopards out for the fixture three times, having not won in any of the three encounters against Gor Mahia. A whooping sevenyears with no derby win was not a stat that sat well with the AFC Leopards faithful, however on the biggest stage, when it did matter most to their arch rivals, Patrick Aussems came up with a tactical master stroke that left Gor Mahia bewildered.After Robert Matano led Tusker FC won against Kariobangi Sharks, it was a do or die affair for Jonathan Mckinstry’s Gor Mahia. Anything less than a win would be detrimental to their title charge. AFC Leopards, in the build up to the game had looked to majorly downplay the derby, who could blame them though. There were bigger fish to fry with the Mozzart Bet Cup semifinals ahead and a bone of contention to pick with the federation. This side shows led to most football enthusiasts picking a Gor Mahia win.In this piece we will look to decode how AFC Leopards build up structure made the Gor Mahia press part like the red sea. How Musa Oundo, Eugene Mukangula, Peter Thiong’o and Giovanni Lukhumwa run rings around Gor Mahia’s midfield, and how and why all phases of play from Patrick Aussem’s AFC Leopards are always correlated. Culminating with a proper defensive block.Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Having set out in a resolute 1-4-4-2 midblock in past encounters, we would have expected AFC Leopards to apply the same in this encounter. However Coach Patrick Aussems had his big hitters back, a fully stacked AFC Leopards will always go for dominance, suffocation and imposing his style of play on the opposition, this backed with a strong out of possession structure makes them dangerous.He (Patrick Aussems) set his side up with Levis Opiyo in goal. The centre back pairing consisted of Kaycie Odhiambo and Washington Munene, a pairing which is not the most comfortable when dueling aerially, perhaps this would seem suicidal on surface level given the devastating aerial threat Gor Mahia have shown this season, but these two lads can really play football and they were key in the buildup phase. The fullback positions were occupied by Peter Thiong’o and evergreen Lewis Bandi. Musa Oundo, Giovanni Lukhumwa and Eugene Mukangula formed the midfield trio while Jaffar Owiti, Maxwell Otieno and Victor Omune formed the front three.Belgium laced Ingwe end seven year wait for victory against Gor MahiaIn AFC Leopards first phase, Coach Patrick Aussems looked to split his centre backs either side of the goalkeeper. This would then leave the ball far fullback being more reserved as the other pushed up. Peter Thiong’o was tasked with moving higher up with Lewis Bandi being more reserved. This movement would create possibilities of an overload centrally as Eugene Mukangula and Victor Omune would invert centrally. This action led to a box midfield. The Leopard’s build up consisted of short quick passes, with players looking to exploit as much spaces as possible. This was made possible thanks to Kaycie Odhiambo’s activity in possession.With Gor Mahia pressing in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation, Benson Ochieng was always tasked with arching his run to one side, this would ensure AFC Leopards funneled possession to a tight area, however with the technical quality posed by the centre backs, they would look to hold up play until the Gor Mahia winger was drawn out of position, this would then leave a free man in Peter Thiong’o. Given Eugene Mukangula’s high positioning, he could easily look to move around Gor Mahia’s off ball shape.AFC Leopard’s looked to use Giovanni Lukhumwa or Musa Oundo in the first phase to ease out the centre backs passing, this was also heavily helped by Gor Mahia’s uncoordinated pressing. AFC’s build up structure was risky but it allowed both midfielders to have short distances with the forwards, these ensured they created dangerous short passing circuits in and around Gor Mahia’s defensive structure.AFC Leopard’s looked to overload or go man for man against Gor Mahia in the second phase, pressing and counter pressing became easier, this us helped by the ability of the centre backs being very able in the buildup, thus security to push numbers forward.##NAJAVA_MECA_7251999##In the progression phase, Maxwell Otieno would look to drift into the half spaces, vacating the central areas; this would lead to Victor Omune occupying the central areas and Jaffar Owiti providing width on the opposite side. The drawing out of Maxwell Otieno created a dilemma for Gor Mahia left back Geoffrey Ochieng, with the advancing Peter Thiong’o creating a 2v1 scenario, this coupled with Peter Lwasa’s labored tracking back saw the left back have a long day. Victor Omune also looked to attach himself to the centre back and then look to drop deep, this would cause the Gor Mahia centre back to follow so as to avoid an overload in the central zone, creating space for runners in behind the vacated space. Something Leopards could have used more.AFC Leopards build up. Benson Ochieng marking 2 centre backs. Boniface Omondi drawn out mostly with free pass then into Peter Thiong’o. Eugene Mukangula inverting to form box midfieldAfter getting the lead, Leopard’s now shifted into their resolute block. Not often someone says this, but watching AFC Leopard’s defend is a joy. A well-coached team out of possession, the distances between the lines were manageable and the roles well understood. They looked to block the passing lanes into AFC Leopard’s advanced forwards, they looked to double up on the Gor Mahia wingers, denying them from hitting the byline or letting in dangerous crosses. Boniface Omondi, Peter Lwasa were ineffective throughout most of the game. When Gor Mahia advanced into the AFC Leopard’s half, one of the midfielders would track Austin Odhiambo. In Gor Mahia’s own half they would look to prevent the ball being played into Austin Odhiambo, Ernest Wendo and Alpha Onyango. When higher up they would focus more on Austin Odhiambo as he was the most effective in advanced positions, he was tightly marshaled by Musa Oundo.Mashemeji Derby Player Ratings: Maxwell Otieno shines as Sylvester Owino suffers nightmare debutCoach Patrick Aussems came with a plan; his plan secured three points for the Ingwe faithful in emphatic style, and a style that typified his tactical nous. Patience in approach and patience in principles won the day.
