The Breakdown: How Gor Mahia outclassed Wazito

On paper, Gor Mahia against Wazito was supposed to be a very difficult match. A swashbuckling encounter between two good teams in the league. Gor’s resurgent second-half campaign meant that there was always something to fear about them. Wazito on the other hand always has the top-notch Francis Kimanzi tactical preparation that they arm themselves with in every game.

In the rescheduled fixture played at Utalii Grounds on Monday, the game however leaned heavily towards Gor Mahia’s side and this breakdown touches on the key areas where Gor’s technical bench outsmarted Wazito’s in getting a fifth straight win for K’Ogalo and jumping up to fourth place on the log.

Tactical battle

Normally Wazito play in a 4-1-2-3 formation with their full-backs spread high up the pitch, hugging the touchline, almost on the halfway line. As they do that, defensive midfielder Fidel Origa drops between the two centre backs to create a passing option when the opponents try to close down.

(Illustration of how full backs occupy advanced positions up the pitch and Origa drops between the centre backs)

 Against Gor, Kimanzi and his team did not have that luxury. Gor, in a newly drafted 3-4-3 formation, cut out any threat posed by the Wazito left and right backs who are normally the outlets when the team runs out of options when trying to play from the back. And that was the scenario through the whole match as Gor successfully frustrated Wazito.

(Gor's response, formation-wise, nullified any threats from the wazito fullbacks)

Possession and playing from the back

Former Harambee Stars head coach Kimanzi is renowned for his total football style of play and demand for his players to confidently play with the ball as they build from the back going forward, a situation the Gor unit had planned for.

South Sudanese striker Tito Okello was preferred up front to lead the line. Apart from his woeful execution in front of goal after missing a sitter, Okello executed his pressing and closing down spotlessly. His pressure and indefatigable work rate forced goalkeeper Levis into strings of blunders and wayward clearances that handed Gor possession easily on numerous occasions.

In the game, the number of times Wazito started the play by building from the back was countable. Consequently, Wazito was forced to start with long balls up into the field. Another area where captain Haron Shakava dominated in the ariel duels. Wazito always run to blasting the ball upfield hoping lanky striker Michael Owino can cushion the ball to a teammate making a run on the outside but an inspired Shakava was not letting up, blocking Wazito’s go-to option when it trouble and in turn causing more problems for them.

Chance creation

In the whole game, if statistics are anything to go by, Wazito came in to sit back and try to hit on the counter. Kimanzi opted to bring in former Gor Mahia speedy winger Boniface Omondi for the stylish Kevin Kimani, but the Green Army was always in control of the situation, giving very little away to the yellow jerseyed team and no room in behind for Omondi to exploit.

In the whole match, Wazito only had four attempts on goal, three being off the target and the one that managed to find the target was a cross cum shot that was safely parried away by keeper Gad Mathews. Most of Wazito’s chances also only came after Gor had scored the solitary winning goal in the 82nd minute.

Gor, on the other hand, fashioned twelve attempts on goal – nine being off target and three being on target. Altogether, it was Gor who had the initiative in the game and carried the biggest threat in the match as they always tried to make something happen.

Counter-attack

As Wazito closed the spaces as the game progressed, Gor reverted to counter-attacking play. In the 82nd minute, their gamble paid off when Wazito lost possession cheaply in the middle of the park and Gor, predatorily, pounced on the blunder, Samuel Onyango feeding a clever Jules Ulimwengu run behind a Wazito defence that had been caught napping. The Burundian latched onto the perfectly weighted ball and converted the winning goal of the game. (In video see how the goal was scored)