The evolution of Matano ball explained
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Reading Time: 4min | Tue. 31.10.23. | 11:37
Tusker have been playing attractive football this season unlike before where they embraced power play
Tusker have for long been criticized for turning a blind eye to the sorry condition of the Ruaraka Grounds.
The playing surface is simply not suitable to host top-flight matches and is a source of ridicule for a club perceived to be financially sound.
Back to the topic of the day.
Ever since the appointment of Robert Matano, Tusker has improved on various fronts and are always favourities to win a title, given their competitive nature under the veteran tactician.
In every campaign, the bookmakers have always placed them as favourites. It is true that results do not always go along with the style in football, but the brewers are this season a side worth watching, a side worth analyzing.
I will start off by naming some of my favourite players from this Tusker side this season
Boniface 'Kajos' Onyango is a left back who is smart when it comes to positioning. He is also good at reading situations, especially when caught out of position. His tackling will always make up for that rare occurrence. He does not mess around, either.
He also plays as a centre back whenever called upon.
Right back Daniel Sakari, is not afraid to show a piece of skill, has good control of the ball, and is a very good one vs. one defender.
Not forgetting, he has a proper long throw on him. His intelligence to augment Tusker attacks through good rotations with the wingers has been key for the brewers in the past.
Siwa Shaphan, in my opinion, their ace. Shaphan is of high importance to this team; he helps them win.
He needs to obviously increase his goal contributions to back up the narrative of being integral, but there is no questioning his quality.
What exactly makes Tusker so successful? Robert Matano? His tactics? Absolutely. Below is a breakdown of how Tusker looks to be set up.
In their defensive phase, Tusker are able to defend transition phases and in a block with relative ease.
In fact, locally, they are one of the best at it. They have mastered the art of defending in 1442 with Shaphan and the designated forward upfront.
These two leave much more space behind them vertically then the rest of the team.
The reason for the distances between the midfield line of pressure and the forward line of pressure is because Tusker are able to hurt most teams in transition phases, hence Matano's desire to keep a target man close to the opposition's goal.
Brilliant creators like James Mwangi and Shaphan are always near the target man. When out of possession, Tusker deploys a rather traditional press, with smart covering of potential receiver between the lines.
In the buildup phase, Tusker this season have been playing out from the back a trend catching up with most teams now in the league, most deviating from the long ball, dueling on second balls then looking to focus from there.
Tusker build up in a basic pattern, somewhat 244/213. They try to ensure that every player is in possession.
The centre backs split cover spaces left by advanced fullbacks but also to receive easily from the goalkeeper when pressed high.
When either player controls the ball, the goalkeeper, Brian Bwire- who I believe is one of the best in the country, is good shot stopping, decent at dominating his box and neat with his feet when called upon.
Tusker looks to try and leverage his ball-playing by, in some instances, urging him to provide the numerical advantage by stepping in to offer an option. In order to contribute to the buildup, the double pivot of Tusker drops deeper to try to receive and also heavily drags markers to create spaces behind.
As most teams rely on static attacking systems/defending without serious offensive intent or an off-the-ball-moving attacking force, Tusker employs the same but heavily relies on roamers who they can hit with direct balls in behind and/or individual progressive carriers into the opposition final thirds and alarming zones.
An area they will have to polish.
Despite all the sideshows and lack of a good start to the season,
It would be unwise to write Tusker off, especially in a season in which I believe they could do really well—maybe even go one better? Time will tell
