KAZIER CHIEFS 4 – 0 SIMBA: GAVIN HUNT’S 5-2-3 BAMBOOZLES GOMEZ
Once in a while you watch a match that is tactically fascinating that its tactical lessons stick with you for a lifetime. This was such a match. With Chiefs floundering in their domestic league and Simba high on confidence after emerging as group winners, there was massive expectation that this would be Simba’s best chance to reach the semi final of CAF Chambpions league. A four nil drabbing away from home leaves Simba with a mountain to climb and their hopes of reaching the semi finals are clinging by the thread.
It goes without saying that, the further you venture into continental tournaments, the better the quality of the opposition. Attention to detail with regards to match preparation is almost second to none. Chiefs had done their homework, and impressively well for that matter. The plan was simple but its execution was sublime.
- Play to your strengths and expose the opponent’s weakness. Aerial ability of their frontline proved too much for Simba to handle with balls aimed at Kapombe and Hussein who simply couldn’t compete.
- Element of surprise; it is highly likely that Simba did not expect Chiefs to spring up such a tactical surprise. Hunt would not have showed his hand in the league game they played before Saturday’s encounter, knowing full well that Simba were already in South Africa.
POSITIONAL PLAY:
“Tactics is the intelligent deployment of players and their movement within that deployment.” Long story short, Simba’s positioning of players was ineffective in breaking down a 5-2-3 formation. Hunt isn’t the first coach who has used a back five to nullify a possession based team. Pep has faced this tactical conundrum many times. To achieve penetration, you need to ensure that you break support, meaning that defenders should not be able to cover for one another. This will hopefully create 1 v1 situations or even overloads of 2v1 which will then create opportunities for penetration. Central to this idea of breaking support is what is termed as pinning a defender.
Paying particular attention on how to pin the back 5, the questions the coach needs to ask himself are: how many and where do I position my striker/s in relation to the three central defenders playing in a back 5 in order to break support? This is where Simba got it all wrong both in terms of numbers and positioning. During the offensive phase, Mugalu was the only player occupying Chief’s three central defenders. To further compound the problem, he positioned himself against Mathoho, who played as the covering central defender also commonly known as a sweeper. (I am confident that if I had INSTAT data readily available it would conclusively prove this observation through the average positioning info graphics) This left the outside centre backs free and could then be readily available to cover their teammates or press any opposition player entering their vicinity. The consequence was that Simba could not create 1 v 1 or overloads which are essential for penetration.
It is advised that in order to pin back the back five, two strikers should be used against the three central defenders and should as much as possible position themselves against the outside centre backs. In Simba’s case, Mathoho should have been left free. Mugalu should have occupied one of the outside centre backs and then Bwalya the other outside centre back. In my humble opinion though I feel that the latter (Bwalya) would not have sufficed, his diminutive structure being a disadvantage against well built centre backs. Below is my suggestion on how the Simba players should have been deployed on the pitch while in possession.
This arrangement would have ensured that the Chief’s backline is pinned back. Mathoho would not be able to press Chama as the distance is too big to cover and doing so would mean relinquishing his main responsibility which is to cover for the two outside centre backs.
The two Chiefs holding midfielders would have been worried about Chama behind them and still have to press Mkude or Lwanga from being able to receive and turn with the ball.
At the back, Onyango, Wawa and Kapombe would be in a position to start attacks and generate a free player on the ball to come out with ( the first ten minutes of the game Simba really struggled on this aspect of being able to generate a free player on the ball and progress forward). At some point, a pinned player will have to come out and confront the progressing player on the ball, in so doing having to either leave a man unmarked or open up spaces that can be exploited. A chain reaction is thus setup.
A COMMON FALLACY
Just before the start of the second half, cameras caught Boko having a discussion with Gomez and gestured towards the coach three raised fingers. I am no lip reader but the message the striker was sending out to the coach was that Mugalu was outnumbered three to one. He was right, well half right. However it took Gomez some time to react and heed his striker’s suggestion. By the time he obliged, Simba were 4-0 down and that’s when Kagere was introduced.
There is a common fallacy that when trailing and in search of a goal, just thrown in more bodies upfront in the hope that something will happen. An astute coach fully understands that if one can’t decipher what is tactically amiss, then they are yet to reach the apex of the profession. In Simba’s case yes additional man power was needed and yes Kagere coming on albeit slightly late, was the right call. However, more numbers with no astute positioning is futile.
With his introduction, he went and occupied one of the outside centre backs but still Mugalu continued to play right against Mathoho! So in essence, Gomez had only solved half of the jigsaw puzzle. The numbers were right but the positioning was wrong! His instructions to kagere while coming on should have simply been; I want you and Mugalu to go and play against the two outside centre backs. The other players should have been positioned as I have suggested earlier in the picture.
CONCLUSION
Without a shadow of a doubt Hunt won the tactical battle. He exploited Simba’s weakness and had the right personnel to do so. Simba’s qualification to the semis is highly unlikely. To score 5 goals without reply would be a miracle. The lessons learned at the FNB stadium should be taken onboard. Chief’s display has provided a template for coaches in the Vodacom premier league on how to approach matches against Simba.
It has to be noted though, understanding the strategies and tactics and having the right players to pull it off are two different things. The challenge for Gomez in the second leg would be to solve the tactical problems encountered in the first leg and at least win on home soil. Hunt will be fully aware that Gomez will adapt, how he also reacts will be interesting to watch. Stay tuned for an enthralling tactical battle in the second leg as these two tacticians go mano a mano.
