KENYA:
Kenya Tried to go with ‘route one’ from the start, which was a good idea.
They tried to play to their strength which is pace and height from both wide men and Central strikers. This exposed the Young Zambian full backs in the early exchanges and Kenya should have done more with their early chances and share of possession.
The goal they scored was well worked as Katebe and Sunzu seemed not decided on who to pick and Kenya used that crucial window of opportunity to go in front early in the game. Kenya’s undoing was that after Paul Were’s substitution due to Injury they still wanted to feed Johanna Omolo (Number 9) with the same service and their tactic couldn’t be effective as their new player’s ability wasn’t as for the one substituted.
Even when Lwandamina ‘parked the bus’ and allowed them to play, they lacked the wide play and skill to take on the full backs which could have stretched the Zambian defence to pull them off their set positions and simply kept playing the long ball even when it proved ineffective, a sign that Coach Williamson had no Plan B.
ZAMBIA:
Lwandamina was spot on to play Collins Mbesuma in a more withdrawn role considering his ‘Ball Playing’ ability and the arsenal at his disposal. Williamson played into this tactic as the combative attacking abilities of Victor Wanyama when he moves up from the defensive midfield were neutralized as he was more pre-occupied with foiling the threat Mbesuma was posing
With Winstone Kalengo’s high work rate, ability to run wide, keep the ball and draw fouls the two striker complimented very well making the attacking third look the much stronger end of Zambia’s play. Lwandamina’s team was making quick transitions from defense into attack not wasting time playing the ball in midfield which benefitted the two strikers as they had a lot of time on the ball
Zambia played with two skillful wide players in Rainford Kalaba and Chisamba Lungu with the latter allowed to drift more in-field while the skipper was running wide a clear indication that Kalaba was tasked to provide the outlet and stretch the defense.
Chisamba was key for Zambia in closing down the Kenyan attacking channels in midfield and tracking the runners especially in the first half a task which Kalaba did not do very well even when it was time to just hold on for the win.
Nathan Sinkala and Jack Chirwa did a great Job in midfield. With Kenya building with a high tempo, Sinkala did well to mop-up and drop the games tempo with his approach. Chirwa covered a lot of ground he was massive in supporting both the defense and attack. He covered the spaces well and played it simple.
The full backs seemed to have been instructed to sit back and this was evident with Boyd Mkandawire only managing one cross while Benedict Chepeshi hardly managed to push up into the attacking positions. This was a good decision by the technical bench as the young full back only making their full international debuts were under pressure.
The whole defensive unit was not at its best but they benefited from Chirwa and Sinkala providing the extra cover. Even the goal conceded was too easy and could have easily been avoided if the defense was more incisive.
From the 60th minute the Chipolopolo defended like amateurs; it’s okay to have men behind the ball but just hoofing it upfront with no target after working so hard to win it is a dangerous way of doing things as it keeps coming back resulting constant pressure which can be avoided. If the Kenyans had found more ingenuity in attack they would have punished Zambia with that kind of defending. Both Kalengo and Mbesuma got tired and they were the only outlets, the substitutes to help the cause delayed.
In all, Zambia was the better side and deserved to win. Thumbs up to George the tactician and lessons picked should be applied on Tuesday evening against Gabon.
[Coach Franklyn/Chimuka]
Congo and zambia clashes will decide who wins this group. Zambia cannot afford to slip up as this matter will be decided on head to head. Goal difference will not decide this group. Zambia must at all cost avoid losing to Congo.
Its always refreshing seeing younsters in the team. Chepeshi and boyd are both the present and the future. The Likes of Mbola, Kabaso, Donashano have failed us. jack our ‘sitting Midfielder’ also has a good game. That Boy has quality. His range of passing is next to none. If he improves his defensive part of his game, then we have ourselves a Fantastic Midfield player.
john asosa but at times he behaves like a chameleon.
I for one appreciated the efforts the two young defenders had put in the match. Those two boys will be a force to reckon with very soon with experience. It was tough for them but they remained calm through out the match. If it is possible let the coach expose them as much as he can in every match coming in as substitutes. Katebe and Sunzu did not impress maybe becoz of lack game time. The Best partnership was that of Mbesuma and Kalengo. Their work rate was very good both in fighting for the ball and keeping it.Jack Chirwa and Sinkala partnership was not at its best. Maybe we try again Mtonga and Sinkala
We have tried Mtongo/Sinkala and we have not won any match with those two
Defensive ws poor,striking best no need to call mulenga again
From the match review and the match statistics above it is clear Zambia got away with “murder.” The whole defensive unit was shaky and offered little to nothing in form of initiating attacks. One cross in 90 mins from both full backs is a calamitous statistic. Had zambia lost or even drawn Lwandamina would’ve looked so foolish to have started with rocky full backs. And then to decide to park the bus with half an hour of play to go shows that Kalaba and Chisamba (our usual creative outlets) were toothless on the day. You cannot defend for such a long spell against more potent teams like Ghana, Algeria and other attack-minded teams. I don’t agree with the notion that this was ok since we were playing away. This was Kenya we were playing, not Nigeria. It seems the only positive from the match was the Mbesuma/Kalengo partnership that produced the most important statistic – goals.
When playing under pressure a team needs big personalities to motivate debutants and younger players. Apart from Mweene (who I know is good at giving orders and organizing his defense) it’s hard to find others in our current team. If you look at all the successful clubs/national teams you’ll notice strong personalities in them. We got away with murder in Kenya next time we might not be that lucky.
And that referee was showing partiality.The way he pushed our injured player was out of order. I have never seen that nonsense anywhere else…And when Lubambo was counter attacking ,he blew th final whistle.
I wouldnt have said it better, he even gave the player a shove from the back! WTF was that! Why didnt we raise the issue officially or that was just normal in football?!!
The article sounds as though Zambia played well. We didn’t play well overall. The good thing about that match was that our strikers (Kalengo & Mbesuma) took their chances and scored. That match was “mwapusukeni ba Zambia”, especially mu second half. Lets not be overtaken by that win. It would have been different if we lost that game.
You guys talk too much and we don’t know what you want! What is better, playing well or winning? Zambia has played very well in a number f games but end up loosing. U guys rubbish that and say bola ma goals. Now u are still complaining ? Yes the end minutes tactics were wrong. But appreciate the team afford. It was not easy.
Congrats boys for winning! The new boys (Chepeshi and Mkandawire) on the day did well considering that we were playing away from home. The two central defenders did their part but I feel Sunzu needs to up his game, he was slow and never really committed himself so much on one on one and as a result there was too much pressure on Katebe. My opinion!
A very good and tactical game by Zambia,nowadays in football there are no push overs.Kenya is a very physical type of team ie they have the height and pace but very poor tactically.I liked the way the Zambian lads played because they never underrated the Kenyans as in doing so would have been suicidal.I foresee a much stronger and very tactical Zambia in the near future.I must say this is a good review of what transpired by Zamfoot.
I still feel more has to be done to our team.We need fluidity in our play,not chipantepante.2nd half was so terrible.
It’s good we won the game but our Coach got it wrong when he told his players to start defending as early as the 55th minute. Yashani? He came up with a win under difficult circumstances but i fee he is technically naive. I don’t think he can come up with a win when playing teams like Ghana, Algeria, Ivory Coast. This is where H.Renard stands out. “Chicken George” is not the best coach going forward we need someone who can read the game tactically and technically and not just give instructions or coach.
One game at a time and each game is always different.
The young defenders did their job and considering that they were doing duty for the first time, we have a future in those 2 please let’s encourage them.
On parking the bus after 55 minutes, why not? when should we have parked that TATA Bus?
During the AFCON 2012 game against Senegal, at what time did Zambia start defending? We were 2-0 up in the 20th minute and defended throughout. In the 2nd half no Zambian player ever went forward. Mayuka tried to call them, they literally refused. Renard screamed his head off for the players to start running, nothing. Please re-watch the game to see this.
So as long as our tactics worked that is good. We missed a lot of chances they also missed a lot of chances in the end we won. That’s football.
Next Game.
Sometimes when you make a wonderful review like this don’t allow comments. Bamukolwe inga bafula tabucha bwangu! having said that, I think you forgot to mention that Chisamba Lungu cleared a goal from the line. The defending he was asked to learn about when he was played at left back by HR was so evident in his game. I agree with you on most of your points sir. Go Zambia.
We are now set for the GABON friendly, how a salivate for a game where Sunzu, Munthali, Mtonga, Sinkala and Katebe would be played in the defensive formation. This can maybe starve Congo of the ball as these chaps have a combination of calmness, skill, aggression and leadership in them.
What a game that one will be.