ZAMBIA – CONGO TACTICAL ANALYSIS
By Osward Hamanyuma Jnr | September 6, 2019
The Junior Chipolopolo left it late to secure a win ahead of a return leg in Congo Brazzaville. Fashion Sakala continued with his goal scoring form as he scored a goal in both halves of the match.
Beston Chambeshi played a 4-2-3-1 formation with Enock Mwepu and Emmanuel Banda playing as holding midfielders, it is fairly enough to say that these are not naturally defensive minded players. Klings Kangwa played behind Patson Daka then Fashion Sakala and Gamphani Lungu played wide in the flanks.
The first half started as planned, the duo defensive midfielders controlled the tempo of the game, Emmanuel Banda stretched play with his long range passes. Mwepu sat very deep in the area with hopes of him detecting play from deep but it seemed like the Congo Brazzaville technical bench did enough studying and research on how Zambia plays.
In the first half Klings Kangwa had so much possession of the ball and it was easier for him to pick the runs of Fashion Sakala and Gamphani Lungu or Patson Daka. The boys had decent possession and created so many chances though they failed to convert them.
Congo Brazzaville head Coach Jean Elie Ngoya started with a 3 man defense, he played 6 midfielders with a lone striker and that made it so hard for the boys to penetrate through the midfield.
Zambia U23 team is Known for playing carpet football through the middle but the area was overcrowded leaving no room for Mwepu and Banda to loom forward.
That cancelled out Chambeshi’s tactics, that is to pass the ball round and left his boys without a proper system, playing high ball seemed to be the only solution though it did not work out because they were very good when it came to dealing with aerial balls.
Congo Brazzaville limited the Chipolopolo to wiping in crosses as the only form of attack. Just before the break Ngoya made changes and brought in a defender to cover the winger where Fashion Sakala was playing. He changed his formation to 4-5-1.
Lameck Banda would have made a difference in this kind of a match, Lameck is quick and possesses the ability to dribble past defender unlike Gamphani lungu who did not contribute much in attack.
Ngoya knew how much of a danger Patson Daka is, they did not give him so much space. The Chipolopolo defense was so vulnerable due to the lack of protection but the turning point of the match was when Emmanuel Banda was sacrificed for Ngosa Sunzu.
That substitute changed the complexion of the game and it gave Mwepu an opportunity to play in the advance areas of the pitch. Biston Banda too brought positive energy in the flanks.
The changes the Chipolopolo made paid off, Mwepu was heavily involved in the build up of the second goal after he drifted forward then passed the ball to Harrison Chisala who found the quick feet of Fashion Sakala and he did not waste time to score.
The calling of Boyd Musonda sums up how much a defensive midfielder is needed, that will give Mwepu and Klings Kangwa a chance to play in the final thirds without worry of leaving defenders exposed.
Congo Brazzaville where superior when it came to tactics, it was a combination of intelligence and individual brilliance which won Zambia that match. Chambeshi and his bench need to do more before the return match in Congo Brazzaville.