Simba recorded their third away draw in as many matches after being held to a one all draw by the team at the bottom of the log. Simba lined up as expected, a 4-2-3-1 formation. Mkude was the holding midfielder but Kiemba played slight higher up making it look as though they were 4-3-3. Polisi Moro were lined up in a 4-1-3-2 formation.
Many teams that play at the Jamhuri stadium have complained about the state of the pitch. It is not in pristine condition but not to an extent that one cannot play a passing game. Simba stuck to their style of play, a short passing game and for that, they deserve credit.

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First half:
 

Polisi started the game on a high tempo and managed to create the first two chances of the game, the first from a corner and the other a cross. Both were from their right wing. After that frantic spell, the game settled and Simba started to control the game, spraying passes around.  The centre of the pitch was a 3 v 2 situation in Simba’s favour. They took full advantage with Mkude  free all the time.
Simba’s tactic was to get the ball behind the Polisi defense as quickly as possible. They tried this down their right flank where Ngassa was stationed, clearly trying to make use of his pace.  Also twice Kaseja having collected the ball, tried to set Ngassa and Okwi on the run with a long ball forward.  They  mixed their play with a bit of  combination play round the edge of the penalty area but either the passes were misplaced or under hit and so didn’t manage to get behind Polisi’s defense.

 

 

Okwi:
 

He is undoubtedly Simba’s talisman but in today’s match, he was their downfall. It makes sense to have your most creative player free of any defensive duties so as to make full use of his attacking qualities. However there has to be a plan to try hide this weakness. He started on the left and it was on this wing that Polisi created their two early chances. He then switched flanks with Ngassa. Polisi attacked down that flank managing to get a handful of corners. The simple explanation to this is the fact that Okwi takes a position higher up the pitch and does not track the opposition fullback. This creates a 2 v 1 situation in favour of the opposition against Simba’s fullback, Masoud. After the half hour mark, he moved back to the left flank.  He got dispossessed, didn’t track back and that attack culminated in a goal for Polisi.

 

Mkude:
 

His performance was excellent. He held his position well and being the pivot, helped Simba consolidate possession often playing short passes out wide or combining well with Kiemba.  With Kazimoto pushed further forward, as he is more attack minded, Mkude has fitted well into the role of regista. In the second half, he played long balls which went astray and one would surmise that this was due to the fact that Simba were now looking for a win thus had to get the ball into the opposition half quickly.

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Second half:
 

Simba started the second half attacking with great impetus. As usual their attacks came down their right flank.  Short after the second half began; Ngassa was withdrawn and in came Akuffo. Sunzu moved to wide right, Okwi wide left and Akuffo the lone striker. It was down this right flank that indirectly led to Simba’s equalizer. First they won a corner on this wing, took it short and won another corner which was taken from the left flank. The Polisi defense managed to deal with that corner but was caught off guard with the second ball into the box which Kiemba managed to stick at the back of the net.
 

There were several changes but neither brought a tactical shift that could alter the course of the game. Polisi’s only clear cut chance was through a corner. Normally Sunzu guards the near post but had opted to stay around the half way line. The opposition player managed the win a header at the near post, an area that Sunzu usually occupies but his header hit the side netting. Simba’s other chance fell to Kazimoto who failed to score after Akuffo the ball with his head onto his path.

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Conclusion:
It was an interesting game which Simba dominated as one would expect. Their inability to carve out clear cut chances and Okwi’s lack of defensive discipline is what let them down.