Analysis: Zambia’s trademark counter-attack bamboozles Ghana
Posted On Monday, 11th June 2012
Kwadwo-Asamoah,Christopher-Katongo
Introduction
In a repeat of the tactics that brought down the Black Stars of Ghana in the semi-finals of the 2012 African Cup of Nations, the Chipolopolo of Zambia unleashed superb and rapid counter-attacking football to win 1-0 in a crucial World Cup Group D qualifier at the newly opened Levy Mwanawasa Stadium named after Zambia’s deceased third President who died in 2008.
Possession
In the first half, Zambia was content to sit in its own half and allowed the Black Stars a lot of time on the ball. However, Ghana’s possession was unproductive as it did not result in the creation of goal-scoring opportunities neither did it cause any anxious moments in Zambia’s defence. Most of the time the ball was shuffled laterally to the left and right of the pitch, in Ghana’s own half. As the Black Stars did not really play with wingers, most of their attacks were narrow through a conjested midfield where Kwadwo Asamoah and Sulley Muntari were expected to be the channels of supply to the attacking duo of Jordan Ayew and Dominic Adiyah.
The apparent plan by Ghana’s coach, Kwesi Appiah, to try and take the game to Zambia from the first whistle was a bit of a surprising strategy. Teams playing away from home usually sit back and try to play on the break. In Ghana’s case, they were coming into this game buoyed on by a comfortable 7-0 massacre of Lesotho and were sitting on top of Group D with a comfortable goal difference. In these circumstances, even a draw would have been advantageous for Ghana but disastrous for the Champions of Africa.
The pressure and urgency of the time was with Chipolopolo who were playing at home for the first time since winning the Africa Cup of Nations. Attempting to take the game to a wounded Chipolopolo that lost 2-0 to Sudan in its first qualification game was either a mark of tactical bankruptcy by Kwesi Appiah or a combination of over-confidence and disrespect for an opponent.
Ghana’s lack of creative options in midfield
Zambia must have known that if Ghana was not allowed to play in, aorund and through the middle, then they will have been contained. The Chipolopolo did just that and dominated midfield but amazingly the Black Stars, having found it hard to use the middle, did not effectively utilise their wing areas especially in the first half. They resorted to going through the motions with no apparent Plan B.
Ghana’s midfield was populated by Derek Boateng, Emmanuel Badu-Agyemang, Sulley Muntari and Kwadwo Asamoah. The latter has often been the most creative player who tries to conjure up scraps on which the centre-forward feeds but he was at his worst and he rarely linked up play for Dominic Adiyah.
As a result, the Black Stars could not fashion any serious chances at goal for the duration of the first half. Asamoah was rightly put out of his misery in the 55th minute when he made way for Christian Atsu, who appears to be Ghana’s new revelation. Sulley Muntari’s aura was publicly outstripped at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium as he was rendered unable to dictate the game, only appearing marginally dangerous at set pieces which he duly fluffed.
The introduction of Christian Atsu and later Richard Mpong seemed a resolve by Kwesi Appiah to attack from the wide areas and this made them a much more viable attacking entity. By the time Ghana was waking up to attack using wide positions, Zambia had decided to shut up shop by throwing in the holding player, Francis Kasonde for Felix Katongo.
Zambia’s Strategy – rapid counter-attacks and quick transitions
Zambia’s coach, Herve Renard, made two crucial changes in the left and right back defensive positions by introducing attack-minded wing backs. Chisamba Lungu was deployed on the right while Porto FC’s Emmanuel Mbola reclaimed his left back position after a lengthy absence. These wing back areas were important not only for rapid defensive cover but in launching some attacks.
In the first half, Chisamba Lungu made a lot of runs from the right before cutting in and feeding the forward line. Renard must have been aware of the potential threat of Jordan Ayew and needed a player like the versatile Chisamba Lungu to dictate proceedings and deny Jordan Ayew time on the ball.
From the start, the tempo of the game was quick especially when Zambia was on the ball. The attack play was very swift and the left wing was used to launch most of the attacks in the first half. Ghana’s right back Inkoom had a lot of work on his hands. It probably could have been Zambia’s tactic to target him as his vulnerabilities are well known.
The Chipolopolo employed a user-friendly 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 but one where Kalaba, Chansa, Katongo brothers, and Mayuka delightfully swapped positions as they stormed Ghana’s defence. At times Christopher Katongo seemed like a roving ambassador – popping up in so many different areas of the pitch. Whenever Ghana lost the ball in Zambia’s area, the response from Chipolopolo was swift in attack as was their transition to defensive positions when Ghana regained possession.
The Black Stars’ central defensive pairing had an average game. Boye was very good and was unlucky with the deflected ball that resulted in a goal. Isaac Vorsah, on the other hand, appeared too pedestrian. A bit of calmness by the Zambians in front of goal would have seen them convert a lot chances that fell their way.
Ghana’s attack
Ghana had Jordan Ayew and Dominic Adiyah upfront. The exertions of the two just went to show how that Ghana is a different outfit when Asamoah Gyan and Andre Ayew are in the team. Adiyah in particular was predictable and Sunzu had little difficult in reading his intentions. Jordan Ayew’s over-elaboration on the ball and the tendency to play to the gallery was a minus to Ghana. For all his busy-bee endeavours, Jordan Ayew only had one clear goal scoring opportunity.
Conclusion
Ghana was outwitted by a very determined Zambia which played quick counter-attacking football and dropped quickly to take up defensive positions. The Chipolopolo played to a system and in unison as a team. In the second half they defended admirably. It was difficult to pick out what system the Black Stars were employing except that they tried to take the game to Zambia. A coordinated team effort was not apparent in Ghana’s play. Individuals, like Jordan Ayew, were a reminder that Ghana often times tries to rely on individual brilliance at the expense of the common good. By Zambia’s victory, Group D remains wide open and any four of the teams can win it, especially Ghana, Zambia and Sudan, with all due respect to the Likuena of Lesotho. The next round of matches in March, 2013 will be highly anticipated. NAF
Gilbert Phiri
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good analysis. Ghana and zambia are brothers. Dont follow hate remarks by some bloggers here who want to spread hate. Azaka-zambia is not zambian for we do not have such a name in zambia. We still respect ghana.
Ghana was just really out witted. They complain of the ref, did they expect the tunisian fellow to throw the ball in the zambian net? Ghana never had a single shot on target in the entire 97 minutes played.
…throw the ball in the net? lol this is really funny
Fairly accurate tactical analysis of the game. Chipolopolo were wasteful in front of goal while Ghana looked clueless.
[...] Previous post: Analysis: Zambia’s Trademark Counter-attack Bamboozles Ghana [...]
“TECHNICAL STAFF” OF THE BLACK STARS :FAMOUS NAMES AND PEOPLE TO “HELP” COACH AKWESI APPIAH :JUST BY THE WAY,WHAT ARE THE REAL “FUNCTIONS” OF THE “BACKROOM TECHNICAL STAFF”(SOOOO MANY COOKS), EG. DESAILLY (DEFENDERS COACH),TONY YEBOAH (FOWARDS COACH), STEPHEN APPIAH (MIDFIELDERS COACH) AND SELLAS TETTEH (ATHLETIC SUPERVISOR)???? WERE ALL THESE “EXPERTS” INVOLVED WITH THE CAMPING AND PREPARATION FOR THE MATCHES OR THEY ARE JUST “COSMETICS” TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO “BLOAT” THE LIST OF THE “BLACK STARS ENTOURAGE”??? WHAT INFLUENCE DO THESE “EXPERTS” HAVE ON THE WORK , SELECTION, TACTICS AND “PHILOSOPHY” OR “HANDWRITING” OF COACH AKWESI APPIAH AND HIS ASSISTANT COACH KONADU???!!! DESAILLY WAS NOT CONSIDERED FOR THE POST BECAUSE OF HIS NUMEROUS ASSIGNMENTS ALL OVER THE WORLD. sTEPHEN APPIAH IS STILL ACTIVE IN SERBIA AND NOT A COACH YET! AND TONY YEBOAH , WHO THINKS BARFFOUR IS NOT YET “TOP” ( IS THAT THE REASON BARFFOUR WAS DROPPED???!!! AND SELLAS TETTEH A COACH WHO COACHED THE LIKES OF AYEW, KWADWO ASAMOAH,AGYEMAN-BADU, INKOOM, BOYE,VORSAH ETC TO WIN THE U-20 WC HAS BEEN REDUCED TO “ATHLETIC SUPERVISOR”!!! COACH AFRANIE , I THINK WAS EVEN NAMED THE “TECHNICAL DIRECTOR”!!!! HAALLLLOOO WHAT IS GOING ON HERE???!!! IS THE GFA NOT RATHER CREATING CONFUSION HERE??? DOES THE GFA KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING AT ALL??? IS AKWESI APPIAH IN CHARGE AT ALL OR IS HE JUST A “PUPPET ON STRINGS”??? I HAVE TOO MANY QUESTIONS, FOR NOW I PAUSE!!!!
The tactical bankruptcy of Kwasi appiah was expose. 1. Why play with two strikers when you were playing away?
2. No winger in the team/game
3. Why drop the two most inform players in Ghana from the team (Baffour and Ismael Yartey) ?
4. No lesson learns from our previous match with Zambia
5. Why play a typical 4-4-2 in an away much with your strongest opponent who is under pressure to score ?
Still waiting for your side of the Story Appiah
It is easy to look back in hindsight and criticize. WE played what you are talking about with the Serb and still lost. Kwasi Appiah lost by the same margin with less experienced players and in a harder environment!
Ghana beat Serbia not vice versa. Check your facts.
Your understanding of english must be limited. He meant Serbian coach fool!
hm hm im sure the above poster meant the serbian couch.
People really stop blaming the coach, rily he lost with the same margin in a tougher enviroment, mind u sudan drew wt lesotho whom u won 7-0 so dont take his win over lesotho for granted, he is working
Akwesi Appiah was hired because he had been an understudy to the Serbian coaches for several years. Obviously his apprenticeship did not very fruitful against Zambia. His predecessors tactics of winning ugly did not rob off on Appiah. Ghana was away to Zambia and the Serbian strategy would have been to play conservative defensive and try to walk away with a win or a tie but Appiah had to revert to the African coaching style of entertaining soccer which does not guarantee success. Renard adopted the counter attacking style, the sit back and let your opponent do all the work, the rope a dope style of soccer. This strategy along with the fact that it was an inaugural game at their new stadium, in front of their home fans, having lost to Sudan made it a desperate must-win game for them.
If Appiah wants to last as Ghana coach he must put this awful lost behind him and rebound as he did when he won the African championships in South Africa. To turn things around he must bring back some big guns, Captain John Mensah, Andre, KPB, Gyan (no PK’s), Essien, and also introduce Annan back in the starting line up and play him 90 minutes, He must start Ghana’s rising star Christian Atsu so we can really test his mettle to se what he is really made up of.
AA needs a coaching course before our next game. Ghana has never loss back to back. AA selection was questionable. Yartey, Nyarko, Quincy and Warris with vast experience, any of these guys can change the complexion of any game.
Atsu should have started against Zambia and he was brought him so late.
GYAN HOLDS THE KEYS TO SUCSESS TOK TO HIM TO MAKE A COMEBACK,GYAN IS A PROVEN STRIKER.
Your comments are on point but to further it I have a real problem with some of these Ghana coaches, sometimes they call players just for the hell of it with no intention of playing them. I also feel that Ayew guy the younger one who played needs to be dropped from B/S. I do not understand why they keep calling him to the team. Are they afraid to drop him?He is immature and plays too much with the ball, wasted a lot of our chances.
Waris and Baffour need to be called to the team to play along side Gyan who I have hated over the years but I will now agree he needs to be brought back to play along side someone and not alone upfront. They should have take a penalty kicking course.
It was sweet hammering u guys… do u remember me? good luck as we wait to hammer you back in ghana! hahahahahahahahaha……….
So for those of you Ghanaians still claiming the ref made you lose, please read this analysis carefully, it has some lessons. Football is played on the pitch, not talking too much or under rating your opponents. Your players thought Zambia was the same as Lesotho. If you are not careful, you will also lose in Accra.
Indeed we aimed @da black stars..thei cudn’t jas withstand da copper bullets!!! Nayo nayo we comin 2maliciously damage u in accra!
Its quite not right for the writer to say he didn’t “see” what Ghana’s tactics on the was. He has written a good piece but Kwasi went into the game with a 4-4-2 formation (diamond ). Boaten sat infront of defence, Badu behind the two forwards with Sulley and K.Asamoah on the left and right of the midfield respectively.
Where Kwasi went wrong was the attitude of revenging the earlier defeat at all cost and not that he under rated the Zambians. That’s the reason why Ghana attacked from the start.
Another mistake was playing only Boateng as a screen for the defence.
All the same, Zambians counter attacking style worked to perfection. Ghana will do their homework and top this group.
Ghana you are good but yo kind of football is predictale unlike us who can reap a defence at will,like the writer says ..TRADEMARK COUNTER-ATTACKING SOCCER ..DO YO HOMEWORK DURING THIS BREAK COS CHIPOLOPOLO IS COMING TO ACCRA WITH A BANG……..
WE WILL LET U PLAY TO THE CROWED AS USUAL WATCHING YO PREDICTABLE MOVES N THEN UNLEASH THAT LEATHAL SUCKER-PUNCH WHICH WILL MAKE U HATE THE BALL GAME 4 A WHILE…ACCRA WE LUV YOU BUT BUSINESS IS BUSINESS.
Do not forget Zambia has played two games with ONLY one goal. Can you beat Lesotho seven goals to zero?
Good luck to you, we shall meet in Ghana to send you further down.
MY FRIEND UNLIKE U WE DO RESPECT LESOTHO AND WILL PLAY BOTH THE TWO MATCHES LIKE OUR LIVES DEPEND ON THEM ,SO WE WILL TRY N GET GOALS TO GET EVEN WITH OTHERS IN OUR GROUP 4 NOW WE GRATEFUL THAT WE BACK ON TRACK ,WE HAVE SOBERED UP AFTER THE AFCON TRIUMPH THANKS B TO SUDAN..ONE THING THOUGH ,WE WILL BEAT U AGAIN WEN WE COME TO ACCRA BCOS YOU PLAY BALL WITH THIS REVNGE THING ON THE BACK OF YO MINDS,BUT ZAMBIA WILL B COOL AND COLLECTED AS USUAL AND WIL SURE GIVE YOU THAT 4MAN MOVE N YOU WILL B PICKING IT AT THE BACK OF THE NET …
You will be lucky to even score 2 goals. Keep running your mouth
A word to a wise is sufficient.
YOU WERE LUCKY THAT THE ZAMBIANS WERE NOT SHARP ENOUGH TO BURY THOSE CLEAR CUT CHANCES THEY HAD,3-0 WAS SUPPOSSED TO BE THE SCORE.
You forgot about all the gifts the referee gave you.
Remember its not how you start but how you end. Very soon there will be a funeral in your country for not qualifying
i made almost de same analysis on facebook n a frend told me i was 2 known,it was poor tactics 4 away team 2 play de way ghana did.APPIAH REVISE YOUR NOTES 4 upcomin games
7-0 WHAT ,THE GAME HAD TO B STOPPED 4 MORE THAN 40MINS,GHANA IMAGINE IF THAT HAD HAPPENED TO YOU FIFA HQ COULD HAVE BN FLOODED WITH YOUR COMPLAINTS BUT LESOTHO JUST ACCEPTED WITHOUT MAKING IT A FUSS.FOCUS ON SUDAN RIGHT NOW THEY DRAW INKUMASI N FINSH YOU IN KHARTOUM.
keep waistin your time for preparing and patching up your mistakes by crying and complaning ref,! ref! guys. us we wil prepare to ice our cake and wait for a party date. i cant see u servive in acra.
Akwesi must be warned of the impending threat by Zambia in our return match and try to look for dependable, defensive wingers to fortify our frailties at the back.Must be careful of players who wants to imitate Roberto Carlos by oval laping unnecessaryly with filthy and wasteful crosses.Zambia’s only secrete is defending as a unit and rampant counter attacking system(Don’t say i did not warn you). Forget about Adiyah, Jordan(childish) and bring back baby jet.Fortify our defence with John and pack the midfield with Essien and a cherry on top(Gyan).Take from Milos dictum and let AGGRESSIVENESS be the way forward.
I said it here that Ghana would fall!
these zambians shud pls leave our forumn for us. are u guys that obsessed abt GHANA. loserrssss
yo felo Ghanains visit our sites too, come on life is changing boy. Dont be shalo minded
Beating ivory coast,wiring Ghana twice.humble-ling Senegal let the Africa champs represent us in Brazil. it seems football is slowly diverting to the south part of Africa.
execellent analysis. i like the part were u say Ghana had no system because i was wondering myself