How Posta Rangers managed to shoot past Kenya Police thrice

Posta Rangers are riding on a wave of good form, having thrashed two heavy off-season recruiters in Kenya Police Fc and Sofapaka in a convincing way.

The mailmen have simply proved the doubters wrong given the good football they have displayed three rounds into the season.

The team heads to round four with seven points and having conceded just a goal thus far.

Smart selection, fielding and keen attention to detail when approaching their matches is a proven secret weapon for the team.

In this piece through the use of data computed by Kora Stats, I look to break down their 3-0 win over Police who are yet to win a game in the season.

Attacking Output

In their encounter (against Kenya Police FC) Rangers had eleven attempts with four of those being on target which gives an accuracy rate of 36 percent.

John Kamau’s charges created eight chances although, they were not clinical in front of the goal but still, got the job done.

Rangers managed to generate an XG of 2.24 compared to Police FC’s 2.78 . In a game in which Posta had 36 percent possession stringing 230 accurate passes compared to Police FCs 511 accurate passes, it shows that this was a game in which they approached with major emphasis on exploiting the spaces in behind Police FCs backline.

Leopards keep faith in Tom Juma despite calls for his sacking

Out of the 83 long passes they played, only 20 were accurate but still, effective enough to hurt Police.

In attacking transitions Rangers worked towards being forward oriented, their players possessed an astonishing speed of thought when regaining the ball always looking to counter attack when possible.

This was achieved majorly through Curtis Wekesa who whenever he received the ball would look to take his man on and get his team into the opposition final third.

Not taking away their short pass accuracy, Posta played 250 short passes with 207 accurate, explaining how neat they were in possession.

As stated above, Posta looked to mainly attack through the spaces in behind the Police FC backline, 7 attacks came from the left flank and 6 attacks from the right side. As shown in the viz below.

Rangers Final Third Penetration

The club has two exciting wingers in Caleb Olilo and Wekesa.

Posta’s approach to possession in this game was a patient one combined with a very direct playing style.

Baraza happy with player responsibility amid winless start

They were looking to play into the wide channels but if the option was not available they were comfortable in keeping the ball for a couple more passes, this explains their field tilt in which they had 78 percent of possession in their won half as illustrated in the viz below.

With Kenya Police setting up in a 1-3-5-2 formation the wing backs would look to push on actively to engage the opposition players in possession, as they would be drawn out this would create the space for the Posta attackers to target.

In this match Rangers operated with an effective front man in former Kariobangi Sharks and Bandari man Felix Oluoch who provided plenty of options in behind for his teammates to play into.

NSL: Darajani Gogo plotting for Mombasa Stars downfall in round two

With Posta’s average formation being a 1-4-1-4-1 Felix’s ability to create situations in which he could receive the ball well was the key difference as he was able to secure the ball well for his team.

He received the ball from a teammate 12 times and all the times were successful, a 100 percent accuracy rate.

The attacking plan clearly worked for the coach Kamau led side, being careful in possession but be very ruthless when the opportunity arises.

Now how did they manage to keep a cleansheet against a star-studded Kenya Police FC attack?

Posta spent the better part of the game in a low or mid-block phase. They set up in a 1-4-1-4-1.

This approach allowed the Posta defenders to mark the Police attackers closely while at the same time protecting the space.

We will give it a good go: Odemba maintains belief in Starlets' trip to Cameroon

Police looked to prevail qualitatively when given the space, especially in Tyson Otieno and Francis Kahata but the resolute set up of the defensive block.

Police spread out their final third penetration in equal measure creating 15 chances, but this is where John Njau the Posta Rangers keep came into play.

He was statistically the man of the match as he faced 6 attempts on target and saving all them.

This coupled up with coming out to claim 7 crosses shows just how sharp he was on the day.

The defensive duo of Ken Owino and Bernard Ondiek through very intelligent defending managed to keep at bay Tito Okello and Reagan Otieno.

The two attackers appeared to play on the shoulders of their defenders.

However, the impeccable positioning and reading of the game coupled with aggressive defending by Owino and Ondiek saw them deny Police FC central penetration through their block.

Macharia impressed with charges following win in league opener

The Rangers performance in this game showed why they are having a steady start to the season as they demonstrated that they are a team that picks it’s in game moments well and, they know when to attack directly, when to absorb pressure and when to retain possession.

It will be interesting to how they keep up their display having started on a very strong footing.

Clearly banging in goals is not an issue, now the consistency is what will matter. Though given the quality at their disposal, people should start taking note of the mailmen.