Subject: [NT] Fixtures

Our passing rating was artificially low. I had J Sait in a wide position hoping he'd exploit that gap, and hoping he'd win some corners/FKs/throws. I was hoping he wouldn't pass too much - but he did try several little crosses. That will have brought down the rating ... a little. Excellent is generally where it sits and is a fairer reflection.

Part of it is also philosophical. I've long preferred a "rugged" midfield where most of the midfielders are oriented around ball recovery. Chacko and Letebe fit this mould. Their job is to get the ball back and feed it (by a short pass) to a more gifted offensive player - in this formation, that was Khambule.

That approach hasn't been working very well for me this season. The guys doing the ball recovery have been taking more offensive initiative - trying to make the key pass themselves, as opposed to letting the designated playmaker do it.

It wasn't really a problem today - Chacko and Letebe actually made some nice plays. But it has been a problem. In those matches where South Africa's shots are <5 you often see the defensive minded mids attempting to take on an offensive role ... leading to alot of turnovers and missed opportunities.

I'm not sure what the solution is. Whether there are tactical nuances I can try to entice more play to the creator. Of whether I just have to trade more grit for style.

By sheer coincidence, the senior team is facing the same opponent as the juniors took on earlier today in qualifying. :)

Will be a young-ish line-up. Hoping to build a little confidence after last week's troubles.

That first goal was a real pleasure to watch after some of the offensive struggles recently. Some great ball movement leading up to a clinical finish. :) Great to see.

Fish had an excellent game. He was attempting crosses, and getting most of them into good spots. He could easily have had 4 assists. The entire midfield played much better then they have been - probably due to the level of the competion. Still, their decisions were better and their passes more accurate.

Agreed, much better performance all round. The passing for the first goal was superb, and the through ball from Fish for the Mahule goal was perfect.

Quick question, why did Cyril Chacho play with DEF orders, and not Khomane?

Oops. :) Carelessness on my part. My intention was for both Chacko and Khomane to had MID orders. The way I put that formation together, Chacko's spot is #4 - hiding amoungst the defenders.

You are right - of the two, it would make more sense for Khomane to have the DEF if one is to have it.

The DEF order didn't hurt Chacko - not looking for him to attempt many through balls, just a quick pass to Fish. It would have been much more detrimental for Khambule.

All set for this weekend's match. Preparations aren't what they should have been due to some RL stuff. And this could be a bit of a tricky match. Hopefully the lads have a good one.

Hard fought, close match. South Africa with more shots and more time on the ball did enough to get the result. Far from convincing, but the team did play a man down for almost the entire game.

Got the tactic I expected from Ukraine. Conceptually thought we had a good counter-tactic, though due to my limited prep time some player placement - specifically striker and winger depth - should have been better.

After Khambule's ejection, South Africa was relying almost entirely on Mabizela for offense - which has and continues to be a scary proposition. He continues to underachieve. Granted, my positioning wasn't perfect, but he was up against a pretty mediocre (by NT standards) defender in this one and struggled mightily. Only broke a handful of tackles. He either failed to turn his shoulder or just couldn't hold on to the ball. Both of Ukraine's wide mids were arguably more effective - breaking more tackles against superior defenders. I'm beginning to think Mabizela no longer has the "threshold" technique to be a frightening flank attacker. Hope I'm wrong.

Both of South Africa's strikers were very strong on the ball. Sait has that extra step compared to Mahule, and was that much more dangerous, but both were a headache for Ukraine defenders. Were a little unfortunate not to generate a few more shots from their strong play.

I was thrilled with Chacko. Covered lots of ground, and was effective both ways. His service to Mabizela was excellent, and his decision making throughout the match was very strong.

Defense was great. Roberts wasn't called upon often, but made the saves he had to and was very assertive in his box.

Again, a more convincing victory would have been nice. Still working on getting the offense firing on all cylinders.

Could've been my imagination, but I thought that the passes to Mabizela were more effective AFTER Khambule got sent off. They somehow seemed to find him in a better position. Khambule wasn't there very long though, so could be wrong.

I agree with your assessment of Mabizela; he just doesn't seem to have quite enough any more to get past his man, or to win back the ball. That said, he did supply the cross for the goal. We need to find someone to fill his boots asap.

Part of the advantage of Khambule's positioning is that the winger is often moving forward as Khambule picks up the ball. Part of the idea in the formation is that Khambule is more likely to hit Mabizela "in flight". Chacko made a number of excellent passes, but Mabizela often had to stop (or was stopped) to pick them up - made it a little more difficult for him to beat his man. You are making a good point though. It's possible Khambule didn't have the best passing lane (would have to check again). Despite having a longer more difficult pass Chacko may have actually had an easier line to Mabizela.

Some of Mabizela is just bad luck - that he isn't turning towards the side-line. But you are right. Ideally, we'd be able to find a high tech - high pass threat to really terrorize flank defenders. Mabizela could then slide back a little in midfield. His tackling skills are still really good. I think he'd be highly effective.

Apologies. I didn't have an opponent lined up for this week, and ended up scheduling a rematch with Hayastan. A new opponent would have been more interesting, but I'll be using a new formation and will juggle the line-up around some, so it should be a new match.

Line-up is set for this week's friendly. The tactic I've made scares me ... :) But I do want to try something different.

I never miss a live match if I can help it, but now I'm doubly sure I want to see it. :)

Heehee. I don't mean to build it up too much. It's not revolutionary by any means. Just outside of my personal comfort zone. :)

The game didn't provide the entertainment I hoped. I really like Sokker matches with lots of ball movement and build-up. The 352 was intended to give more of this style. But the midfielders tended to play pretty direct instead of working the ball around. They still played well, but not quite the way I intended. (Wanted to see the ball worked "around the horn", and sent in to the OM to maybe be sent back out again, etc.)

The OM was meant as a quasi target man. The plan was for him to draw aerial passes, and then track them down or win them from the DM. Didn't work quite as intended. As often happens when I try this, the OM just didn't get much service. The aerial lobs tended to over-shoot him and were picked up by strikers. This wasn't necessarily bad - the strikers could tap it back to the OM who then could pick someone out. But it didn't work quite as intended.

Great debut from Chivuta. Made nice decisions with the ball both as a CM and as the OM. Khomane had a bit of an off-game, particularly when he dropped back to CM. Wasn't able to pass with any accuracy. Was pretty happy with his goal considering the strikers didn't look too clinical in the first half.

Defense was good. I did expect the flank player from Hayastan, and knew it would be a challenge for that defender. Of the 3, Malashe perhaps had the most difficulty, but still played well.

Wales is next week's opponent.

Should also add I was a little disappointed with Kubheka. There is a certain "threshold" of passing I feel is necessary for a player to be effective in a wide midfield position. He doesn't have it. As a result, his crosses weren't very accurate (corner kicks that go out of play don't put a midfielder in good stead with the manager). Was a good trial, but his PM/pass suit him better to a central role. Wide midfield continues to be a bit of a weak spot in the roster.

Actually, got things backwards. Canada this week, Wales next week.