Match Preview:- St George Vs Mekelakeya
St George Vs Mekelakeya last season's meetings!
These two teams had their 2016/17 season EPL first round match on Sunday, December 27 , 2016. It was on EPL's 3rd week, played at 5:30 pm. This was unforgettable for St George and the fans. The Horsemen got one man short when Mehari Mena got a red card only 37 minutes into the game.
The first half ended goalless and the players went to break. But the second half was a surprising turn out. The Horsemen, losing one man, came back to the field with profound winning spirit and supremacy. They controlled the game reaching their opponent ‘s danger zone repeatedly.
Abdulkarim Nikima scored the opening goal from a cross by Abebaw Butako. Another cross from Abebaw Butako scored by Adane Girma let the team lead by 2-0. And Salhadin Seid scored the 3rd goal and sealed the win to his team playing with 10 men.
St George had the 2nd round match against Mekelakeya on Friday, march 31, 2017. This match was matchtponed one from EPL's 18th week due to St George’s African Champions League match. The team was led by the 2nd Coaches Fasil Tekalegn and Zerihun Shengeta as Mart Noij had to leave to his country for family reasons.
The winner of this match, Mekelakeya, came from behind to win by 2-1. Abdulkarim Nikima, with individual effort, narrowing the field and passing defenders scored the leading goal at the 52nd min but Mekelakeya was able to score at the 59th and 63rd min to win the game.
St George, out of the 6 matches, won 3 and drew 3 and Mekelakeya won 2, lost 3 and drew 3 in 8 matches. Based on this, St Georg is 2nd on the EPL table collecting 12 points and Mekelakeya is 10th with 9 points.
Mekelakeya, in the current season, had 6 matches in Addis Ababa stadium to win 1, lose 2 and draw 2. The match they won was against Diredawa Kenema with 1-0. They lost 1-0 to Welayta Dicha and Ethiopia Coffee. The draws were against Ethio Electric with 1-1, Adama Kenema 0-0 and Hawassa Kenema with 0-0. In general, they scored 3 goals and conceded 4 in the 6 matches.
Mekelakeya had 2 matches in this EPL season to win 1 and lose the other. They were against Welwalo Adigrat University which they won by 1-0 in front of their opponent’s fans and against Arbaminch to lose 2-0. In General, they scored 1 goal and conceded 2 in their away matches.
St George in the 6 matches scored 8 and conceded 2 and Mekelakeya scored 4 and conceded 6 in 8 matches. St George on average scored 1.33 goals per game and Mekelakeya scored 0.5. St George conceded 0.33 goals per game and Mekelakeya did 0.75.
Mekelakeya’s Game Plan!
Coach Minyamir Tsegaye's Mekelakeya was on a bad start at the beginning of the season. But it looks like they are getting back on track winning their last 2 matches. We observed the coach using 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 formations. Especially on matches at Addis Ababa stadium, he preferred 4-4-2 and this was seen more when they played against Ethio Electric, Ethiopia Coffee and Diredawa Kenema. Mekelakeya, although they had to use players alternating due to few injuries and national calls, more or less, has a consistent starting 11.
In the 4-4-2, Minyilu Wendimu has proven a vital player playing consistently in the striker position. He is to be praised for the 7 points they were able to achieve from the last 3 matches, scoring 3 goals.
Mekelakeya’s weakness in the 4-4-2 is the wide gap between the midfielders and the strikes. The 4 midfielders are relatively far from the strikers. Although the team tries to play possessing football, this gap renders them from playing so. The strikers are detached from the rest of the team for most of the game and get forced to pull back and play wide and prepare for counter attacks.
The 4 midfielders get out numbered in the field. Especially while playing with 4-3-3, they get outnumbered by 3-2. They were observed repeatedly trying to compensate this by playing narrowing the field and bringing the full backs to the midfield.
Injuries in St George house!
Ame Mohammed, Salhadin Seid, Natnael Zeleke and Tadele Mengesha are still with their injuries and cannot be part of this match. Otherwise there are no new injuries.
We will win!
We have full faith in Sanjaw!
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