Moses Shumah: A Profile on the Goal Machine with 46% of Homeboyz Goals

Moses Shumah has been hitting the headlines with his goalscoring form. He's a player who is ruthless in front of the goal and the final third. Francis Baraza’s side has been relying on Shumah’s goal-scoring ability to get the results. On the top scorer chart, he sits third, just three goals behind Tusker’s Ryan Ogam.

The talisman has scored 46% of the league goals for the Kakamega-based side. He has a Tisini average rating of 6.4 so far this season. But what makes Shumah a threat in front of the goal?

Moses Shumah thrives well in a variety of systems. Last season, under Patrick Odhiambo's stewardship, he was deployed as a lone striker in a 4-3-2-1 formation. At the onset of the season, under Ken Kenyatta, he was seen playing as a lone striker in a 4-3-3 formation, but he had limited playing minutes as the Ugandan Paul Wangi was the preferred choice over him. However, with the arrival of Francis Baraza, he found his feet back, and he has been a dependable player.

Kakamega Homeboyz under Baraza have seen two strikers play alongside each other in a 3-5-2 formation. Shumah has had more minutes under the watch of Francis Baraza, as he has started all matches since the arrival of the former Kenyan international. Paul Wangi, or Moses Mudavadi, has been lined up to complement Shumah upfront.

Homeboyz thrives on a direct style of play with long balls in channels and wide areas. They aimed to win the aerial duels before building the play from second balls in settled play. On most occasions, they look to play it long to Moses Shumah. The center backs in Brian Chala, John Omondi, and Potiphar Odhiambo also aim to find the talisman with long balls from deep.

With height as an advantage, Moses Shumah is good in the air as he attacks the long balls and wins them. This helps his side to capitalize on the second balls and the team build play from it. Alternatively, he flicks the ball for the runners in the space.

With the back-to-goal receiving, Shumah is a type of “on-shoulder striker” who is able to hold the play and link up with the teammates. Due to his holding-up ability, he draws and drags the defenders out of position. This allows his teammates to join the attack and exploit spaces left by the defenders.

Shumah will not have many touches on the ball as he always looks to stay upfront by pinning defenders in their own half. He has a passing efficiency of 96% as he has attempted 143 passes with 128 being complete.

With his well-timed in-behind runs, the talisman will always look to attack the box. He fancies arriving in the box early as he looks at anticipating the crosses delivered in the box from wide areas by the wingbacks John Omondi and Farouk Musisi. He has registered 47 box touches and 7 box carries.

Due to his athleticism, the striker is an aggressive presser as he always looks at limiting the opposition's buildup from the back. He leads the Kakamega Homeboyz man-to-man high press as they always look to force the opponent to go long.

Shumah has been an integral player not only for the club but also for the national team, as he has earned several national team calls. Recently, he represented the country in the Mapinduzi cup that was held in Tanzania. With his current form and his ceiling, he has been attracting interest from different clubs as he is seen as a valuable asset in the attack.

Shumah was named Tisini's KPL Star of the Month in February.

Feature Image Credit: Kakamega Homeboyz