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Small-sided gamesby Dave Clarke
Teams battle it out to keep possession in the 4v4 with movement and accurate passing – they then need to find a good pass to set up the striker who is marshalled by a lone defender
Teams battle it out to keep possession in the 4v4 with movement and accurate passing – they then need to find a good pass to set up the striker who is marshalled by a lone defender.
Possession and clever play in the final third is key to creating goalscoring chances.
You need balls, bibs, cones and 4 goals – you can use any size goals that you have handy although it is preferable to use small goals as there are no goalkeepers. Set up the goals with two at each end 5 yards from the goalline facing the ‘wrong’ way. Set up an area 30 x 20 yards (including two 5 yard end zones). You need 10 players and a server.
Set up the session with a 4v4 in the central zone and with 1 defender and 1 striker in the end zones. Players must stay in their zones. The coach or a server passes the ball to one of the teams who must keep possession and then try to find the striker in the end zone who is pressured by a defender. The games should be played at a high tempo so experiment with one and two touch to get a faster game. You can also put a number of passes on the 4v4 game so three passes before they can pass to the striker.
Passing and movement – striker movement is vital to possession and creating goal-scoring chances.
Why use it
Possession and clever play in the final third is key to creating goalscoring chances.
Set up
You need balls, bibs, cones and 4 goals – you can use any size goals that you have handy although it is preferable to use small goals as there are no goalkeepers. Set up the goals with two at each end 5 yards from the goalline facing the ‘wrong’ way. Set up an area 30 x 20 yards (including two 5 yard end zones). You need 10 players and a server.
How to play
Set up the session with a 4v4 in the central zone and with 1 defender and 1 striker in the end zones. Players must stay in their zones. The coach or a server passes the ball to one of the teams who must keep possession and then try to find the striker in the end zone who is pressured by a defender. The games should be played at a high tempo so experiment with one and two touch to get a faster game. You can also put a number of passes on the 4v4 game so three passes before they can pass to the striker.
Technique
Passing and movement – striker movement is vital to possession and creating goal-scoring chances.
1. The coach serves to one of the teams who must move towards the server to receive then turn and play into their team mates
2. The idea is to pass out to the striker in the end zone who moves into space to receive the ball
3. Because there are two goals the striker should find it easier to create space and score in one of them
- 4. The team without the ball must press tight and quickly to smother any passing movements and try to win the ball
- 5. If the team wins the ball they can quickly set up their own goal scoring chance
Dave Clarke
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