Go deep

This session is all about how and when to go deep, attacking the room behind the shoulders of the opposition’s defensive line. The scenario is about a team squeezing us inside our own half so we’re under pressure. How do we defend? How do we cover the ball? How do we mark inside the box? What does our striker do? And when we’re on the ball, how and when do we go deep? How and when do we secure the ball to break the opposition pressure to go deep? As a team, which is to be our behaviour? Who are the players involved? How do we defend the space and how do we attack the space?

There is always a room or a gap to be attacked, whether this is between the opponents’ lines or in the final third where we are forced to play through balls because we can’t shoot. The room is there and just needs to be filled.

In this drill it is demanded of the players to have the desire to “go deep” and discover what can happen if they do the right thing constantly with an opponent unbalanced.

“How and when do we secure the ball to break the opposition pressure to go deep”

PRACTICE 1

We set up a playing area on half a pitch, with a full size goal at one end. We’re using 13 outfield players split into a blue attacking team of eight and a red defending team of five. 

We are using three coaches – one to play the ball in, one to coach the defenders, supporting them to push up the defensive line and squeeze up fast, and one to coach the movement of the strikers and their ability to beat the offside trap.

A coach starts play by serving the ball to the blue attacking team and they must pass it and try to create an opportunity to get in behind the defensive line of the red team, as shown [1a]. 

[1a]

1. A coach starts play by serving the ball to the blue attacking team
2. The blue attacking team must pass the ball and try to create an opportunity to get in behind the defensive line of the red team
3. The red team’s defensive line squeeze up quickly

The red team’s defensive line squeeze up quickly, forcing the attacking team to find a way through or around, as shown [1b].

[1b]

1. The red team’s defensive line have squeezed up quickly, forcing the attacking team to find a way through or around
2. An attacker makes a run through the defensive line, receiving a through ball

The red defenders must stay alert to the threat against them and try to stop a goal by working together as a unit.

PRACTICE 2

We set up a playing area on a full pitch with a goal and a goalkeeper at each end and a three-yard zone marked out across the middle. We’re using 20 outfield players split into two full teams of 11 including keepers. We’re using three coaches – one to play the ball in, one to coach the defenders, supporting them to push up the defensive line and squeeze up fast, and one to coach the movement of the attacking team. There are no offside restrictions, meaning the defenders have to find solutions under pressure.

A coach starts play by serving a ball into the reds on the halfway line, as shown [2a].

[2a]

1. A coach starts play by serving a ball into the reds on the halfway line
2. The red team builds an attack and looks to score a goal, pushing all of their team into the attacking half
3. The blue team defends against the attack 
4. One coach works with the defenders, supporting them to push up the defensive line and squeeze up fast
5. One coach works on the movement of the attacking team

The red team attacks and looks to score a goal, pushing all of their team into the attacking half.

The blue team defends against the attack and if the blues win the ball back, they must transition – securing possession and counter-attacking. However, on winning possession of the ball the blue team are limited to two touches and must initially stay in their half before launching the counter-attack. After the fifth pass, however, they can “go deep”, moving forward through the middle zone, as shown [2b], while the red team must squeeze up or drop, looking to win the ball back.

[2b]

1. The blue team defends against the attack and if the blues win the ball back, they must transition – securing possession and counter-attacking
2. On winning possession the blue players are limited to two touches and must initially stay in their half before launching the counter-attack
3. After making five passes in their own half, they can “go deep”, moving forward through the middle zone

Once the blues have passed the ball into their attacking half, the red team can retreat and make recovery runs to try and stop the blues scoring, as shown [2c].

[2c]

1. Once the blues have passed the ball into their attacking half, the red team can retreat and make recovery runs to try and stop the blues scoring

PROGRESSIONS

We use the same basic set-up as before but the middle zone is removed and the offside rule is now applied. The coach starts play by serving the ball into the reds who look to build an attack.

The blue defending team must hold the defensive line – if they drop too early the game is stopped by the coach and the reds start their attack again, as shown [3a].

[3a]

1. In this progression the coach starts play by serving the ball into the reds who look to build an attack
2. The blue defending team must hold the defensive line – if they drop too early the game is stopped by the coach and the reds start their attack again

“When on the ball, the players shouldn’t force passes, especially when the ball has just been won back”

In a second progression the rules and the set-up remain the same but this time the red attacking team’s goalkeeper is allowed to leave his penalty area to follow his team into the attacking phase and stop the opponent’s counter-attack after the blues win the ball, as shown [3b].

[3b]

1. In this second progression the rules remain the same but this time the red attacking team’s keeper is allowed to leave his penalty area to follow his team into the attacking phase and stop the opposition counter-attacking

COACHING POINTS

What are the key things to look out for?

When defending: The players shouldn’t gamble with offside but should follow the opponent inside the box to mark and to feel the player – they should always be focused and should cover the ball rather than managing the consequences of an uncovered ball. When on the ball, they shouldn’t force passes, especially when the ball has just been won back – they should secure possession and not waste it, going deep as soon as possible.

When attacking: They should find a solution in the last third, using the full width to stretch and play through the opposition team, reading the depth with movement and using fast thinking to create movement to unbalance a static defensive line to open a gap.