Match simulation fitness

Crossing and finishing

Aim

For the players to register a high speed run (HSR) as well as having to perform a technical skill

Players

3v1 plus keeper

Set-up

Rather than simply making players run from one point to another we design a still largely straightforward exercise that fulfils both physical (HSR) and technical elements (cross or finish) of a match situation.

We set up in groups of three on the halfway line (or edge of the centre circle), with two coaches out wide to act as target players and a defence made up of a keeper and centre-half, as shown.

This exercise is similar to a counter-attack, with intensity high and players operating at full pace from the start [1].

If you have two coaches on either side they will just receive the pass from the middle and lay it off for the cross. You can use players for this, but it just means that they won’t be involved in the centre. We will rotate the defender after six repetitions.

[1]

1. The ball starts in the middle and gets passed between each of the three attackers

2. A quality pass is played out to the coach
3. The player who plays it out wide then makes an angled run towards the ball in order to then deliver a cross
4. The other two players make their runs, at pace
5. They venture into the box to get on the end of the cross

What are the key things to look out for?

We must make sure there is quality in the passing, finishing and defending. The first pass out to the coach who is setting the ball is very important as it sets the tempo of that particular repetition. If the pass out is slow then the movements from the players will be slow. It needs to be a well-weighted pass to encourage a fast overlap for the player crossing the ball.

The crosser must ensure that they have a quick look up before they cross the ball to pick an attacker out or put the ball in an area for the forward player to attack. Both the centre-forwards need to communicate with each other and time their runs to receive the cross. Although the defender has a difficult task against two forwards, the drills put them in a game-specific position. They must move their feet and adjust their body quickly to allow them to get into a good position to defend the cross. As always, it’s important to make it as close to match play as possible for the simulation to work.

A common mistake in this drill is players not picking the right type of cross. The crosser has plenty of opportunity in the run-up to the ball to look up and decide how and where they want to cross, be that near post, far post, a lofted cross or perhaps a whipped ball in around the back of the defender.

Another common mistake is the speed at which the crosser runs up to the ball. After the initial HSR it is important the player slows down on their approach to the ball and composes themself before making contact with the ball.

How do I progress the session?

The progression would be to introduce an extra defender and an extra attacker. The extra attacker would combine with the other two to ensure one player runs to the edge of the box. This gives the player crossing the ball another decision of who to cross to. 

Squeezing out of the box

Aim

Through simple speed preparation, to produce an exercise that gets players (particularly defenders) used to squeezing up the pitch. This is nothing revolutionary but it gets players into good habits.

Players

8v8

Set-up

For this session the players complete two sets of six repetitions with a 45-second rest in between. We can manipulate the sets, repetitions and rest periods to increase the difficulty level.

If the focus of the day’s session is about pressing the ball we will often use this drill just before the main part of the session as it involves a number of accelerations and decelerations, with the idea being to simulate a scenario where the ball has been cleared and the team squeezes up together, as quickly as possible, in units.

The defenders will line up across the goal line with midfielders on the edge of the box, as shown. Central players stand in the middle of the line and full-backs/wingers are positioned either on the left- or right-hand side depending on the position they play.

On the first whistle, players will squeeze up 18 yards and hold that position. It’s important that the players are in control at all times, so they should be accelerating and decelerating to stop on the line. At this point, players should be communicating with each other to hold their line as they would do in a match [2a].

For the second set of these runs, we will introduce a second whistle. On this whistle the players will change direction and make a recovery run. We would expect our defenders to keep facing forward and return to position by getting low and shuffling backwards, while midfielders and strikers would turn and recover into position, ready to defend again [2b].

We must be sure to ask the players to face different ways at the start and keep them on their toes ready to go.

The movements and patterns for both drills can be taken into more specific game situations.

[2a]

1. The first whistle blows and players squeeze up 18 yards to hold that position, communicating with each other to hold their line as they would do in a match

[2b]

1. In the next phase, and on the second whistle, players change direction and make a recovery run, with defenders still facing forward, returning to their positions by getting low and shuffling backwards

2. Midfielders and strikers turn and recover into position, ready to defend again