Working the Ball into Wide Areas

By Sean Reed -

Objective

This session will focus on creating opportunities to play into wide areas and to finish in front of goal.

Set Up – 1st Phase


Diagram 1

Set Up

  • Working within 2 penalty areas plus 5yds in length and 5yds wide either side
  • 2x teams with 2x goalkeepers and 2 neutral players in wide areas
  • The 2x wide players operate and remain within the wide channels. They are playing for which ever team is in possession
  • The 2x wide players can work up and down within the channels and are restricted to 2 touches. They can only receive the ball in the middle of the channels and use 1 touch to take it into the end zone. Otherwise they keep possession by playing back into the team in possession
  • If a goal is scored from a cross then the team are awarded 2 goals, whereas a goal scored from within the pitch area a team is awarded 1 goal (this can be changed depending on what the coach wants to implement)
  • Restriction of touches can also be placed on the 2 teams

Coaching Points

  • Tempo of play
  • Angle of support
  • Movement to receive the ball
  • 1st touch
  • Cross from wide areas
  • Movement to attack the ball

Set Up – 2nd Phase


Diagram 2

Set Up

  • As with the previous session
  • A half way line has been included on the pitch
  • The ball played into the wide area can only be played from within the attacking area
  • This will allow the defending time to implement a tactic to try and prevent this
  • The coach can specified a number of passes to be completed before the ball can be played into the wide area

Coaching Point

  • As with previous session
  • Defending team can look to press high up the pitch to prevent the team in possession playing out into wide areas
  • Attacking team getting across the front post, middle and far post
  • Timing of runs and movements to lose marker and attack the ball

Set Up – 3rd Phase


Diagram 3

Set Up

  • As with the previous sessions
  • An additional line has been added down the centre of the pitch
  • The condition is now that the ball to be played out wide must be played from the opposite half of the pitch. If a pass is played to the near side then the ball is played back into the area

Coaching Points

  • As with previous sessions
  • Identifying opportunities to switch the play
  • Range of pass
  • Pressure on the ball and tracking runner
  • 1st contact on the ball

By Sean Reed
Former First Team Coach of Championship side Fulham FC. Sean is a UEFA A Coach with a Masters in Sport Coaching. He has over 15 years of experience working in professional football from Academy through to First team in the Premiership and Championship.

Web - www.seanjreed.com
Twitter - @SeanJReed

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