Welcome to the FineSoccer Drills Newsletter. Today’s featured article works on 5 v 4 defending.
We are using a 40 x 30 grid with a small goal on each end line. There are two teams of 4’s on the field and an extra player behind each goal.
Whichever team has the ball their extra player join in. So if yellow starts with the ball, the yellow add on joins in and it’s 5 yellows vs 4 blacks
The defending team must adjust based on who has the ball, where players are on the field etc.
As a general rule of thumb, the most dangerous player on the field is the one with the ball so he must always be contained/delayed/pressured. Next is the player closest to goal and then each other player based on distance to goal.
When the black team loses the ball the yellow add on player leaves the field and the black add on player joins in
There are two ways to do the add on players. If it’s a 10 minute game each player would be the add on player for a two minute period. The other way, which requires more thinking and communication, is to assign each player a number and the first time they defend, player 1 is the add on. When they defend the second time, player 2 is the add on and they keep rotating from there.
This is an excellent way to get players to work on defending with shape and balance and communicating throughout.
Have a great day!
Lawrence
