Sunday, July 11, 2010

SIMPLE 5 ASIDE PLAY

Since our revisit, Henderson has not been a pleasant ground to play in. Today marked another frustrating outing yet there were some encouraging signs towards the end after the players sat down and had some tactical deliberation, so perhaps we can takeaway the following:

1) Compress the vertical space when defending

Theory - The inherent logic is simple. By limiting the space available for opponents to penetrate, we are forcing them to err and create counter-attacking opportunities for ourselves.

Practice - There are two ways to go about doing this. The first is the Spanish/Barca way of pressure-cooking the opponents in their own half, the second is to defend deep and force the opponents to commit players forward. Given the elongated pitch and fast opponents at Henderson, the latter strategy should be adopted.

2) Horizontal movements when attacking

Theory - When in possession, players should constantly move in such a way that there will always be a vertical option/support and horizonal option/support (L-shape or inverted L-shape) to make possible for triangular passing.

Practice - So far we have always maintained an inverted V shape when in possession (ie. the defenders and the pivot) but here is to add some variation to it. While our defenders will continue to swing the ball and the pivot will continue to drop back to link up; the free striker will now need to make runs from one flank to another so as to provide more options for the defender in possession. Once the ball breaks for the striker, the pivot will then go forward to provide the option for a center, whereas the defender at the same side steps up to provide the dahui option (see attached illustration).

Of course we ought to be less rigid in attack - the scenario above is however most effective (and safe) when we run out of ideas. Let's try to perfect these two and win more games at Henderson in the coming weeks.

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