How to defend the long ball

By David Clarke

Terry Call, coach of U12s girls' side Yellowstone Fire, from Cody, Wyoming, USA, wrote to me recently to ask how his team could combat long-ball opponents.

The simplest way of dealing with long-ball teams is to make sure players press high up the pitch, particularly if you have fast attackers.

By pressing like this, the opposition has to go backwards or is forced to make long passes from deep in their own half. And the chances are these won't even make it past midfield.

A useful by-product of pressing like this is the creation of attacking situations that speedy forwards can exploit. This session replicates the scenario that Coach Call and his players face.

How to play it

• Set up as shown in the picture above - we're playing 4v4 plus a keeper.
• All four defenders start inside the 15x10 yards area.
• Attackers are comprised of a server who stands behind the halfway line, two players in the centre circle and a winger.
• The ball is passed by the server into the square. As soon as this happens, the centre circle players run into the box to press the defenders.
  
• Attackers have to prevent defenders from making four consecutive passes.
  
• If attackers successfully turn over possession, they sprint into the penalty area where the winger crosses for them to have an effort on goal.
• However, if defenders manage to complete four passes, they can attempt a long ball back to the server. If it reaches him, they score a point.

Technique and tactics

• The threat of long balls means attackers must close down the defenders quickly. The session rewards this by offering them a goalscoring opportunity of their own.
• Defenders must move the ball quickly and accurately if they are to evade the attention of their markers, something the overload gives them a good chance of doing.
• Progress the game by allowing one defender to track the attackers should they turn over possession and attack the goal.