Defending Against Long Balls: Strategies and Tactics

When it comes to defending against long balls, teams need to be aware of the key areas where these passes are often targeted. The area between 40-50 yards from goal is considered a high-risk zone, as this is where most goals are scored when dealing with long balls. Therefore, teams need to focus on securing this space and preventing the opposition from getting onto the ball.

To achieve this, teams can set up in a specific formation that allows them to defend effectively against long balls. A common setup involves having two center backs, two wing-backs, three midfielders, and one striker up front. This formation provides a solid defensive unit that can handle the pressure of dealing with long balls. The key is for the defenders to be aware of their positioning and make sure that there are no gaps in between them.

When a long ball is played into the box, the defenders need to work together to secure the ball. The goal is to keep the opposition from getting onto the ball by closing off any gaps between players. This requires excellent communication and teamwork among the defenders, as well as quick reactions to any movement made by the opposition.

One of the most effective ways to defend against long balls is to play out with one or both of the goalkeepers. By playing out, teams can create opportunities for themselves to counter-attack and catch the opposition off guard. However, when dealing with a solid defensive unit, it's often more effective to target the goalkeeper and secure the ball rather than relying on giveaways.

When playing out, teams need to be aware of the positioning of their players in front of the goalkeeper. A common setup involves having three or four midfielders in front of the back four, depending on the team's formation. This allows for a strong midfield presence that can help to win the ball back and create opportunities for counter-attacks.

However, when playing against an opponent who is determined to attack long balls, teams need to be prepared to defend against this tactic. One effective way to do this is by setting up a narrow defense with two or three players in front of the back four. This creates a small box that makes it difficult for the opposition to find space and create scoring opportunities.

When playing against an opponent who is using long balls, teams need to be aware of their positioning and make adjustments accordingly. For example, if the opponent is attacking with long balls towards one side of the field, the defending team may need to shift its defensive line accordingly to protect that area.

The key to defending against long balls is to stay focused and adapt quickly to changing situations on the pitch. By working together as a team and being aware of their positioning, defenders can create opportunities for themselves to counter-attack and catch the opposition off guard.

In terms of specific player roles, it's essential to have players who are comfortable with heading the ball and anticipating where long balls will go. The goalkeeper is also crucial in securing the ball and distributing it effectively to the rest of the team. A strong midfield presence is also vital, as these players can help to win the ball back and create opportunities for counter-attacks.

When dealing with a small goal, teams may need to adopt different tactics to defend against long balls. For example, they may focus on creating offside zones to make it difficult for the opposition to score. However, when playing against an opponent who is using long balls towards a smaller goal, teams need to be aware of their positioning and adjust their defensive line accordingly.

Overall, defending against long balls requires a combination of strategy, teamwork, and adaptability. By understanding key areas where these passes are often targeted and adjusting their defensive setup accordingly, teams can reduce the threat posed by opponents who are relying on this tactic.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome to session sunday hi guys it's jack edwards and in today's video we're going to be focusing on defending the long ball to attack but before we get into this week's video make sure to leave us a like and subscribe and if you missed last week's video click on the link above okay so moving into the first part of this week's session we're going to be focusing on a drill which is going to be tailored around defending a long ball to then attacking a 2v1 scenario but before we get into it let's have a look how many players we've got this week and the equipment that we'll be using now in terms of players this week okay we're going to have 16 outfield players plus two keepers now you can adapt this for more players if you have them as well and also less players by just taking it players out of certain areas and then if you don't have goalkeepers and you can just use small sided goals or if you have one goalkeeper maybe try and get a coach or a volunteer to go in the other goal if you can now in terms of the equipment for this week we're going to be focusing on using balls bibs cones and then if you don't have two goals try and use poles to mark out an area for a goal so in terms of the setup for the first part of the session okay depending on the age group of the players as well we're going to have between 30 and 35 yards of depth now if you're working with younger players and obviously the material is clipping that far they can bring the pass in a little bit shorter before they clip it okay and in terms of the width we're going to do the same again in terms of 30 order width how it now work in terms of here so you're gonna have four players you're going to be doing the defendant starting four attackers from each team so we've got two balls going at once okay so what's gonna happen is the person who's got the ball will clip it and then they will stay here okay now the person who they're clipping it to is looking to head the ball okay to their team so they're looking to head the ball down into space for the two players to get onto the ball now the player who heads the ball okay so this the blue here okay and the red here will then come into the middle to defend the 2v1 so but at the same time the players are trying to avoid knocking into each other so they've got to think about their movements obviously being aware of their surroundings so obviously this player is going to look to close these two players down and then once this play looks to drive forward they might just be able to go 1v1 okay and score but by the time the defender gets out or in terms of the space that they create whereas these players here might get closed down quicker and they look to combine with each other to then look to score so we get two two v ones going so every time a team scores they can get a point every time a team maybe defends um defends in terms of like stopping them from scoring they can get a point as well now what will then happen is okay the person who head of the ball will just go to the back of the line there okay and then the person who clipped the ball so when we started clipping at this side with that side with this side it then go from the other side now okay so whereas we had the blues clipping up from this side the blues will unclip it from the other side and so forth the attackers will go back to the cues in here okay so there and then we go the opposite way so then this blue will clip it here this player heads are down into there this player heads it down we see the blues go in okay and then with the seam there gets headed in and the players look to win the ball comes down into here okay we get our two players attacking we get our two players defending now what we're going to see in terms of the defenders is that when they're coming into these areas we need to focus on how we're going to delay the opposition okay so focus on one place so the ball carrier can you close the ball carrier down okay and then think about your position in terms with the other players so if the other players look to make that moving behind okay can you look to force uh that passing behind where the keeping can come out or can you put it on an angle where the pass has got to go further down the line which means this player is going to make more of a run across whereas we come out too much that pass is sliding in behind whereas we close the angle there okay and we say to them okay can you go down the line themselves okay deflect away from goal and then you can look to the fender okay and then in terms of the attackers what they're trying to do okay is isolate the defender make those runs okay or stretch the pitch okay out wide to receive the ball and then look to finish then after assessment of time you can even swap the players over so the defenders and the attackers can swap over or you can keep them in the same areas for if you want to focus obviously on working with defenders and fallbacks and even defensive midfielders doing the heading and then your wingers and your strikers and some attack midfielders do it doing the attacking way but again it's clipped in long okay player looks to head the ball into the space for the two players to get on and the pearson's head the ball will come in with both sides going at the same time and if you wanted to you could alternate it where one side goes and then the other side goes to start and then look to get two going at the same time we will now move into our first animation before moving on to part two of this week's session now moving into part two of this week's session when i move into the first of our two small side of games now this one is going to have a star point from the goalkeeper in terms of the setup okay so in terms of the depth here we're looking between 50 and 60 yards now the middle area here between 20 and 25 and everything remain remaining you're looking between like 215 yard areas if you can now in terms of the width again you can go between 40 and 50 so you look around around about 20 yards in the middle here and then any anything else that you've got there either side so it could be 10 yards either side or can be a little bit more now each team's gonna have seven players and the two floaters here now when the keeper clips the ball they can either clip it long okay into here or they can clip it into the middle now because we're doing heaven okay we don't hit the ball all the time the team can also look to play out if they want to as well so we can look to alternate it but what the focus is that when the ball comes in long we're looking for the other team to win the ball okay so defend the long ball and then secure it to go on attack so use the floaters in attack to get some width because then you can get players attacking them behind attacking the box to then finish the play will then start with the other side okay and then play start and middle again so focusing on these players in here okay when the ball is coming along making sure we're getting around on the cover okay we're narrowing and narrowing the pitch off so then when the ball bounces in here second balls we're able to get on those second balls to secure the ball and then look to go and attack and score now as soon as the ball secured players are free to move everywhere we just want the players starting in these areas to begin and then once that is finished okay once that first ball's won players can move anyway so obviously the two defenders if one player is going to win this header here looking for the defender to come around on the cover okay with the midfielders in here looking to drop to defend any second balls any loose balls and then we're looking for composers to secure it so you can use your goalkeeper can you use the y players and then what are we looking at from these four plays in here can we get forward movements okay players moving ahead of the ball plays moving behind to try and stretch the defenders so when the ball gets played in we can get those third man runners okay to finish so when we're defending these these long balls okay the players have got to be brave to get up for them okay we've got to sense that we need to get round the ball look to defend the second balls because if you win the first ball and then keep losing the second ball the other team secure on it and go in an attacking okay so making sure that when that ball goes up okay we're not standing watching it okay we're getting ourselves in a position okay to defend the second ball because with the headers there if a player is getting challenged it's gonna be difficult to put the ball exactly onto someone's feet with the header we wanna move into our next animation before moving on to the final part of this week's session okay now moving into the final part of this week's session we're now focusing on a small side of game which again is going to be focusing on defending the long ball to then attack now in terms of this one we're removing in terms of like players being locked in now we are focusing on winning that first ball with securing the ball and then looking to attack so in terms of the depth and the width okay ideally you want to be working on half a pitch using the full width okay and then using it the depth that you can okay now if you do have less space so which we put out here okay so in this area here we've gone for 50 yards and then it's in terms of the width again between 40 and 50 yards that's fine to do so but obviously when you're looking to attack the good players gonna have to find the spaces to try and secure the ball to go and attack now it'll start with either keeper as the star points again because we're defending long balls quite often heading the ball the players can also play out as well but the main focus is to be the long ball now you want your team to set up with the back four and then midfielders in front how you want to set up the second bank of four is fine you could do midfield three midfield four however you want or if you want to play back five with three in front of that that's fine but obviously to then go and attack it'll be a little bit harder so we're gonna step up with the reds here so obviously we've got two center backs our left uh left back and right back three midfielders in front of us if we've got our forward now the opposite opposition team it's got two strikers okay two midfielders there and then the back four so when this ball goes long okay so let's get let's say it's getting clipped in towards this area where the right center back is when this player goes up for the ball the back four is going to make sure that the narrowed off in midfield in front okay is keeping the gaps closed so that when the ball drops into here okay they can get onto the second ball whereas if that long ball comes in okay and we're already thinking we've secured the ball okay there's bigger gaps in here which means when the ball drops in there's more chance of the opposition winning the ball so what you're gonna tell the players is first thought okay when that ball goes up is can we secure the ball okay can we stop the opposition getting it okay can we keep the gaps between each player and the unit's quite close and then once this ball gets secured okay so play make receiver here then can we look to be more expensive to receive the ball in areas to then go forward and look to score obviously the team scores to the team will then will then start by playing long so we might see a team set up with a back four two midfielders in front and then two plays in front of that as if they're playing let's say a four four two or four triple two and then the opposition team here will have their four players and the back four and there so again the focus on when that ball comes in long can we look to win it now the first header might not go with where the players want to so that's why the player's gonna be close to react so play might go up here with the striker it might get headed onto the back of the player here which means it ricochets so if this play was further away okay it's hard for them to get onto the ball whereas if they're on the cover okay it's just an easy nod down to the keeper or they may have time to take a touch play wide and then we set up that counter attack again to go forward to get him behind and then look to score so in terms of the players again trying to anticipate where that ball might go making sure when the ball goes over your head you're not standing watching it okay you're dropping with the ball and then when the ball moves further forward we're stepping as a team as well if you wanted to in certain areas when you're using the half a pitch you could even look to bring in off side zones when a team secures the ball obviously the other team can look to maintain a high line but again if you're only using half a pitch you might want to have it going one way if you only got one keeper and in terms of one team might attack a smaller goal one team might attack a bigger goal so a team who's attacking the bigger goal can have an offside line let's say in the 18 yard box but again just judge that based on the players that you've got and the equipment's available so again making sure when that ball is coming in long okay the players are dropping in so that when this ball gets won we can look to secure it not play as high up the pitch and leaving gaps in between the lines which means that players from the opposing team can get on the ball in between the lines and then they obviously got a route to goal quite quickly so defend first attack second we want to move into our final animation before concluding this week's session thanks for watching this week's video don't forget to head over to our website where you can stand to be all about exclusive content and we'll see you next week for another session sundaywelcome to session sunday hi guys it's jack edwards and in today's video we're going to be focusing on defending the long ball to attack but before we get into this week's video make sure to leave us a like and subscribe and if you missed last week's video click on the link above okay so moving into the first part of this week's session we're going to be focusing on a drill which is going to be tailored around defending a long ball to then attacking a 2v1 scenario but before we get into it let's have a look how many players we've got this week and the equipment that we'll be using now in terms of players this week okay we're going to have 16 outfield players plus two keepers now you can adapt this for more players if you have them as well and also less players by just taking it players out of certain areas and then if you don't have goalkeepers and you can just use small sided goals or if you have one goalkeeper maybe try and get a coach or a volunteer to go in the other goal if you can now in terms of the equipment for this week we're going to be focusing on using balls bibs cones and then if you don't have two goals try and use poles to mark out an area for a goal so in terms of the setup for the first part of the session okay depending on the age group of the players as well we're going to have between 30 and 35 yards of depth now if you're working with younger players and obviously the material is clipping that far they can bring the pass in a little bit shorter before they clip it okay and in terms of the width we're going to do the same again in terms of 30 order width how it now work in terms of here so you're gonna have four players you're going to be doing the defendant starting four attackers from each team so we've got two balls going at once okay so what's gonna happen is the person who's got the ball will clip it and then they will stay here okay now the person who they're clipping it to is looking to head the ball okay to their team so they're looking to head the ball down into space for the two players to get onto the ball now the player who heads the ball okay so this the blue here okay and the red here will then come into the middle to defend the 2v1 so but at the same time the players are trying to avoid knocking into each other so they've got to think about their movements obviously being aware of their surroundings so obviously this player is going to look to close these two players down and then once this play looks to drive forward they might just be able to go 1v1 okay and score but by the time the defender gets out or in terms of the space that they create whereas these players here might get closed down quicker and they look to combine with each other to then look to score so we get two two v ones going so every time a team scores they can get a point every time a team maybe defends um defends in terms of like stopping them from scoring they can get a point as well now what will then happen is okay the person who head of the ball will just go to the back of the line there okay and then the person who clipped the ball so when we started clipping at this side with that side with this side it then go from the other side now okay so whereas we had the blues clipping up from this side the blues will unclip it from the other side and so forth the attackers will go back to the cues in here okay so there and then we go the opposite way so then this blue will clip it here this player heads are down into there this player heads it down we see the blues go in okay and then with the seam there gets headed in and the players look to win the ball comes down into here okay we get our two players attacking we get our two players defending now what we're going to see in terms of the defenders is that when they're coming into these areas we need to focus on how we're going to delay the opposition okay so focus on one place so the ball carrier can you close the ball carrier down okay and then think about your position in terms with the other players so if the other players look to make that moving behind okay can you look to force uh that passing behind where the keeping can come out or can you put it on an angle where the pass has got to go further down the line which means this player is going to make more of a run across whereas we come out too much that pass is sliding in behind whereas we close the angle there okay and we say to them okay can you go down the line themselves okay deflect away from goal and then you can look to the fender okay and then in terms of the attackers what they're trying to do okay is isolate the defender make those runs okay or stretch the pitch okay out wide to receive the ball and then look to finish then after assessment of time you can even swap the players over so the defenders and the attackers can swap over or you can keep them in the same areas for if you want to focus obviously on working with defenders and fallbacks and even defensive midfielders doing the heading and then your wingers and your strikers and some attack midfielders do it doing the attacking way but again it's clipped in long okay player looks to head the ball into the space for the two players to get on and the pearson's head the ball will come in with both sides going at the same time and if you wanted to you could alternate it where one side goes and then the other side goes to start and then look to get two going at the same time we will now move into our first animation before moving on to part two of this week's session now moving into part two of this week's session when i move into the first of our two small side of games now this one is going to have a star point from the goalkeeper in terms of the setup okay so in terms of the depth here we're looking between 50 and 60 yards now the middle area here between 20 and 25 and everything remain remaining you're looking between like 215 yard areas if you can now in terms of the width again you can go between 40 and 50 so you look around around about 20 yards in the middle here and then any anything else that you've got there either side so it could be 10 yards either side or can be a little bit more now each team's gonna have seven players and the two floaters here now when the keeper clips the ball they can either clip it long okay into here or they can clip it into the middle now because we're doing heaven okay we don't hit the ball all the time the team can also look to play out if they want to as well so we can look to alternate it but what the focus is that when the ball comes in long we're looking for the other team to win the ball okay so defend the long ball and then secure it to go on attack so use the floaters in attack to get some width because then you can get players attacking them behind attacking the box to then finish the play will then start with the other side okay and then play start and middle again so focusing on these players in here okay when the ball is coming along making sure we're getting around on the cover okay we're narrowing and narrowing the pitch off so then when the ball bounces in here second balls we're able to get on those second balls to secure the ball and then look to go and attack and score now as soon as the ball secured players are free to move everywhere we just want the players starting in these areas to begin and then once that is finished okay once that first ball's won players can move anyway so obviously the two defenders if one player is going to win this header here looking for the defender to come around on the cover okay with the midfielders in here looking to drop to defend any second balls any loose balls and then we're looking for composers to secure it so you can use your goalkeeper can you use the y players and then what are we looking at from these four plays in here can we get forward movements okay players moving ahead of the ball plays moving behind to try and stretch the defenders so when the ball gets played in we can get those third man runners okay to finish so when we're defending these these long balls okay the players have got to be brave to get up for them okay we've got to sense that we need to get round the ball look to defend the second balls because if you win the first ball and then keep losing the second ball the other team secure on it and go in an attacking okay so making sure that when that ball goes up okay we're not standing watching it okay we're getting ourselves in a position okay to defend the second ball because with the headers there if a player is getting challenged it's gonna be difficult to put the ball exactly onto someone's feet with the header we wanna move into our next animation before moving on to the final part of this week's session okay now moving into the final part of this week's session we're now focusing on a small side of game which again is going to be focusing on defending the long ball to then attack now in terms of this one we're removing in terms of like players being locked in now we are focusing on winning that first ball with securing the ball and then looking to attack so in terms of the depth and the width okay ideally you want to be working on half a pitch using the full width okay and then using it the depth that you can okay now if you do have less space so which we put out here okay so in this area here we've gone for 50 yards and then it's in terms of the width again between 40 and 50 yards that's fine to do so but obviously when you're looking to attack the good players gonna have to find the spaces to try and secure the ball to go and attack now it'll start with either keeper as the star points again because we're defending long balls quite often heading the ball the players can also play out as well but the main focus is to be the long ball now you want your team to set up with the back four and then midfielders in front how you want to set up the second bank of four is fine you could do midfield three midfield four however you want or if you want to play back five with three in front of that that's fine but obviously to then go and attack it'll be a little bit harder so we're gonna step up with the reds here so obviously we've got two center backs our left uh left back and right back three midfielders in front of us if we've got our forward now the opposite opposition team it's got two strikers okay two midfielders there and then the back four so when this ball goes long okay so let's get let's say it's getting clipped in towards this area where the right center back is when this player goes up for the ball the back four is going to make sure that the narrowed off in midfield in front okay is keeping the gaps closed so that when the ball drops into here okay they can get onto the second ball whereas if that long ball comes in okay and we're already thinking we've secured the ball okay there's bigger gaps in here which means when the ball drops in there's more chance of the opposition winning the ball so what you're gonna tell the players is first thought okay when that ball goes up is can we secure the ball okay can we stop the opposition getting it okay can we keep the gaps between each player and the unit's quite close and then once this ball gets secured okay so play make receiver here then can we look to be more expensive to receive the ball in areas to then go forward and look to score obviously the team scores to the team will then will then start by playing long so we might see a team set up with a back four two midfielders in front and then two plays in front of that as if they're playing let's say a four four two or four triple two and then the opposition team here will have their four players and the back four and there so again the focus on when that ball comes in long can we look to win it now the first header might not go with where the players want to so that's why the player's gonna be close to react so play might go up here with the striker it might get headed onto the back of the player here which means it ricochets so if this play was further away okay it's hard for them to get onto the ball whereas if they're on the cover okay it's just an easy nod down to the keeper or they may have time to take a touch play wide and then we set up that counter attack again to go forward to get him behind and then look to score so in terms of the players again trying to anticipate where that ball might go making sure when the ball goes over your head you're not standing watching it okay you're dropping with the ball and then when the ball moves further forward we're stepping as a team as well if you wanted to in certain areas when you're using the half a pitch you could even look to bring in off side zones when a team secures the ball obviously the other team can look to maintain a high line but again if you're only using half a pitch you might want to have it going one way if you only got one keeper and in terms of one team might attack a smaller goal one team might attack a bigger goal so a team who's attacking the bigger goal can have an offside line let's say in the 18 yard box but again just judge that based on the players that you've got and the equipment's available so again making sure when that ball is coming in long okay the players are dropping in so that when this ball gets won we can look to secure it not play as high up the pitch and leaving gaps in between the lines which means that players from the opposing team can get on the ball in between the lines and then they obviously got a route to goal quite quickly so defend first attack second we want to move into our final animation before concluding this week's session thanks for watching this week's video don't forget to head over to our website where you can stand to be all about exclusive content and we'll see you next week for another session sunday\n"