Put your defence under pressure with this defensive drill

-March 11, 2020

Often in a game, the defence is outnumbered by the opposition. Your defenders need to be ready for these scenarios. This post discusses a drill that emulates a defence under pressure.

Setup

You can practice this drill with just 5 players: 3 attackers and 2 defenders. Set up a small pitch using 6 cones and 2 small goals. You can mark multiple mini-pitches depending on the space you have available. If you have half of a football field, you can train up to 15 players simultaneously as shown in the picture.

Instructions

There are two teams, defenders vs attackers. A player in the attacking team starts the game from behind their own goal. The remaining players are waiting in pairs per zone, one attacker and one defender. The drill continues as follows:

The unmarked attacker passes the ball to the teammate located in his own half and starts a run into the attacking half.
The receiving player attempts to pass the ball to the teammate waiting in the attacking zone or the player running into the attacking zone. The defender will stop this from happening.
If the attacker manages to pass the ball, the defender must sprint back to support his teammate.
The player receiving the ball in the attacking half can attempt to score or pass back the ball to any of his teammates, who can also shoot at the goal at this stage.
The defender’s objective is to gain control of the ball and stop any attempts at goal.
If the defenders recover the ball, they can attempt to score in the opposite goal by passing the ball to each other or by a long-distance shot.
When a team scores, players in each team rotate positions and restart the exercise.

The basic rules to follow are:

Only two touches are allowed: control and pass or control and shoot.
Sliding tackles are not allowed.
Only one of the attacking players can drop back to their defending half to provide a passing option.
Attacking players can only score from their attacking half.
Defending players can score from anywhere.

Takeaways

This drill emulates putting your defence under pressure, but it also helps strikers to practice dribbling and moving in attacking triangles.

Unlimited touches in the first half allow the attacker to practice his dribbling skills and the defender to improve his 1vs1 defensive skills.
Not allowing sliding tackles forces defenders to be patient and keep their position.
Allowing the defenders to score from a long distance encourages them to clear the ball into a target instead of just kicking it far. In a real game, the target is a teammate ready for a counterattack.
Forcing defenders to use two touches stops defenders from dribbling in the danger zone. Instead, they will have to look for their teammate to move out in an orderly manner, or if this is not possible, clear the ball into a target.
Because defenders are outnumbered, they learn the importance of patience and positioning.
Rotating players allows everyone to practice different skills. Attacking players switch from practising dribbling to moving in triangles with quick touches. Defending players transition from defending 1v1 to defending in zone and closing spaces.

I hope you find this defensive drill useful. If you like this post, please share it with your friends. If you know other exercises or have any questions, leave a comment below.

Pablo Matamoros

I am a software engineer with 25+ years of experience across diverse industries. I've climbed the corporate leader over the years, which has some benefits but means I moved away from my love for tinkering with technology. So, I build the odd website or application to keep learning and stay in touch with technology. FootballTechniques allows me to combine my programming knowledge with my passion for football.

To find out more about my professional experience, visit PabloMatamoros.com