2.06 INDIVIDUAL ATTACK
(b) ATTACK/DEFENCE
Exercise in attacking in movement
Three or four per korf, with a ball. One or two assist players by the post and a head attacker with defender. Change roles after about 45 seconds.
A. The main attacker tries to create as many shooting opportunities as possible. All sorts of shot are permitted. The defender just follows and blocks neither the assist nor the shot.
B. The defender is told not to allow the distance shot. The attacker can profit from this to go for running-in shots. If the defender is not close enough, either wait for him/her to come closer or shoot from distance.
In this and the following exercise the role of the defender is very important. Through his/her actions, the attacker is encouraged to react in a certain way. Keep the defenders conscious of the importance of their activity.
C. The defender does not allow the running-in shot and thereby forces the distance shot.
D. Seeking the opponent: In exercise C it often happens that the attacker moves ever further from the post, making the shot less and less likely to score. Against logic, the attacker must first run towards the defender (seek the defender). Once the shooting distance is small enough, a veering-off shot can be taken from closer by. If the defender follows this movement too quickly, a running-in shot is of course possible. Seeking the opponent is easier if it results in a running-in shot: the running speed should remain high.
E. The defender tries to prevent any shot. The attacker should get lots of opportunities and against a defender of roughly equal level, should score one or two goals in 45 seconds.
F. The attacker plays with both assist players and gets 30 seconds to create one or two good chances. The objective is to show the attackers that they should not shoot from every possibility but should sometimes continue to create a better chance.
G. The attacker gets 30 seconds to score – how is not important.
H. In the previous exercises, the defender follows the attacker without trying to block the assists. Now the defender tries to break up the play (see “intercepting the ball in defence” above) and the attacker must react in the best way. The attacker tries to offer a line of pass to the assist players the whole time and when the ball is received there is normally space for a shot.
Offering a line of pass is not very difficult if the attacker is taller than the defender, since the ball can easily be played over the defender. With smaller attackers it is more difficult and the ball may only be played in a big arc so that it is received much further from the post. It is better that the attacker creates space by sideways or veering-off movements. In this case it is very important to run towards the back of the defender as often as possible or, in other words, to run on the side of his/her front foot. The worst thing that an attacker can do against a defender who is trying to intercept the ball is to remain stationary in a free position. Clearly the instructions are similar to those for seeking the opponent (see D above).
I. Real attack/defence: the attacker tries to score as quickly as possible. The defender him/herself decides how to attack: “man-to-man,” ball interception, or alternating between the two. The attacker must then react in the best way.