Chicken Inn v Highlanders poor possession football

WATCHING this game I could not believe the two teams are top sides in the Premier League. The numbers of stray passes was just shocking. Players were failing to execute three-metre passes to teammates and as such the teams failed to have at least six complete passes. These players cannot work in confined areas, the reason being that they cannot hold onto the ball until such a time they are able to pass accurately. My advice to coaches is to have your players possess the ball for a longer time. After warm up, go for boxes, it must be a daily routine. I can assure you that after four weeks your team will have improved on possession play.

Throw-in
I also noticed that the two teams do not know how important this aspect is yet the throw-in occurs more frequently than any other type of set play. The defence will always have problems if attacking players are left unmarked. In this respect the situation at a throw-in is no different from any other defensive situation. Why then should there be such defensive problems on throws?

There are two basic reasons:

Players do not seem to be aware of how many goals are scored from throw-ins.

Players frequently lose concentration at throw-ins for the most part. Efficient defending throw-ins involves only the implementation of the principles of defending. Special tactical arrangements should be employed as in the case with corners and freekicks near to the penalty area. The exception is the long throw-in in the attacking third of the field. Even the fact that players cannot be offside from a throw-in is not a source of a major problem. Defending players should concentrate on three things.

Move into marking positions while the ball is being retrieved.

Mark tight in the area of the ball including the thrower

Place the player receiving the ball under severe pressure thus making either control or one touch play difficult.

Long throw-ins the attacking third of the field
This is one type of a throw-in which does merit tactical consideration. Many teams now have at least one player who is technically capable of throwing a ball from a position on the touchline level with the penalty area to well into the six-yard area. Long throws do not have any surprises because everyone can see when a long throw is coming.

The defensive arrangements should involve four considerations.

Marking from behind the player receiving the throw

Marking the space in front of the player receiving the throw

The goalkeeper positioning in the front half of the goal

Sealing off as much space as possible inside the penalty area.

When a team loses it is usually not because they played a 4-4-2 format instead of some other system, it is most likely because the team failed to perform well on one or more of the three key moments of the game.

These are