Defending Corners

Defending Corners One of the key elements of a defensive strategy for your team is getting your players to know their positions at corners.

Key Coaching Tip
The key is concentration and to make sure you are first to the ball!
Using the diagram below show your players the positions for basic marking responsibilities. Some players need to mark man for man, others will need to use zonal marking.
Assuming the corner is being taken on the left by a right footed player swinging the ball in towards the goal, the set up you should employ is as follows:

Your best four headers of the ball should man to man mark (numbers 3, 5, 6 and 10 in the diagram) and their job is to mark the opposition’s main heading threat, marking slightly in front, and being first to the ball.

No 11 should mark in front of any opposition standing on the near post or mark the space (zone) in their absence.

No 4 marks the space in front of the main markers, keeping a look out for any opposition standing in front of the goalkeeper. If this is the case he may have to adjust his position so he is standing in front of the attacker.

No 2 marks the far post.

Nos 7 and 8 mark any opposition on the edge of the box.

No 9 stays upfield, occupying two defenders and hoping to help spring a counter attack.

More…

Never Concede from a Corner Again

Never Concede from a Corner Again

Giving players specialist positions during matches can be extremely effective. Tell them where to stand, what to do and how to do it, particularly in situations where your team is under pressure. Are you conceding a lot of goals from corners? Then you need a player to stand BIG at the front of your penalty area to block the corner taker. Do this properly and you need never concede from a corner again.


One of the most important positions when defending a corner is the person nearest the corner taker. Position him/her on the edge of the box right in front of the intended flight of the ball. If you put one of your strong players here, it will prevent short corners and put off the player taking the corner. That player is then faced with a one man wall which the ball has to get over or around. It’s not easy, try it yourself!

Cutting off supply

The player in this position effectively cuts off the supply into the box. This also protects your goalkeeper and defenders. The player might also be able to win the ball from poor or short corners and set up a quick counter attack.

THE DEFENDER STANDS 6 YARDS BACK AT U8, 8 YARDS BACK AT U10 AND 10 YARDS BACK AT U12.

Leave a man upfield
Once this position has been claimed by one of your players, use tactics on match day so that when they win the ball you leave a player upfield in the same position at each corner and your specialist player will be able to take the ball and find that player, immediately setting up an attack.

During training
Practice corners where the player in this position is constantly having the ball hit hard towards them. They can use chest, head and feet to rob the opposition of chances to put balls into the box. Use only two players, a corner taker and a defender to practice this specialist position. You can kill two birds with one stone here, the corner taker has to clear the defender and the defender needs to win the ball. You can also put an attacker in position A ready to receive the ball won by your defender.

Make your corner defenders SMART
If you want to make sure you’re giving your players targets that they have to meet, do it the SMART way.

SPECIFIC MEASURABLE AGREED REALISTICTI MED
The SPECIFIC target for your players is to clear the ball when it enters the penalty area at corners during training. Make it MEASURABLE by telling your players 50 per cent of corners must be cleared. AGREE it with them in training. Is 50 per cent REALISTIC? I think so. Make it TIMED by agreeing it for a particular training session. Tailor the SMART sessions to your individual players and get them to tell you if they have reached the target.

More…