Nick a point to stay up
Escape relegation by playing possession football and keeping it tight at the back, with this dynamic drill from the Nike Academy's assistant coach, Matt Wells
All you need is a point to avoid relegation. Do you throw caution to the wind and commit men forward in search of three points? Or do you sit back and create a roadblock in front of your goal?
Both approaches have their flaws. Go for goal and you run the risk of leaving yourself exposed at the back. Park the bus and invite the opposition to batter your defence into submission.
Alternatively, fuse the two disciplines together and you have the modern way of defending. What to learn how? The Nike Academy's assistant coach, Matt Wells, has just the drill.
"In this scenario we need a point to stay up. It's 0-0 with five minutes to go and we're happy with that. We want to to keep the ball, but defend our penalty box and get our shape."
Wells encourages taking risks in this situation, but only calculated ones.
"You're saying to your attacking players only shoot if you're confident you can score or you can make the keeper work," he added.
"If you're going to miss, miss long - it's a bit negative, but don't give them the opportunity to counterattack - same as long passing from the back - don't miss short ."
Introduce this drill to your training sessions and ensure your team has what it takes to beat the drop.
You can find out more about how you can get involved with the Nike Academy by visiting facebook and NikeFootball.com.
Also see:
Breaking down a team that defends deep
Win your title decider
Score a last minute goal to make it to extra-time
Topple the favourites in the cup final
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