Possession under pressure

This session works both sides of the same battle. One group try to keep possession of the ball while the other group must work together and apply pressure in order to win the ball.

What this session is about

1.  Keeping possession under pressure.
2.  Pressuring your opponent to win the ball.

What to think about

•  The players in possession must move the ball quickly in order to give themselves the correct angle to pass.
•  The defenders must work as a unit in order to pressure and provide support to the pressure play by blocking any forward passes.

Set-up

30×30 yard square divided in two with a cone in the centre. Three groups of three players.

Warm up	Session	Developments	Game Situation	Warm Down
10 minutes	10 minutes	20 minutes	15 minutes	5 minutes

What you get your players to do

Two teams go into the halves of the area, one team works from the central cone. The teams in the halves must complete three passes before transferring the ball to the players in the other half. The number of passes required can be increased based on ability. One defender moves off of the central cone to pressure the players in possession and try to force a mistake.

The team in possession makes three passes before passing into the other half.

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Development

Now when one defender moves off of the cone to pressure the team in possession the remaining two defenders can move along the central line to try and block the pass between the halves. Restricting the 2nd and 3rd defenders to movements along the line shows them a good position to take up when supporting a player pressuring the ball.

The extra defenders support by blocking the out pass.

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Game situation

Play a small sided game with no additional restrictions or requirements. Look for good possession and pressuring.

Look for good possession and pressure in a small-sided game.

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What to call out

•  “Move the ball quickly”
•   “Accurate passing”
•  “Don’t rush the forward pass”
•  “Reduce the options”
• “Try to force the direction”