Football/Soccer Session (Academy Sessions): Creating third man run opportunities and numerical advantage (Start Time: 2024-06-09 00:00:00)

Screen 2

Method:

2/3rds of a full pitch 

10 V 8 Reds vs Blue

Free moving 

Coaching Points:

Progressing the ball forward is one of the simplest but most important tasks a football coach faces. The third-man run is one of the most prominent mechanisms used to break lines and achieve this.

A third-man run happens when the team in possession attracts an opponent towards the ball. Two players exchange passes before a third makes an off-the-ball run into space to receive. 

Third-man runs are therefore crucial to finding a player in a better position who cannot be found with a direct pass.

Third-man runs can help create a numerical advantage where there was previously a two-on-two. Building overloads relies on co-ordination between teammates, as well as good timing of passes and movement. Players need to have a good understanding of their teammates’ games so that they all move and pass in unison. This includes players who aren’t even involved in the combinations, because off-the-ball movements of others can help to create space for the three players involved – including, crucially, the third man.

Reds objective:

Reds can find the third man through a variety of means. One is through the team’s shape during periods of possession, with players positioned at different heights and never with two players on the same passing line to create angles to pass. Using the full width of the pitch is also important in pulling the opposition apart.

Reds 

For third-man runs to work, a player must first draw an opponent out of position by moving forward with the ball (above). Once an opponent has moved out to engage the ball-carrier, a teammate can move into the space they have vacated. A pass can then be played to another nearby teammate, who can then find the teammate who has moved into this gap in the opposition’s structure.

Alternatively, a player can take up a position between the lines to receive the first pass. They then move the ball to another player who has moved on the blindside of an opponent.

Blues

 To be effective in stopping the possession team, Im asking the blue to press high, the out-of-possession team must mark man to man and, as a general rule, not pass players on. This requires a determination to track the marked player rather than pass them over. It is the precursor to the pressing action. Their objective is to interrupt the reds build up play and stop them getting into a passing rhythm thus stopping their momentum to create third man run run opportunites.