Make a Difference

To make difference, Get your players to push harder at key moments in games

By David Clarke

Ask any soccer fan and they will remember early goals, late goals, and goals straight after your team has just scored.There is something about timing in soccer matches that not only means you score a goal but also a psychological blow to your opponents.

But it isn’t just the final minutes that teams should be looking to win games in, there are a lot of important times in matches that you need to make a note of and be prepared for when you take your team out onto the pitch.

Attack straight from kick-off

When the match kicks off you need to tell your players to be first to the ball and get it forward into attacking positions. If you start by kicking off make sure you have prepared them by practising kick-offs so know what they are doing. How many times do you see teams give the ball away straight from kick off?

The last five minutes of the first half

The last five minutes in the first half is your cue to tell your players to turn up the heat on the opposition. Scoring just before half time is a big blow to the opposition. It would be a big blow to your team if you let a late goal in.

The first five minutes of the second half

The start of the second half is key because often a team has been sitting around while the coach lectures them for the whole of half time and they come out to play without stretching and are not quite fully focused. You can create a lot of chances if you make sure your half time talk is structured and you give them five minutes to run around and get ready to play the game.

Immediately after the opposition has scored

One of the other key times is just after scoring. Your players' heads will go down if they let a goal in but if you tell them this is the time to strike back they can take advantage of the situation. Teams think they are in control when they score - make sure your players are aware of this just after they have scored as well.

The last five minutes of the match

When you get to the last five minutes it is often the team that is the fittest that can take advantage. If you follow my fitness exercises below your players will be ready to take advantage of the teams that are tired in the final part of the game.