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Home/Training Drills/Crossing Drills/Beat Him and Pull It Back
CrossingBeginner

Beat Him and Pull It Back

Attack the wide duel and finish it with a low ball. Run at the defender rather than passing sideways, beat him on the outside, get to the byline before releasing, and pull it back behind the last defender for a runner arriving.

Create your own drill
Live animationCRO
Duration
14 min
Total drill time
Players
4
Recommended
Pitch
34 × 26 m
Setup space
Level
Beginner
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U9-U10
Any format

Setup & instructions

Mark a wide channel about 34x26m running into a goal, with a marker on the byline. A winger starts with the ball in the channel, a full-back defends, a striker starts central and slightly behind, and a keeper defends the goal. The winger must beat the defender and reach the byline marker before releasing the ball, and the delivery must be along the ground. The striker times his run so he arrives as the ball does, not before. Swap the roles every two repetitions and work both flanks so the weaker foot gets used. If the winger cannot get past, playing back and going again is a perfectly good outcome.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

Wide play is one of the first team ideas coaches try to teach young players, and it usually arrives in the wrong form. The picture in the coach's head comes from the weekend's televised football: a winger whips a ball to the back post and somebody attacks it in the air.

Two things make that unusable at this age. The first is physical. A useful lofted cross needs striking power a nine-year-old generally does not have, so the ball either falls short or balloons over everything. The second is a rule. Deliberate heading is an offence at under-11 and below, which means an aerial delivery has no legal target even when it arrives perfectly.

So the aerial cross is not a skill to be taught early and badly. It is simply the wrong tool for this age group, and the right one is the low ball pulled back from the byline.

That changes what the practice is about. The delivery stops being the hard part and the duel becomes the hard part, which happens to match what this age is supposed to be doing anyway: running at defenders, backing yourself, beating somebody one against one.

Getting to the byline is the detail worth insisting on. Young wingers release the ball the instant they are past their man, from a position where the keeper can gather it and the defenders are all facing the ball. Two more seconds of carrying changes the geometry completely, because from the byline the pull-back arrives behind everybody, with defenders running toward their own goal and the striker running onto it.

Where the ball goes matters as much as when. Across the face of goal is a pass to the goalkeeper. Behind the last defender, into the space he has just run out of, is a chance.

And the runner needs coaching too, because the instinctive move is to sprint to the near post and arrive early, which turns a good delivery into a scramble. Arriving as the ball arrives is a timing skill, and it is worth practising deliberately rather than hoping it appears.

How to run this drill

  1. Forget the aerial cross at this age. It needs striking power young players do not have, and deliberate heading is an offence at under-11 and below, so it has no legal target anyway.
  2. Run straight at the defender. A sideways pass hands him time to set his feet. The duel is the part of this practice that actually develops the player.
  3. Beat him on the outside. That is the side the byline is on. Cutting back inside is easier and leads to the shot that gets blocked.
  4. Carry it to the byline before releasing. Two more seconds changes everything. From the byline the ball arrives behind everybody, with defenders facing their own goal.
  5. Pull it back behind the last defender. Across the face of goal is a pass to the keeper. Into the space the defender has just vacated is a chance on a plate.
  6. Time the run to arrive with the ball. The instinct is to sprint to the near post and get there first, which turns a good delivery into a scramble. Late is better than early.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Run at the defender, a sideways pass just gives him time to set
  • Beat him on the outside where the byline is, not back inside
  • Get to the byline first, an early ball is easy to defend
  • Roll it back behind the last defender, not across the face of goal
  • The runner arrives as the ball does, arriving early kills the chance

Common mistakes

  • Releasing the ball as soon as the defender is beaten, from too far out
  • Hitting it high, which nobody at this age can attack legally or safely
  • Aiming across the goalmouth instead of behind the defender
  • The striker sprinting to the near post and arriving before the ball

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Add a recovering defender chasing the winger from behind
  • Cutback must be finished first time
  • Add a second runner so the winger has to choose between them

Regressions

  • Defender works at half pace so the duel can be won
  • Remove the keeper while the delivery is being learned
  • Allow the ball to be released before the byline is reached
Equipment
Cones×2
Full Goals×1
Markers×3
Tactical principles
u9 wide playu10 crossing alternativecutback drill youthwide 1v1 footballgetting to the bylinelow cutback finishyouth football wingersno heading youth football7v7 attacking widegrassroots attacking drill
Audience
U9-U10

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