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Home/Training Drills/Transitions Drills/Counter-Attack from a Corner
TransitionsAdvanced

Counter-Attack from a Corner

Turn defending a corner into a goal. Head it clear, break at speed with the first thought forward, and finish the counter before the opponents recover.

Create your own drill
Live animationTRN
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
5
Recommended
Pitch
84 × 52 m
Setup space
Level
Advanced
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U13-U14
Any format

Setup & instructions

The opponent takes a corner with numbers in the box. A defender heads it clear, a breaker collects and drives, and the team counters against the players left back to finish at the far goal. Emphasise the first pass or carry going forward, runners breaking the moment the ball is won, and finishing before the recovery. Rotate who defends, who breaks, and who is left back.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

A team defending a corner is looking at the most exposed shape its opponent will show all match. Six or seven attackers are inside the penalty area, their full-backs are usually in the box too, and often only one or two players are holding position outside. If the ball is cleared properly, the defending team is attacking a defence that barely exists.

Most teams throw that away, and the reason is the clearance itself. A header that goes fifteen yards and stays central lands among the attackers who have just arrived, and the corner simply continues. A clearance that is high, long and towards a touchline gives a breaking player something to run onto and puts the ball where recovering attackers cannot reach it.

The second failure is hesitation. Players who have just defended a corner have been concentrating on the ball in the air, and there is a natural pause after winning it while everyone works out what has happened. That pause is the counter. Somebody has to be moving before the header is even made, which means a designated outlet who does not defend the corner at all, or who breaks the instant the ball is struck rather than the instant it is cleared.

The first pass or carry should go forwards, up the pitch, without exception. Recycling sideways to keep possession is a reasonable instinct in open play and completely wrong here, because the advantage decays within about four seconds.

Against a team that leaves three players back at corners, this is far less available, and that is worth checking before building a plan around it.

How to run this drill

  1. Designate an outlet before the corner. One player who stays high or breaks as the ball is struck rather than after it is cleared. Without him there is nobody to clear it to.
  2. Clear it high, long and wide. A fifteen-yard central header lands among the attackers who just arrived and the corner simply continues. Distance and width are what create the break.
  3. Break before the ball is won. The outlet moves as the corner is delivered. Waiting to see the clearance means starting from a standstill while everyone else is already reacting.
  4. First action forwards, always. Carry or pass up the pitch. Recycling sideways to keep the ball is right in open play and wrong here, because the advantage decays in about four seconds.
  5. Support the break at speed. Two or three players joining from the box turn a lone runner into an overload. The opponents' recovery is slow because they are running from their own attack.
  6. Check whether it is available. Against a side that leaves three players back at corners, this is far less useful. Look at what the opponent actually commits before planning around it.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Attack the clearance, head it long and wide
  • Break the instant the ball is won, do not admire it
  • First thought forward, carry or pass up the pitch
  • Support the carrier, make it an overload
  • Finish quickly before the recovery arrives

Common mistakes

  • Slow reaction, letting the opponent recover
  • First pass sideways or back, killing the break
  • Runners not breaking early enough
  • Overplaying it in the final third, no shot

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Add a second recovering defender
  • Live corner the defenders must first survive
  • Time cap: score within eight seconds of winning it

Regressions

  • Served clearance to start the break
  • No recovering defenders, groove the break
  • Walk the outlet and the support runs
Equipment
Cones×3
Full Goals×1
Tactical principles
counter from a cornercounter attackdefending cornerstransition drillbreaking from a set piececlearance to counterfast breakset piece transitionadvanced transition drillu14 transition drill
Audience
U13-U14

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