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Home/Training Drills/Goalkeeping Drills/Goalkeeper Breakaway Smother
GoalkeepingIntermediate

Goalkeeper Breakaway Smother

Win a 1v1 breakaway by smothering at the feet. Read the moment to leave the line, close the space fast, stay big and patient, and claim the ball off the striker's toe.

Create your own drill
Live animationGOA
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
3
Recommended
Pitch
44 × 36 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U9-U10
Any format

Setup & instructions

A feeder springs the striker in behind for a 1v1. The keeper reads the through ball, leaves the line to close the space, and spreads big to smother the ball at the striker's feet as the striker takes the touch to go round. Emphasise timing off the line and staying big and patient. Vary the through ball and the striker's touch. Rotate the striker and keeper.

Setup time: 1 min

Tactical breakdown

A breakaway gives a keeper roughly two seconds, and how he spends them decides everything. The first second is for covering ground, and it should be spent at full speed while the ball is under the striker's foot and he is looking down at it. The second is for stopping, getting balanced and staying tall. Keepers who blur those two phases into one continuous charge arrive off balance and get chipped or rounded.

The trigger for leaving the line is the striker's touch, not the through ball. A keeper who sets off as the pass is played is committing before he knows where the ball will end up, and a heavy first touch that runs away from the striker is worth more to a keeper than any amount of early aggression. Read the touch, then go.

Staying big is the part that gets rushed. Every instinct says go to ground, because that feels like doing something, but a keeper on the floor has stopped covering anything above knee height and has removed his own ability to react. Standing tall as long as possible forces the striker to make the decision, and a striker deciding under pressure usually decides badly.

The smother itself comes last and comes low. Spreading across the ball as it leaves the striker's foot, taking it off his toe, is a different action from diving at his legs. One is a save. The other is a penalty and frequently a card.

How to run this drill

  1. Set as the through ball is played. Get ready to move but do not go yet. Leaving the line before the striker has taken his touch means committing without knowing where the ball will be.
  2. Read the striker's first touch. That touch is the trigger. A heavy one is worth more to a keeper than any amount of early aggression, and a tight one means holding position longer.
  3. Close the ground while he is looking down. Cover distance at full speed in the moment the ball is under his foot and his eyes are on it. This is the only phase where sprinting is correct.
  4. Stop, balance and stay tall. Arrive set rather than still charging. Standing big forces the striker to choose, and a striker choosing under pressure usually chooses badly.
  5. Spread late and low. Go across the ball as it leaves his foot, taking it off the toe. Spreading is a save; diving at his legs before he has released it is a penalty.
  6. Stay alive for the rebound. Recover immediately after contact rather than staying down. Breakaways often produce a loose ball, and the second chance is usually easier than the first.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Read the through ball, set to leave the line
  • Close the space fast while it is under the striker's control
  • Stay big and patient, do not commit to ground early
  • Spread to block, take the ball off the toe
  • Time it: too early is rounded, too late is a shot

Common mistakes

  • Leaving the line too early and being rounded
  • Going to ground too soon, easy to lift over
  • Staying on the line and giving a free shot
  • Diving in with the hands instead of spreading big

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Vary the angle of the breakaway
  • Let the striker choose to shoot or round
  • Add a recovering defender to change the picture

Regressions

  • Striker runs at a set pace to groove the timing
  • Walk through the leave-the-line decision first
  • Feed straight to the striker's feet to slow it down
Equipment
Cones×1
Full Goals×1
Tactical principles
goalkeeper breakawaysmother techniquegk 1v1spreading the bodygoalkeeper drillthrough ball savekeeper 1v1 drillgoalkeeper trainingyouth goalkeeper drillu10 goalkeeper drill
Audience
U9-U10

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All Goalkeeping drillsAll drill collectionsGoalkeeping for U9-U10

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