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Home/Training Drills/Crossing Drills/Overlap, Cross and Finish
CrossingIntermediate

Overlap, Cross and Finish

Create and finish from a wide overlap. Fix the defender, time the overlapping run, release down the line, deliver a quality cross to the far post, and arrive late to finish. Vary the cross between driven, cutback and floated as a progression.

Create your own drill
Live animationCRO
Duration
14 min
Total drill time
Players
4
Recommended
Pitch
32 × 22 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U13-U14
Any format

Setup & instructions

On the right side with a full goal and keeper, the winger has the ball with a pole just ahead as his marker. The fullback overlaps on the outside around the pole; the winger holds to fix the defender, then releases down the line. The fullback drives to the byline and delivers a driven cross to the far post for the striker, who times his run to finish. Rotate sides and mix the type of cross.

Setup time: 2 min

Tactical breakdown

A pole does not recover, does not read the overlap, and does not close the crossing angle. Being clear about that is what makes this drill useful rather than misleading, because every one of those absences is a decision the exercise has quietly removed.

What remains is the mechanical part, and it is worth grooving. The winger's hold is the first piece: carrying towards the defender and keeping the ball a beat longer than feels comfortable, because releasing early sends the full-back overlapping past a defender who never had to commit to anything. Against a pole this has to be coached deliberately, since the pole gives no feedback at all for releasing too soon.

The release should go into the space ahead of the runner, down the line, rather than to his feet. A pass to the feet stops a full-back who was travelling at speed, which throws away the only advantage the move actually generated.

Then the delivery, and this is where the unopposed format genuinely earns its place. A full-back crossing on the run from a wide position is a specific technique, and most players get very few repetitions of it in a match. Twenty in ten minutes, with the coach able to stop and correct, is worth more here than in a live game where the same player might cross three times all afternoon.

Progress it as soon as the technique holds. Swap the pole for a passive defender allowed to jockey, and the decision the pole could never ask for comes back into the exercise.

How to run this drill

  1. Hold the ball to fix the defender. Releasing early sends the overlap past a defender who never committed. A pole will not punish this, so the coach has to.
  2. Call for the overlap clearly. The runner is behind the winger's shoulder and outside his vision. Without a call the timing is guesswork on both sides.
  3. Release into the space, not to feet. A pass to the feet stops a full-back travelling at speed, which discards the single advantage the overlap just created.
  4. Cross on the run without checking back. Checking gives a real defender time to close the angle. Grooving the delivery at speed is the main reason to run this unopposed.
  5. Vary the delivery between reps. Driven, cut-back and floated to the far post are three different techniques. Practising only one produces a predictable wide player.
  6. Arrive late at the far post. The finisher should be running onto it rather than standing waiting, which is also the only part a pole cannot make easier.
  7. Replace the pole with a live defender early. As soon as the technique holds, put a jockeying defender in. The decision the pole cannot ask for is most of the real skill.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Winger holds the ball to fix the defender before releasing
  • Fullback overlaps with speed and calls for it clearly
  • Release into the fullback's path, ahead of him down the line
  • Drive to the byline and cross away from the keeper, to the far post
  • Striker delays then attacks the far post to arrive as the ball does

Common mistakes

  • Winger releasing too early, before the defender is fixed
  • Overlap run too slow or too narrow, no width to cross from
  • Cross behind the runner or straight to the keeper
  • Striker arriving too early and having to check his run

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Add a near-post runner so the crosser picks near, middle or far
  • Vary the delivery: driven, cutback, or floated to the back post
  • Replace the pole with a live defender pressing the overlap

Regressions

  • Walk the timing of the overlap and release before full speed
  • Cross into a target zone with no keeper first
  • Fullback starts level with the winger to shorten the run
Equipment
Cones×2
Full Goals×1
Poles×1
Tactical principles
overlap and crossunopposed crossing drillmannequin drillfullback overlapcrossing on the runfar post finishwide play drillwing playu13 crossing drilltiming the overlap
Audience
U13-U14

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All Crossing drillsAll drill collectionsCrossing for U13-U14

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