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Home/Training Drills/Finishing Drills/Target Man Layoff to Finish
FinishingIntermediate

Target Man Layoff to Finish

Score through a target man layoff. Play into feet, hold off the defender, lay it into the runner's path, and finish first time on the run.

Create your own drill
Live animationFIN
Duration
12 min
Total drill time
Players
5
Recommended
Pitch
46 × 36 m
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U9-U10
Any format

Setup & instructions

Play the ball into a target man with his back to goal and a defender behind. The target holds his man off and lays it into the path of a runner coming off him, who finishes first time. Emphasise the hold-up strength, a soft accurate lay-off, and the timing of the runner. Vary the angle of the run. Rotate the roles.

Setup time: 1 min

Tactical breakdown

Holding the ball with your back to goal is a physical skill before it is a technical one, and the body does almost all of the work. A striker who tries to solve it with his feet, taking touches to escape a defender he cannot see, loses it more often than not. One who accepts the contact, gets side on and simply refuses to be moved buys the second and a half this pattern needs.

Holding it means using the body rather than the feet. Arm across the defender for feel and balance, body sideways between him and the ball, weight low. A target man who tries to turn immediately is doing something else entirely and usually loses it, because he is turning into a defender who is already tight and set.

The pass into him decides most of it. Firm and into his feet, on the side away from the defender, means he can control it in one touch and shield it. A soft or square ball puts him in a contest he cannot win, and the whole pattern fails on the pass rather than on his hold-up.

The lay-off is into the runner's path, not to his feet, and it should be soft. A firmly struck set at a player arriving at speed is unplayable, which is a common fault because a target man under pressure tends to hit everything hard.

The finish is first time, in stride, and the runner's job is to arrive as the ball is set rather than waiting to see it. That timing is the same third-man principle that appears throughout the library.

How to run this drill

  1. Play it firm into his feet. On the side away from the defender so he can control it in one touch. A soft or square ball puts him in a contest he cannot win.
  2. Hold with the body, not the feet. Arm across for balance, side on between defender and ball, weight low. Trying to turn immediately loses it against a defender already tight.
  3. Buy a second and a half. That is the whole job. Long enough for the runner to get past, and no attempt to beat anybody or shoot.
  4. Set it soft and into the path. Not to feet, and not struck hard. A firm set at a player arriving at speed is unplayable, and target men under pressure tend to hit everything hard.
  5. Runner arrives as the ball is set. Not after seeing it. Waiting to see the lay-off means arriving late, and the target man has to hold the ball longer than he can.
  6. Finish first time in stride. The set is weighted so the runner never breaks stride, so taking a touch wastes both the hold-up and the timing that made it available.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Play it firm into the target man's feet
  • Hold the defender off, protect the ball
  • Soft, accurate lay-off into the runner's path
  • Runner times the run to arrive on the layoff
  • Finish first time, low and on target

Common mistakes

  • Weak hold-up, losing the ball to the defender
  • Lay-off too strong or behind the runner
  • Runner's timing off, arriving early or late
  • Snatching at the first-time finish

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • Target man can turn and shoot as an option
  • Add a second defender to press the runner
  • Vary near-post and central lay-offs

Regressions

  • Passive defender to groove the hold and lay
  • Set the runner's timing to start
  • Walk the pattern first
Equipment
Cones×1
Full Goals×1
Tactical principles
target manhold up playlayoff to finishback to goalfinishing drillshielding the ballthird man runstriker drillcombination finishingu10 finishing drill
Audience
U9-U10

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LIBRARY
All Finishing drillsAll drill collectionsFinishing for U9-U10

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