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Home/Training Drills/Finishing Drills/Three Ways to Finish
FinishingIntermediate

Three Ways to Finish

Train the transition from carrying in midfield to finishing at the edge of the box, and force a choice of route each time. Players work the ball through a defensive line and finish from distance rather than walking it into the net.

Create your own drill
Live animationFIN
Duration
18 min
Total drill time
Players
7
Recommended
Pitch
Full Pitch
Setup space
Level
Intermediate
Skill required
Intensity
High
Physical demand
Age band
U15-U16
Any format

Setup & instructions

Set three mannequins in a line across the pitch about twenty metres from goal, with two starting stations fifty metres out. The sequence always begins with a carry out of the deep station, then a forward pass through or around the mannequin line, then a pass into the right or left channel for a finish from around twenty metres. Call the route or let the first passer choose. Run several balls so the next carry begins as the shot goes in, and rotate every player through the finishing positions on both sides.

Setup time: 3 min

Tactical breakdown

Most finishing drills rehearse a route. Ball goes here, then here, then somebody shoots, and after twenty minutes the group can perform it without looking. What has been trained is a sequence, and sequences do not appear in matches.

The useful thing about this setup is that it holds the geography constant and changes the answer. The mannequin line is always in the same place, the starting stations never move, and the goal is where it always was. What varies is whether the ball ends up in the right channel, the left channel, or through the middle. Because the picture looks identical at the start of each repetition, players cannot pre-plan, and they have to actually look at where the space is.

Fifty metres is a lot of ground for a finishing exercise and it is deliberate. Starting near halfway means every sequence begins with a carry, and carrying the ball at a defensive line before releasing it is what creates the space the pass then uses. Players who pass immediately from the deep station find the mannequin line has not moved a centimetre, and every route is equally bad.

The shots are all from around twenty metres, which is unusual and worth protecting. The instinct in any finishing practice is to take one more touch and get closer, and coaches let it happen because the finish looks better. But a side that will not shoot from the edge of the box is a side that plays into a crowded area every time, and this drill is one of the few places that habit can be trained out.

How to run this drill

  1. Carry before you pass. The run at the mannequin line is what makes the following pass work. Releasing it from the deep station leaves the line exactly where it was.
  2. Never play square across the line. The square pass in front of a defensive block is the one a real defence steps up and intercepts. Go through it or round it, not across it.
  3. Look for the far channel. The near option is always visible and usually crowded. The switch to the opposite channel takes longer to arrive and finds far more space when it does.
  4. Shoot from twenty metres. The instinct is one more touch to get closer, and it is the instinct this drill exists to remove. Take the strike from where the space is, not where it feels safe.
  5. Open your body before the ball arrives. A finisher square to the pass needs a touch to set himself, and that touch is the shooting window. Turn as it travels so the strike is on immediately.
  6. Alternate the routes deliberately. Groups gravitate to one channel within a few minutes. If nobody is calling it, the three scenarios quietly become one and the point is lost.

Coaching focus

FROM SESSION PLAN

Coaching points

  • Carry out of the deep station before you pass: the run drags the line
  • Play through or around the mannequin line, never square across it
  • Look for the far channel: the switch is worth more than the obvious pass
  • Strike from twenty metres rather than taking another touch inside
  • Finisher opens his body so the strike is available on the first touch
  • Alternate sides so neither channel becomes the default

Common mistakes

  • Passing straight away instead of carrying, so the mannequin line is never moved
  • Playing square across the line, which is the pass a real defence intercepts
  • Always choosing the same channel, which turns three scenarios into one
  • Taking an extra touch at twenty metres and losing the shooting window

Progressions & regressions

VARIATIONS

Progressions

  • First passer chooses the route without calling it, so the finisher reads it late
  • First-time finishes only from the edge of the box
  • Add a live defender in place of the middle mannequin

Regressions

  • Run one route at a time until each is understood
  • Shorten the pitch so the carry is twenty metres rather than fifty
  • Allow two touches before the strike
Equipment
Mannequins×3
Markers×2
Tactical principles
finishing drill footballshooting from the edge of the boxplaying through the lines drillswitching play finishing drillattacking transition drillu15 finishing drilllong range shooting drillcarrying the ball drillfinishing scenarios drillmannequin line drill
Audience
U15-U16

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