Anticipating the second-touch service.

How to exploit an important yet frequently overlooked aspect of scoring

When soccer coaches refer to the second ball or the "second touch," they mean the next ball played off a primary receiver or intercepting defender. It is as important yet frequently overlooked aspect of scoring - from set plays and flank crosses to the play off target strikers.

For example, the fastest goal ever scored in world-cup play occurred 27 seconds into the England-France match in the 1982 Cup in Spain. Following a kick-off, a throw-in, and a near post "flick on," Bryon Robson volleyed home the first score in a 3-1 English win. That "flick on" was an offensive, second-touch ball.

The problem with most second-touch plays, however, is that offensive players seldom anticipate the second-touch service. They react to it after the fact and, as a consequence, lose opportunities.

How often, for example, have you seen a great ball played off an attacker's head continue uncontested to the keeper, when it could easily have produced a score had another player reacted quickly enough?

Consider the offensive corner. It occurs often in every match, and frequently provides the difference in the game. World Cup '84 averaged 11 per game. In fact, 8 of the 144 total goals in the 52-game series came directly from a corner, and another 5 came indirectly from restarts earlier in the scoring possession.

Diag. 1 shows typical attacking runs inside the penalty box. Five players are looking for a first-touch shot opportunity on the initial driven serve. If the ball is cleared by the defense instead, midfielders DM and OM-1 are deployed in the second-touch zone to take full advantage of shot possibilities on a ball cleared by the defenders.

These two players hold their positions outside the penalty box. They do not drift inside looking for their own first-touch opportunities... in the process they could create space from which the defense could quickly counter. Such second-touch zones are especially important to counterattacking teams.

A World-Cup match between Russia and Cameroon revealed the consequences of leaving the zone uncovered when Dmitri Radchenko quickly countered a Cameroon corner. With no one in the second-touch zone for Cameroon, it was four quick passes to the back of Cameroon's net!

Another example occurred in a Romania-Argentina game. In the 57th minute, Argentina took a corner with players outside their penalty box. When the ball was cleared into that area, however, the Argentine challenger tripped ... and after a single pass from Gheorge Hagi, Illie Dumitrescu scored at the other end what turned out to be the winning goal.

But back to Diag. 1. When the attacking midfielder (AM) extends his run into Space 2 (and outside midfielder OM-2 adjusts by running route (b), the play calls for a service to AM's head followed by a flick on across the face of the goal.

Here, again, AM's teammates must anticipate the flick for the second-touch attack to be successful. If the ball is not anticipated and becomes a 50/50, the defense will obviously have the advantage by virtue of their greater numbers in the area and the relative skill needed to clear or accurately shoot a 50/50 ball.

Similarly, a long ball played beyond the far post to a back-pedaling striker (ST-2) should be headed back across the goal face for another second-touch opportunity - again, if players are ready for it.

I would like to: (1) describe situations in which second-touch anticipation is important, (2) show how a team can position itself to capitalize on such situations, and (3) set up practice sessions that can help the players anticipate them.

The intermediate free kick likewise presents many second-touch opportunities in a match. Diag. 2 shows such a situation with the ball placed at the left flank, about 45 yards from the goal mouth. A four-man wall of attackers (OM, ST, AM, ST), together with our tallest marking defender five yards behind - whose positions are established by the last defensive man's position - provide at least four good attacking options:

One, the ball could be played long in front of, or to the head of, our marking defender sprinting from the back into the front Zone A for a first-touch shot or a lay-off into Zone B.

Two, the ball could be played to the head of the striker on the right then headed back across the goal face to a player rushing in from the left (again into Zone B).

Three, the ball could be chipped over the left-side players into Zone B directly for a first touch shot.

Four, the ball could be played to the head of the attacking midfielder (AM), who is coming back towards the server. AM can, in turn, flick the ball on to the front of the right-side players or redirect it to the front of the left-side players. (He could also dummy over or redirect a ball played directly to his feet).

Three of these possibilities are second-touch opportunities that require anticipation to be successful. If, however, the defense gets to the ball first and heads it clear, two attacking players in Zone C - DM and OM - are in position to send a second-touch opportunity back on goal or block any attempt to counter.

One caution, though. With so many players committed to the attack, it is absolutely vital for the offense to avoid playing a chancy ball that places most of their attackers immediately on the wrong side should it be lost

For instance, in Diag. 1 a ball played directly from ST-1 to OM-1 is questionable since both marking defenders are inside the goal box. Moreover, set pieces offer tall defenders - players usually skilled in the air - a chance at some of the glory; don't take it away from them!

The long throw, the long goal kick, and the play off front target players, all generate opportunities for second-touch play. Since the wing cross is so important in most attacks, I'd like to include it as my final example.

Charles Hughes in his 1990 book, The Winning Formula, estimates that one out of every four goals scored makes use of the wing cross. According to Rocky Harmon in Soccer Journal, former national coach Bob Ganslen believes that the vast majority of goals are scored from just two sources - crossing and set plays. Of course many of the latter are also wing crosses.

Recent World Cup play supports this contention: 52 of the 144 possessions leading to a goal involved a cross from the wing and 77 of the scores (at some point during the possession) involved a set play in the attacking half of the field (48 directly from the set piece, 2 throws, 20 free kicks, 8 corners, and 18 penalty kicks; and 29 indirectly, where the set piece occurred earlier in the possession).

Diag. 3 shows a typical set of attacking runs to support and OM's charge down the right flank. Two ST's are making near and far post runs, respectively; the left OM is covering the back of the penalty box; the AM is supporting the player with the ball at the top of the box; and both the DM and STP are covering space beyond the box (Zone A).

Zones A and B indicate the regions likely to provide second-touch opportunities: A, when the ball is cleared out by the defense, and B when the ball is laid back across the face of the goal.

Whenever these two zones are left uncovered, opportunities will be lost to the offense and created for the defense.

The second-touch concept is simple to understand, though most players think only of first-touch opportunities when attacking. As a consequence, too many players get too far forward and thus open up the space between the front attackers and back defenders.

At best, these players will react after the fact and retain possession but lose a scoring chance. At worst, they will lose possession and allow the other team to rapidly counter against an undermanned midfield.

The obvious question then is just how do you improve the players' ability to anticipate second-touch zones and second-touch play?

The first step is mental preparation - teaching players, particularly midfielders, how second-touch awareness can help and where second-touch zones are likely to be found.

Secondly, second-touch play should be practiced in restart and in flick-on drills. We practice restarts in the attacking half of the field by dividing our 18-man squad in half, then playing one side against the other.

The game starts with a corner, for example, from which the offense tries to score while the defense tries to win possession and complete five consecutive passes. After completing these, the defense and offense switch roles.

Any ball passing over the goal line is restarted with a corner, and any score from a second-touch ball is counted double. Similarly, we can restart play with a long throw or an intermediate free kick.

A flick-on practice is shown in Diag. 4. Five offensive players are spread on either side of the 18 yard line, and a group of seven - each with a ball - is placed another 10 yards farther out. The four remaining players spread behind the goal.

On my command, a server throws his ball on a line to the head of one of the middle shooters (Pass a), who then must flick the ball on (Pass b) for another attacker's first-touch shot (header or volley).

A player behind the goal retrieves the ball and exchanges places with the server, who now retrieves. Should the shot be off goal, the shooter is replaced by the server, the retriever serves, and the ex-shooter retrieves.

This drill is continuous. It generates so much excitement that it can be used as a pregame warmup. It gives both the attackers and the keeper lots of shots. For real fun, add a defender or two to the mix.

In conclusion, better second-touch play leads to more scoring opportunities: directly in your own attacking play and indirectly by creating more opportunities to counter while limiting those of your opponent.

Ric Miller is a Club Coach, U-18 West Florida Hurricane Pensacola (FL) H.S.