The Drawing Board – Loftman On ‘Set Pieces’

In the latest edition of iDiski Times, former Orlando Pirates analyst and MDC coach Michael Loftman goes into detail about the importance of the dead ball situation, as he writes in the latest Drawing Board column…

Last week Michael introduced us to basic tactical concepts and terminology, and this week we look at set pieces.

In parts 1 and 2 we took a look at the four key moments of the game. In possession, out of possession, transition to attack, and transition to defend. With lots of international fixtures to watch, there are lots of opportunities to scrutinise team performances using these four moments of the game. Lyle Foster’s goal for Bafana Bafana was created during the transition to attack moment, using a counterattack to exploit the space in behind from Morocco’s in possession structure. It took just over 15 seconds for the National Team to score from regaining possession of the ball. A great example in relation to the topics in part 2. The dangers and opportunities that present themselves when teams regain or lose possession of the ball.

Moving onto part 3, the last key moment of the game, which some coaches may consider as components of the 4 moments already discussed. Set Pieces. Set pieces include all ‘dead ball’ situations. Meaning the moments where play has been stopped and needs to resume. This includes throw-ins, free-kicks, corner-kicks, goal-kicks and penalties. While they may not always seem like important moments, teams can score around 30% of their goals in a season from set-pieces. Meaning they can be the difference between a mid-table finish and competing for a league title. Knowing this, the surprising element is that many coaches across world football spend very little time practising set pieces, meaning they are missing out on a potential advantage to increase the level of success their teams can achieve. 

Throw-ins are the least practised out of the set pieces. Some teams work for seasons without practising them, which makes it less surprising that some teams give away over 50% of their throw-ins to the opponent with small mistakes, such as poor throw-in execution, poor movements and first touches, and a lack of routines to help the team in difficult situations. Take a look at your team’s throw-ins, and see how many times the ball is turned over to the opposition. Liverpool identified this as an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage, which led to them hiring a specific throw-in coach to help improve their throw-in effectiveness. Within one season, the throw-in success significantly improved, enabling the team to retain better possession, and create more chances from throw-in situations. 

Free-kicks are often far more exciting situations than throw-ins and can offer great opportunities for teams to create and score. They can be divided into four categories. Free-kick passes, free-kick shots, free-kick crosses, and creative free-kicks. The categories are pretty self-explanatory, free-kick passes are when the free-kick intention is to maintain possession of the ball and build an attack. Free-kick shots are when the free-kicks are used with the intention of shooting from the region of the free-kick. Free-kick crosses are when the intention of the free-kick is to cross the ball to create a chance. Creative free-kicks are unique designs used to create a goal-scoring opportunity by deceiving the opposition of the intention. For example, setting up as if the intention is to shoot, then playing a through pass for a shot.  All four of the free-kick types are useful if designed and practised well, especially if there is a player who can execute the perfect shot or cross. 

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Corner-kicks are also a critical part of the game, with teams hiring specific staff to reduce the number of goals conceded from corners, and to increase the number of goals scored from corners. Some teams will bring the whole team back to defend corners and minimise the number of goals conceded. Other teams will leave some attacking players out of the penalty area for counter-attacking moments.  Similarly, some teams will send many players into the opponent’s penalty area to attack corners, and some will be more cautious. The key is finding the right balance between the risk and reward. This is why you even find goalkeepers joining the outfield players in the opponent’s penalty area when they need to score in the last few minutes of the game.

We then have goal-kicks. Due to teams wishing to dominate possession, goal-kicks have become a critical part of the game, with teams using specific structures and patterns to increase the probability of retaining possession. Defensively, some teams commit to the high press which makes goal-kicks a tricky aspect of the game to get right. Any team who wants to consistently dominate possession has to have success during goal-kicks. Repeatedly turning over possession from goal-kicks enables the opponents to attack without having to retreat into their own half. Check your team’s strategy during goal-kicks to identify how well they manage to retain possession, and how many times possession is lost, and they end up defending just seconds later. 

Last but not least, are penalties. In the 2021/22 Premier League season, 84 goals were scored from penalties, with some teams scoring 6 penalties. Again, 6 goals can make up to 18 points difference in a league season. Most teams have dedicated penalty takers and stick with them throughout the season regardless of whether they miss or score. Some teams may change the penalty taker after missing or rotate the penalty responsibilities across the season. 

In summary, set pieces are not discussed by fans too often, yet they play a crucial role in a team’s success, particularly over a full season. Coaches also spend such a short amount of time on set pieces and often miss the opportunity to gain a competitive edge over their opponents. How much of a difference could set-piece success have made on your team’s season?

Michael Loftman, born in the UK, is another coach returning to South Africa for the love of the country, and passion for the potential of the players, the clubs, and the league. Michael arrived in South Africa to work as a Technical Director back in 2016. After 18 months, he joined Orlando Pirates as a First Team Analyst, then quickly taking over the reins of the U23 MDC team. After progressing to spend time on the coaching pitch with the first team, Michael moved on to join the City Football Group in Belgium, and then the Egyptian National Team for the World Cup Qualifiers, before returning to South Africa in December 2021. In between every role since 2016, Michael has returned to the place he now calls ‘home’.

Don’t forget you can read all of Michael’s The Drawing Board series in the free digital versions of the paper on the website.

Click below to read the FREE digital version of the iDiski Times newspaper, with interviews with Daniel Akpeyi, Ria Ledwaba chatting about her SAFA Presidential campaign, Desiree Ellis on Banyana Banyana ahead of the AWCON, plus features on CAF Licenses and Shawn Bishop’s trip to Portugal and the latest transfer rumours!