Defending against runners at crosses

[maxchaplin55]

Yo

Just a discussion, I've had a little play around and still seem to concede the same kind of goal every now and then. The problem is, when a cross comes in, usually from deep, an onrushing midfielder from deep gets there to tap in, completely unmarked, because my central midfielders (both holding roles on defend duties), won't track back/will only track back so far.

Moving them both to DM worked, but left me hugely on the back foot all game and killed any involvement they had in attacking/transition phases.

Thanks for any suggestions on how to stop these runners.

 

[CaptiveBridge]

Yo

Just a discussion, I've had a little play around and still seem to concede the same kind of goal every now and then. The problem is, when a cross comes in, usually from deep, an onrushing midfielder from deep gets there to tap in, completely unmarked, because my central midfielders (both holding roles on defend duties), won't track back/will only track back so far.

Moving them both to DM worked, but left me hugely on the back foot all game and killed any involvement they had in attacking/transition phases.

Thanks for any suggestions on how to stop these runners.

First thing would be to stop the ball being played in to begin with. And that is the easier thing to do as stopping the runner really depends on how you are setup, how the opponent is setup, and how both teams' personnel are stacked against each other.

Barring that, because you can't stop every pass the opposition does, you can try man marking the player you'd expect to do the runs from deep. The marker would need Determination, Anticipation, Positioning, Marking, good enough Pace and Acceleration relative to the player he is marking, Composure, Concentration, Decisions, Teamwork, good enough Strength relative to the player he is marking.

There is also adjusting your line height. You could play a high block and have more defenders balancing your defence (Balance in terms of the Pressure-Cover-Balance idea of defending) with speed. This would allow you to use an offside trap, but have players who are good zonally to drop for the pass from deep. You could play a low-mid block to ensure you cut the opportunity for the pass from deep and have players to screen the defence a bit more aggressively to make up for that drop in line height or compact the drop with more players (which you said you don't like since it makes it harder to play out).

That's what I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[xambo]

It is difficult to defend crosses many times. I think if the opponenet is crossing from depp maybe keep your defenders on a deep line better. Also man mark those wingers with tight marking too. If you understand how crosses work I think you can defend them better. This video will be helpful.

[video=youtube;Z6P89KlnzrM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6P89KlnzrM[/video]