HOW TO ENSURE YOU DONT CONCEDE IN THE LAST MINUTES OF MATCHES - PART 1
We all know how frustrating it can be to let a narrow lead slip away very late on, particularly if it's a match you were in control of.
The most popular approach to wind down the clock and hang on to a result is to adopt a Contain strategy, alongside a combination of touchline instructions, such as Drop Deeper, Stay On Feet, play narrower and Stand Off Opposition (also pass to feet and retain possession). Many apply this as a universal rule in their matches. The potential problem with this approach is that such changes may actually be counter-productive. But sometimes the manager doesn't necessarily need to be so defensive. It may even be making it more likely that the opposition will score (dont forget that “retain possession” in combination to those other shouts equates to dithering on the ball so if your team is not technically up to it or can be outmuscled by the other side, therefore it may be a recipe for disaster).
There are various different ways in which you can neutralise the opposition in order to clinch that vital result.
The main issue to consider when adopting an extremely defensive mentality is that it invites pressure. The opposition is allowed to advance at will before warranting sustained pressure until they are met with any resistance (drop deep / stand off / stay on feet exacerbate this. So, this approach should be far from your mind if you have had the upper-hand for the vast majority of the match, or if the opposition happens to be a significantly weaker team that have been defending up until this point. If you have been able to control the match and peg the other team back, what merit is there in dropping back and finally giving them enough space to create chances? In this situation, a slightly reduced mentality and a modified approach geared towards keeping the ball can more than suffice. Not only is this likely to be a more practical way of thwarting the opposition under the circumstances, but it's also likely to represent less of a change compared with your starting tactic Also, sudden changes in mentality are innately problematic. So, if you started the match with a positive approach involving an Attacking or Control strategy, your team is always going to struggle more when suddenly switching to a Contain strategy, much more so than if you were going from Standard to Contain, for example.
Not only is the team being asked to do something drastically different, but it's also inviting unnecessary pressure on top of that. This logic, combined with consideration of the mechanical aspects, strongly advocates only slight modification when you're defending against a weaker team. So, possibly a Standard mentality, alongside shouts such as Get Stuck In, Pass To Feet and/or Retain Possession. This would more than likely ensure that your team eases off slightly and comfortably holds onto the ball, allowing you to still control the game, yet still be more than stable enough defensively, even if at the expense of attacking intent. The logic in not dropping back more than that is that if the smaller opposition haven't been able to be particularly threatening throughout the game, then they're going to struggle just as much to do so now, even when getting more players forward. No need to back off and gift them the space on a plate that they've not been able to find otherwise.
Naturally, it's different if you are the smaller team attempting to maintain a flattering scoreline against more better opposition, or if you have been outplayed and outfought (in which case as early as possible in the match look to substitute in stronger/more aggressive players and either manually/through shouts have the team tackle and press more and harder and close space esp mf space better and in this respect tweaking your formation may also help). If you still have struggled to contain a team over the course of a match, it's inevitable that when they turn up the pressure that you'll be even more overrun than you were before in the final minutes. THIS is when you should drop back and shut-up-shop (but do it carefully gradually and only for the last 5-10 minutes). There is little to no chance of suddenly pressuring the opposition in ways that you've been unable to previously, so better to get men behind the ball, maintain the team's shape and try to weather the storm by being as difficult as possible to break down. So, a Contain or Defensive strategy, supplemented by shouts such as Drop Deeper, Stand Off Opponents, Stay On Feet, and Play Narrower.
An alternative way of approaching this stage of a match is to be counter-attacking. Generally speaking, this method will only be as effective as your team is at counter-attacking in general. So, if you haven't built a tactic around counter-attacking and been successful with it, this approach is most likely not your best option now, of all times, when such an approach would need to be at its most effective. In general I dont like counter tactics EXCEPT those made by COOKIEMAKER. Anyway, a Standard, Counter or Defensive (depending on how far you're deviating from your starting tactic, as well as your team's performance on the day) mentality, in addition to the touchline instructions of Drop Deeper, and Clear Ball To Flanks, possibly Get Ball Forward, or even Pass Into Space in order to encourage longer balls that play your wingers into space, which can be especially effective if the other team has adopted a desperate 4-2-4 shape. Stay On Feet and Stand Off Opponents is optional here.