Match moments / Set pieces
Take a quick throw-in
Most throw-ins are lost because nobody moves. Getting free, throwing to feet and spinning in behind keep the ball and can set an attack going.
In the match
- Decision 1Midfielder
- Decision 2Full-back
- Decision 3Winger
You are 8, our central midfielder.
Your marker is touch-tight. How do you get free for the throw?
Play the build-up, then choose.
Best choice
Your marker follows you away. When you come back sharply, you have a yard of space, and the touchline is behind them, not you.
It can work
Shouting does not make you free. Your marker can get a foot in.
Costly
That is 7's run. Now two of us are in the same space, and the short throw has nobody to go to.
In the match, play carries on from the best choice.
You are 2, taking the throw.
8 has come short and is free. Where do you throw it?
Play what happened next, then choose.
Best choice
Easy to control, and 8 can play it straight back to you. You are now on the pitch, facing forward, with the ball.
It can work
A 50-50 with their full-back, who is facing it. Fine as a surprise; not when 8 is free.
Costly
Hard to control, and young players should not be heading it in matches up to under-11 anyway. Throw to feet.
In the match, play carries on from the best choice.
You are 7, our right winger.
2 has it, on the pitch and facing up the line. You are marked. What do you do?
Play what happened next, then choose.
Best choice
Their full-back was watching the throw. Spinning now takes you into the space behind them, level as the pass is played.
It can work
You get close, but so do the defenders. The space is all behind them.
Costly
2 has nobody to pass to, so the chance from the throw is lost.
How you know it is happening
- The ball goes out for a throw to us.
- Our nearest players are marked.
- The thrower has picked up the ball.
Why it works
At a throw-in the thrower is out of the game and every opponent can mark someone. Movement makes space: away and back for the short one, a spin for the long one. A throw to feet that comes straight back gets the thrower back into the game.
The tactics behind it
Your job, by position
- FBFull-back and wing-back
- Pick it up quickly and throw to feet.
- Step straight back on to the pitch after the throw.
- CMCentral midfielder
- Move away, then come back sharply.
- Play it first time back to the thrower.
- WWinger and wide midfielder
- Stay wide and high, then spin in behind as the ball comes back to the thrower.
- DMHolding midfielder
- Stay behind the throw as the safe option.
- Switch it if the near side is crowded.
- STStriker
- Pull your centre-back away, to make space for the runner.
How to explain it
- Practise throw-ins in every game: a quick one is the best one.
- Teach "away and back" with a cone: touch it, then come short.
- In 5v5 and 7v7 it is a pass-in or dribble-in instead, with opponents standing back.
On the training pitch
- With a friendReceive on the half-turnThe technique underneath it, with one friend.
- The practiceGive and goThe same decision, over and over, with a little pressure.
- The gameThe gameA small-sided game set up so the moment keeps happening.
Set the game up so it keeps happening
- All restarts are throw-ins, taken within five seconds.
- A point for keeping the ball for three passes after a throw-in.
Three things to say
- Away, then back.
- Throw to feet.
- Step on and go again.
On Saturday
Tick them off on the day. Nothing is saved: print the page if you want to keep it.
After the whistle
Ask yourself
- How many of our throw-ins did we keep?
- Did you move away before you came short?
What to look back on
- Which side did we lose throws on, and why?