Long corner kicks in the english premier league: deliveries into the goal area and critical area

The purpose of this study was to investigate long corner kicks within the English Premier League that entered either the goal area (6-yard box) or the critical area (6-12 yards from the goal-line in the width of the goal area) with the defining outcome occurring after the first contact. A total of 328 corner kicks from 65 English Premier League games were analysed. There were nine goals scored from the first contact (2.7%) where the ball was delivered into either the goal area or the critical area. There was a significant association between the area the ball was delivered to and the number of attempts at goal (p<.03), and the area the ball was delivered to and the number of defending outcomes (p<.01). The results suggest that the area where a long corner kick is delivered to will influence how many attempts at goal can be achieved by the attacking team and how many defensive outcomes can be conducted by the defensive team. There was no significant association between the type of delivery and the number of attempts at goal from the critical area (p>.05). It appears as though the area of delivery is more important than the type of delivery for achieving attempts at goal from long corner kicks; however, out of the nine goals observed within this study, seven came from an inswinging delivery. From an attacking perspective, coaches should reflect on what determines a successful corner kick

The impact of ball recovery type, location of ball recovery and duration of possession on the outcomes of possessions in the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the impact of the ball recovery type, location of ball recovery and the duration of the possession on the outcomes of possessions in both the EPL and the Spanish La Liga. Methods: In total, 4971 possessions were observed across 20 matches from the 2017/2018 season of both the EPL (n = 2469) and La Liga (n = 2502). Ball recovery was analysed across four zones, supplemented by five types of ball recovery (interception, tackle, goalkeeper save, set-play and turnover) and three different possession duration categories (12 seconds). Each of these were analysed according to five different attacking outcomes. Results: La Liga teams scored relatively more goals when recovering possession through a tackle (2.5% of tackles led to a goal). EPL teams scored relatively more goals and took more shots after turnovers (2.0% of turnovers led to a goal and 14.6% of turnovers led to a shot). EPL teams are more likely to score a goal or create a shooting opportunity when utilising shorter possessions (12 seconds)

Long corner kicks in the EPL: deliveries into the goal area and critical area

The purpose of this study was to investigate long corner kicks within the English Premier League that entered either the goal area (6-yard box) or the critical area (6-12 yards from the goal-line in the width of the goal area) with the defining outcome occurring after the first contact. A total of 328 corner kicks from 65 English Premier League games were analysed. There were nine goals scored from the first contact (2.7%) where the ball was delivered into either the goal area or the critical area. There was a significant association between the area the ball was delivered to and the number of attempts at goal (p.05). It appears as though the area of delivery is more important than the type of delivery for achieving attempts at goal from long corner kicks; however, out of the nine goals observed within this study, seven came from an inswinging delivery. From an attacking perspective, coaches should reflect on what determines a successful corner kick

Goal Format in Small-Sided Soccer Games: Technical Actions and Offensive Scenarios of Prepubescent Players

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the number of goal-posts and the positioning of goal-posts used within small-sided games on the frequency of technical actions and offensive scenarios performed by prepubescent players within soccer. The participants were eight male prepubescent soccer players (12.1 ± 0.5 years). The participants were video recorded for 20 min playing four different formats of 4v4 small-sided games: (1) standard two goal game; (2) four goal game, one goal in each corner; (3) two goal game with goal-posts positioned 9.14 m/10 yd infield, scoring only through the back of the goal; (4) four goal-game, one goal positioned 9.14 m/10 yd infield in each corner, scoring through either the front or back of each goal. Chi-squared tests of independence were utilized to statistically explore the impact of the different small-sided game formats. There were significant associations (p &lt; 0.05) observed between the different small-sided game formats and the frequency of turns, dribbles, shots, goals and overlaps performed. For example, players performed more turns in small-sided game format two and more shots during small-sided game format four. It is suggested coaches should consider using a variation of the number and positioning of goal-posts in small-sided games as an effective training tool in the development of prepubescent soccer players. This will enable coaches to vary the focus of sessions, and develop specific technical and tactical actions within a situation similar to that of real match-play