Set pieces decide games at all levels. Keepers need to constantly rehearse defending set plays on the training ground. Set plays also need to be discussed and analyzed in video sessions and meetings.
Scouting is an important component to defending and preventing goals on set pieces. Keepers must have thorough knowledge about where an opponent tends to attack on a corner kick and where a player is likely to shoot on a free kick.
With this information, the keeper can organize the defenders with confidence.
Composure, communication, organization, fundamental skills, and experience in confronting set plays are the ingredients to preventing free kicks and corner kicks from turning into goals. Teams should design their strategy for defending set plays based on the comfort and characteristics of the keeper and the team.
As soon as the referee blows the whistle to acknowledge a foul, the keeper must immediately begin to analyze the situation. This is not a time to argue a call or to blame a teammate. It is simply a time to begin eliminating the chance of a goal being scored.
The first order of business is to judge whether the infraction is in an area that will allow for a strike on goal. Let’s assume that it is within shooting distance of the goal and presents the opposition with a goal-scoring opportunity. The keeper must now organize the team accordingly.
The next job is to call for the number of players that will make up the wall.
The keeper must be very clear, loud, and confident in announcing the desired number. This number will be based on several factors:
* Where the ball is located and at what distance from the goal
* The ability of the shooter
* The ability of the keeper
The more central the location of the free kick, the more defenders the keeper should place in the wall. In most cases, the total will not be less than two and will not exceed five. If the free kick is from fairly wide and the opponent brings only one player to the ball—and if the player is positioned for an outswinger—the defense may be able to defend the free kick with only one player. Players should practice and review the building of walls of assorted sizes so that the players know which players will assume which positions.
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