How to mark a faster player

rvpalldway

Hey
I have a semi final next week. Im playing wing back and the wing foward im marking is known to be really fast im not that fast but id be one of the fastest in the team(were not great).Any tips on how to mark would be great help......I cant mark him tightly cause if he runs at goal im fudged......ive already marked him so I have a slight idea of him
Thanks

ANXIOUS

Hurling or football?

rvpalldway

Football sorry

nice_guy80

slow him down

"They say the new striker I am marking is fast. Maybe...but how fast can he limp"

Mick McCarthy.

Shady Tady

get in his head, stand on his toes, breathe on his neck and when the ball is thrown in catch him by the togs and don't let go until the ref is looking.

Smartly Dressed

If he's one of their major threats, the management can't leave you 1 on 1 with him and just expect you to ''win your battle'' as the traditionalists love to say. The space in front of him (or behind) has to be occupied by a sweeper. Otherwise, simply because of how football is set up, forwards have basically every advantage over defenders.

How you play him depends on a lot of factors though. If he's a good ball carrier, then I'd be inclined to delay and deny, rather than jumping in for a dispossession. If he's an average-poor ball carrier, I'd be tempted to try and get close and use some of the tricks mentioned above. You've got to get the fundamentals right; near hand tackling, no ball-watching, show him onto his weaker foot. You could try marking him from the front for periods and see how it goes.

Your teammates have to be switched on as well. Just because you're marking him doesn't mean he's only your responsibility. I've always hated the idea of separating a team game into 14 separate contests.

cunavalos

I have been in that position many times in my career and i am not ashamed to say i have often resorted to the dark arts.
Jersey pulling, short tugging standing on toes, 'clumsy accidental' fouls etc. nothing more.

Quite simply you have to win the first battle, often being touch tight is enough to stop one of his teammates seeing him as an option. If he wins the first couple of balls every second ball will be coming in your direction. If you win or break even in the first couple of contests it will put doubts into his and his teammates minds as to whether he is on a good day and if you can stay touch tight for the rest of the game he will not be the first option for every pass.

If he is the only real scoring threat on the team, you can afford to stand off him a little but remember not to let him get a run at you or turn you or you will be playing catch up. he will have to try and pick a pass and as long as there are no free men inside chances are it will be a fifty fifty ball into the inside forwards.

If you are a wing back and he is a scoring threat and not just a playmaker you need to know where you can afford to give away frees, if they do not have a free taker who can punish you everytime, clumsy intelligent fouls are an option especially if your opponents are playing against a strong breeze.

Most importantly get your own head right before the game and dont be afraid to push on down field when in possession, if he doesnt track you and you become a threat his own management and teammates will get on his back and it may affect his own game. If he does track you he is now further away from your goal and less of a threat.

ixus

You've marked him before. This gives you an advantage. Think about what his main traits are as a player.
Does he go deep, show a lot for the ball, make intelligent runs?
Does he run up blind allies or make good use of the ball?
Does he run direct at goal, jink a lot, or work his way into a shooting position.
Can he shoot, both feet, or is he more of a link player?
Is there someone he prefers to pass to, a brother or mate, a better shooter?

Depending on the above, you can herd him onto his bad side, into a packed defence or anticipate his next move if he gets ahead of you. He'll think he's left you behind but you'll be there.

Pinesky

Position yourself so that if he gets possession its likely to be on your outside.
Then the sideline becomes your co defender. Hassle him towards the line in the narrower space and he'll have to get rid of the ball . His pace will be then redundant.

jive

Mark from the front. If the ball goes over your head it'll find it's way to the full back line so you have time to get in a good position.

He'll still make runs left and right from behind you but if he's much faster than you at least you're giving yourself a chance to contest. If you mark from the front it'll take a very good player to see him as an option to pass to anyway so you should end up doing less work which will help if he's quick.

And as mentioned be a bit dirty. You won't get away with jersey pulling for long. If he gets possession have a couple of quick hard swings 'at the ball'. I've never seen a winded man move fast.

InterestedK

Exactly what Jive said, mark him a step in front! Gives you that extra second to get to the ball ahead of him, or to even try and match his pace!

billy100

Mark him from the front, don't commit to any attacking play for yer team,
If he gets ball in front of you drop 1-2 yards off him and stay on your toes with your hands out , keep them spread at elbow height level , he won't pass you then

Hulk Hands

If it was corner forward vs Coner back id certainly say mark from in front. However its suicidal from a wing back. the guy has 40 yards of space to run into and can go to either wing. If the ball is popped in over head and your man gets it having already having his marker behind him, its curtains. To be honest if hes playing wing forward the the conventional long kick, turn your man, and shoot is taken out of it somewhat. Its more likely that hes going to be an overlapping runner for people breaking from deeper. My advice would be not to bite and try to close the breaking runner. Stick to your man and trust a teammate to get back from deep and stop the original runner. If he really is lethal in attack, then dont bother with forward runs yourself. If the move breaks down, he either already going to be in the attack alone or will beat you in a footrace to get up there

Boskowski

Being a defender you know that even with his faster pace you're still at advantage. All you got to do is destroy, he's gotta create something.

I'd try to get to the ball before him. If you get to it you win. If the ball is sprayed you win. If it goes into touch you win. If it ends up in a coming together you win. You can give away harmless frees you still win. Even if he just can't get to the ball cleanly and can't start anything you win.

In this kind of situation nothing fancy is expected from you only destroy his play.

Good luck

mhaigheo

do what Kevin Moran used to do and make him chase you as much as you can.Attack as much as you can early on and put him on the back foot

Clareman

Stand on his calf/achilles as soon as you can, that'll slow him down. Make it like an accident as if you are walking behind him or something. If he gets the ball and is going for a run, as soon as he takes 3 steps be screaming for over-carrying.

If you don't want to use the "dark arts", pick a line on the pitch and don't go past it, chances are he will have a distance he can kick points from, make sure you stay inside this. Always stay on the goal side of him, don't be afraid to give away "soft" frees but don't get booked. Work with your corner back to agree a strategy.

savannahkat

Get to the ball first. He can run as fast as he likes but he cant score if he aint got the ball. (First uttered by the great Kilkenny corner back legend Willie O'Connor who even given an 80 yard start wouldn't win a hundred yard dash and was seldom if ever beaten by pace.

Ghost in Cratloe

Your success in dealing with this type of player will depend on your analysis and that of the manager.

What are the players attributes apart from speed?

Is he a lazy wing forward or a player who covers a lot of ground? If its the latter it is impossible to play from the front if he decides to make six 50 yard diagonal sprints before he gets the ball. This is were a defensive plan from the manager comes in. A sort of zonal defense.

Scoring threats? Who is the oppositions main scoring players.

If the player is good at getting scores then the manager could stick him in corner forward or on your weakest defender which could mean you playing out of position to mark him to stop the rot!

The manager should not leave you out to dry on the pitch. Alot of people seem to think wing forwards stand around and allowed to be tugged and stood on. He could be running for sixty minutes making those tactics useless.

More information on the opposing player and team is needed before anyone can come up with a tactic to help you stop the faster player

rvpalldway

Thanks alot all went well he only scored a point

riffmongous

rvpalldway wrote: »

Thanks alot all went well he only scored a point

Good job!

rizzodun

rvpalldway wrote: »

Thanks alot all went well he only scored a point

You have to tell us how you kept him quiet, might help others.

pogmobhud

Shady Tady wrote: »

get in his head, stand on his toes, breathe on his neck and when the ball is thrown in catch him by the togs and don't let go until the ref is looking.

I absolutely hate defenders like this, but it is effective. Counter is break his nose.

Orizio

In hurling I would give him a little space, so even though he gets the ball first its very difficult for him to get past you, as you have plenty of time to react, assuming you are the same size as him or bigger. At worst he'll point and at best he would move the ball on or try a shot under pressure and miss or sometimes over-run the ball. This is as a corner-back.

If he is stronger and faster and able to get around you then you need to foul him, in a non-dirty way and hope the ref forgives you. Refs, at least in the past, will forgive small cynical fouls, or let you away with a good few of them.

Generally if you are marking their star forward, a lad that is faster and more skillful than you, than you want to prevent goals at all possible. The odd point or free here and there is ok imo...again assuming he is their star forward. This is all as a corner-forward.

As a full-back you need to scupper possession anyway possible. Get a foot or a hurley in there, and a good corner-back or center-back should be there to win the breaking ball.

ixus

rvpalldway wrote: »

Thanks alot all went well he only scored a point

Ah fill us in!

nice_guy80

careful, you might be dropped the next day. A good back holds his man scoreless.
did you score yourself?

rvpalldway

I had my hands up for both sides of kick outs (to show who was bigger )
I stayed bout half a meter away from him when defending and if the ball came i just ran and hoped i got the ball which worked as it was very wet
Attacking I just tried to get him as far away from my goal as possible
Thanks for the help

cj maxx

rvpalldway wrote: »

Thanks alot all went well he only scored a point

Did ya win ?

rvpalldway

ya laad