Dons V Well (League Cup Quarter Final)

[RicoS321]

2 hours ago, OrlandoDon said:

That’s not just us, it’s a very common thing these days to have the whole team back. I don’t get it at all, as you say, leave one up they’ll leave two back, plus it helps if we counter attack. 

Yes, I agree with you both. There's guys back there that are pretty much doing fuck all. I'd always have one up, just to occupy a defender. Motherwell had everyone back at our corners too, and it allowed all our players to be within 35 yards of their goal. I'm guessing it's something that has been heavily researched and the consensus is that you are worse off with players upfield that are hard to hit on the break or something. I think we should break protocol and chuck three forward.

 

3 hours ago, dons8321 said:

Motherwell didn't seem to have any trouble beating the first man with their numerous corners which caused us a few problems so I guess their takers are better than the 2 laddies you mentioned

They didn't cause us much bother on the corners, they were quite loopy and a couple too close to the keeper. We just look like everything causes us problems in the box. It was sort of my point though, it's fairly easy to throw a ball in, but it's whether it's meaningful or not, and if there's no pace on it, your basically working on the lottery that it might get knocked down and somebody wins the second ball. I personally think there's a lot to be said for that, but I suspect that players like Karlsson and Clarkson take a bit of pride in their corner taking abilities. When Karlsson did beat the first man, his corner had a high chance of being converted, with Devlin very unlucky, because he belted it in. If you think about what the player is actually trying to do, it's no surprise they all get it wrong so regularly. They're trying to fire a ball in, so that it goes just out of reach of the front man, but not so high that it goes above everyone and long, with enough pace that the attacker just has to direct it. Even going for the back post, you're trying to land it perfectly in a 2x2 metre spot, just out of reach of the goalie, but not too deep that it goes over everyone and out for a goal kick. All from 30+ yards, at Pittodrie, making it easily as difficult as a free kick. Hitting the man at the near post is equivalent to hitting the wall in a free kick, with over hitting the corner the equivalent of hitting it over the bar. That happens with the majority of free kicks.