5aside tactics?

Soldato
Joined
10 Sep 2003
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Midlands
We keep getting beaten at 5aside and i can't really see why :mad: We're all pretty fit and skillfull players, and i have a feeling it is tactics that are to blame, hence my post.

We current play 2 defence, 1 midfield and 1 up front and just mark man for man.

Any ideas? :p
 
If you are marking man for man you really have to track like mad, I think zonal is more the way go for 5 a side otherwise you end up getting bunched in one corner of the pitch if that makes sense. 5 a side though is absolutely rock hard, I really don't enjoy it most of the time since you get all of about 2 seconds on the ball.
 
Being a goalie I have seen many different ways of 5 a side being played the best is to have 2 at the back with one being able to go up on free kicks etc and then the other 2 floating and tracking back if necessary, if the oppo are pushin on stay on your man. But if one of their defenders pushes on but the ball stays back then switch man let the defender take him.

Switch the defenders and attackers regularly so you dont get too tired. The main thing about 5 a side is running constantly so make sure you all have a rest at some point either by going sub or having a stint further up the pitch, as the defenders do all the work.

And in 5 a side the goalie is usually the one that makes or breaks a game in my opinion.
 
bring a sub.

defend from the front. close down every pass and force the loose balls.

Shoot on sight. keepers are generally quite poor go for the goal, or get a rebound off them.

Know your positions, know your strengths. Create space for each other by running diagonals and also stay square to the guy on the ball where possible for an easy side pass to maintain possession.

my team

www.monkeywizards.co.uk
 
All go back, but one move back towards the midfield role - so theres one mid of the pitch most of the time, then break.

2 at the back could be at fault if there are 3 of them attacking :p.
 
I've got a 5-a-side team and I try to hold the tactics together from the back but it never works that well. It depends how organised the opponents are as well.

I like to let them be in there own half and get all the men behind the ball, mark up tight and they will commit players to try to break us down. When they make a mistake or we intercept they will get caught short at the back and we counter attack.

We also use the man for man marking, but switch if I'm closer to the ball or player than someone else.

Talking is key, and having a vocal keeper even more so.
 
When I was playing 5s regularly we enjoyed most success when we played one at the back, 2 in midfield and 1 upfront. You should always have someone at the back for an easy pass and if he gets the ball, someone else should drop back to give him an easy option as well.

Your players need to be very sharp and to get back as soon as you lose the ball as this was something we were slow at and a decent team will have counterattacked and scored. And I agree with SoliD, your keeper is your key player, he should be shouting instructions at all your players as he can see the whole field of play.

Jokester
 
I'm a keeper and yes they are the key.

Use them a lot for back passing and distributing. Needs to be VERY vocal and commanding (great chance to let you anger out on your mates :p). And obviously a very good shot stopper / reactions and reflexes. Along with no fear of getting hurt because they will! Whether it be hit when diving on the ball or getting rocketed in the face/balls as people shoot hard a lot closer in than 11 a side.

I wouldn't bother trying to set out defence - midfield - attack, just defence - attack. You need 1 back at all times when attacking and 1 hovering around the halfway line when defending as they'll normally attack with 3. If there 4th attacks too then your attacker needs to drop in too. You can't have players slacking. As soon as you lose the balls they need to track back. Nothing more I hate than when someone looses it up the field and then just stops.

Very high fitness needed. 1 sub is best really but 2 if you need because of fitness. Guys with rockets help too, had one of ours score from my bottom left corner once! Glad I don't play against him anyway! :p
 
5 A side is a team game. you need to think as a team and play as team. And all of you must talk to eachother. i can't stand it when you play with someone who just runs around and doesn't shout for the ball then moan cos they ain't getting it.

it likes dude you got a mouth use it.
 
Nickg said:

Seeing as you recently were on the receiving end of a 6-1 drubbing, you're probably not the one to give advice :p

Two at the back, one with license to go forward, the other two floating around between midfield and attack but tracking back runners etc and you're laughing. 5 a side is as much about your technique rather than positional sense sometimes. So long as you can get it and give it quick, you shouldn't have a problem.
 
I used to play in a pretty decent 5-aside team, we rarely lost and the key points have mostly been made in this thread, but i'll just re-make them for the sake of it...

- Five a-side is all about speed and stamina, every player needs to be moving ALL the time, you need that short burst of pace to get past people and then you need to be able to do it straight away again...the best 5-aside teams are the fittest at the end of the day.
- Shoot all the time if the chance is there
- Always have one man who holds back regardless of what is happening, the other three on field just need to move
 
thanks for all the advice.

i think i'll go in defence tomorrow and stay well back as most of our goals are let in by defenders thinking they are strikers and leaving gaping holes in the back line :mad:

i'll let you know how we get on :o
 
The tactics to 5-aside are simple imo.

Never let a runner go free. When the opposition have the ball stick with your man at all times.

Avoid getting caught short at the back at any cost.

Shoot whenever the chance arises.

Tons of movement both on and off the ball is essential (applies to attack and defence).


I'm not great at football by any means (not too bad though), but my workrate makes me a pretty reasonable 5-aside player. We've played loads of games over the years where the other team has far more possession and have totally dominated the game. But if you stay close to your man and stop them getting clean shots away, then it is more than possible to win the game. Work hard as a team to break up the play, and when you do win the ball, use quick passes and break with pace.

General formation imo should be:

Attack - 2 up front with 1 defender supporting and 1 defender deeper, offering an out ball.

Defence - 2 and 2 in as close to a box as you can. Stick with your man if he makes a run. If they play with a deep defender (most will) you should have a free man. Use him to press the deep pass, he's not there to win the ball, just to make the pass harder for the playmaker at the back. The guy pressing the ball must not dive-in, if the guy on the ball goes past him, then you're already a man short at the back.
 
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When I've played, it's always worked best with one always back, and then another a bit further forward acting as a passer, with the other two free roles running around and shooting.

This allows the man at the back the ability to stop their counterattacks while the others retreat and defend.
 
[ASSE]Hinchy said:
Seeing as you recently were on the receiving end of a 6-1 drubbing, you're probably not the one to give advice :p

.

LOL to be fair i missed the 1st game and the 6-1 drubbing on our monday league. We havent lost in a game in which i have played on a monday this season!

1 always back is a necessity as per above. otherwise a sudden breakaway will leave the keeper mightily exposed!
 
Me and my mates entered a team at our local leisure centre when we were 15/16. We were all much smaller physicly than the blokes we played against but we were top with 1 game left before they kicked us out saying we had fielded ineligible players! In a 5-a-side league! We think it was because someone had complained about us after we had beaten them for being to aggressive or something.

We were very good because we were all very fit and didnt back down from the other teams who thought they would just bully us. We were very aggressive, flying into tackles, smashing them into the walls, not giving the other team time and space to play and had more than a few altercations.

Anyway, we played with 2 at the back, 1 just infront who goes back and forward and an out and out striker. I was one of the 2 who stayed at the back and orginised from there. Its very usefull to have a shouter that will orginise and encourage.

We also found that if you have a decent keeper your halfway to being a decent side as its the court is so small.
 
Always found the key to 5-a-side, not played it for years, is to keep moving. Always found it easy to create space. Team work is essential though as soon as one isnt helping out or doing his job then your lost.
 
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