Match Report - LONDON FC - 20 May 2018

I arrived late for this 5-4 Beaujolais win, but I saw goals 2, 3 and 4 for London Town.

Goals 2 and 3 for the opposition were both one on ones. They have a quick and strong centre forward who is quite vocal and probably their best player. I'm fairly sure he scores both of these one on ones and the fourth goal. The tactics of London Town seem to be fairly basic: hit through balls either over the top or through spaces for this lad to get on the end of. With this in mind, it might be worth playing with a deep defensive line against this lot so that there is less space behind for him to exploit, and advising our keeper to be on alert / in an advanced position to come and collect through balls (I don't think I saw them shoot from outside the box once in the second half).

The trouble with playing with a deep defensive line is that it can invite pressure (I. E. camped in our own half). This issue can be helped through a method of quick and direct counter attack through the wings - this is something we did in this game and it worked well (Ricky and Smithy both had good games, and then Luke Pakes had a good game in wide positions when he came on). Counter attacking through the centre from a deep defensive position is dangerous because you run the risk of giving the ball away in a central position close to our own goal. Therefore, a "default" clearance of lofted passes to the flanks from our defenders and goalkeeper (and anyone else who finds themselves in a defensive position) could be a good option against this lot in future. With this option, worst ways up we give the ball away on the flank or give away a throw in - these outcomes are much for regrouping and defending than a turnover in the centre. If these passes successfully reach our wide players in space, not only have we cleared the ball safely, but we're also very quickly transitioning into a form of attack that worked very well against this team at the weekend. The wingers will have the option of travelling further with the ball, squaring to our advancing central midfielders, or playing a through ball to our striker(s).