What to do if you're winning by a big margin

There would seem to be nothing worse than a game with a 10+ goal difference – as much for the winning team as the losing one.

What do you actually achieve? What’s the point? Isn’t it a waste of energy for the winners and disheartening for the losers? 

Well actually, you can achieve something and there can be a point. Yes, it sometimes can be disheartening but for the winners, you can only play what is in front of you.

At Needham Market Women FC, we have been a part of games in recent years where the scores have been astronomical.

The club’s first team plays in England’s sixth tier and the reserve team is in the division below that. This means that, until the first-team achieves promotion, our reserves can not step up - so are stuck at the same level, irrespective of how strong our team was.

The long-term plan is to get both teams into the higher leagues. However, at the time, the reserves didn’t have an option but to compete in the league we had been allocated.

I imagine this is also a problem in the US too, with promotion and relegation not typically existing, and with school teams, who play fixtures against local opponents.

These are the circumstances where large scorelines can sometimes occur. And one potential area of subsequent conflict is social media.

Publishing double-digit victories can prompt complaints – but the result is a matter of fact, whether it’s 2-0 or 16-0.

I’d never advocate posting something like ‘Fantastic game, absolutely smashed them’– you have to be respectful and professional.

But soccer is a competitive game and scores are a vital part of it. I do think for adult football, a score should be posted – you will also get hate if you don’t publish it.

Youth soccer is obviously different, especially for very young players who are just learning the game and where results aren’t the main concern.

However, even in the adult game, there does come a point where you have to mix things up a bit in a one-sided game to create more of a purpose to it.

I believe if you reach a certain number of goals, you should implement different tactics or ‘rules’ for your players, to test their adaptability and maintain their concentration levels. 

"You can mix things up in a one-sided game to create more of a purpose to it..."

 Here are some ideas I’ve used:

• Set a minimum number of passes before shooting
• Every player in the team (this can also include the goalkeeper if you so wish) must have touched the ball before shooting
• Set a touch limit for your players
• Switch players’ positions to give them a new challenge
• Tell your players they cannot break into the opponent’s half until they have kept possession in their own half for a set period of time. This can mimic game management, for tight matches where you need to slow the pace down and see out a victory.
• Give players or units their own challenges to help progress their game - maybe a centre-back must try to break through the opposition lines by running with the ball.
• If the opposition agrees, reduce your team to 10 players - this can be a rehearsal for a red card or sin bin in a future game, or if you are battling a large number of injuries or absences and have to start with 10.

These are just some suggestions - other coaches will have their own ideas of how to challenge their players, without appearing disrespectful to the opposition.

What will you do as a coach to level out matches which just aren’t competitive?