Playing One Two
The wall pass, or one-two is a great football tactic for working the ball through the defense, beating the offside trap, for creating space in midfield, and for avoiding tight marking. The wall pass can even be played in defense. The move is simple, player one passes the football to player two, who immediately passes it back to player one. It’s important that both players keep moving, and especially that player one runs into space as soon as he has played the ball.
An effective one-two requires team work: an understanding with your team mate. The key elements are accuracy in passing, timing and speed. Both passes should be weighted and timed so that the player receiving the ball does not have to alter stride. In the illustrations, the blue defender has to turn around and give chase, but the red attacker already has forward speed to run into space, and gains several metres over her marker.
An understanding between players is vital when playing the wall pass. Instead of running to the outside, player one might decide to cut inside round the back of the defender. Obviously, the player making the return pass must see which way he runs. Even more embarassing and costly is the situation where the return pass is sent straight back to a player who has already started his run. Soccer drills for the wall pass, and other passing techniques that are described in Soccer Academy our football coaching software for parents, players and coaches.