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MATCH ANALYSIS: SCOTLAND V BELGIUM (24/03/01) - GOAL BY DODDS
 

1) Ball played forward into feet.

2) The Scotland player holds possession, spots Burley making a run behind the defence and passes to him.

3) Burley plays the ball hard & low across the goal.

4) Dodds gets in front of the defender and scores.

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Comments:

- Defence: The telling moment in this movement is the run of Burley who is not followed when making his run behind the defence. As well, two defenders are marking Dodds and still let him be first to the ball and score. The defence outnumbers the forwards by 7 to 4 and would be expected to prevent this goal.
- Attack: From an attacking point of view, the run by Burley from midfield cuts the defence wide open. The other telling moment is the instinctive forward play of Dodds to be first to the cross.
 
Conclusions:
- Against a well balanced defence, this movement shows the importance of runs off the ball into space behind the defence. Also, excellent example of how a forward when marked closely, must attack and always be first to the ball.
- Runs from opposition midfield players must always be tracked and are not in this case. Defenders must also attack the ball especially from crosses.
 

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