DefendingLive

How High Teams Defend

Which teams defend high up the pitch, and which sit deep?

  • Most time without the ball
    58%
    Central Coast Mariners
  • Time in a high block
    16%
  • Highest back line (m from goal)
    38
    Melbourne City
  • Medium blocks that start in their own half
    37%
  • Low-block phases that win the ball
    44%
  • Time in a low block after 75'
    12%
  • Key finding63%

    of the ball-in-play time is Melbourne City's. They have the ball more than any club at home, away, when leading and when level.

  • Key finding30%

    of Central Coast Mariners's time without the ball is in a low block away, against 16% at home: the biggest home/away gap in the league.

  • Key finding47–50 m

    from goal: where every club's back line sits in a high block. Melbourne City sit highest overall by defending deep least often, not by pushing the line up.

  • Key finding48%

    of Newcastle Jets's medium blocks start in their own half, the most in the league; Melbourne Victory sit back that early only 28% of the time.

  • Key finding0

    shots from 112 attacks against Melbourne City's high block: the only club whose high block conceded none.

  • Key finding47%

    of Western Sydney Wanderers's time without the ball is in a low block when losing, against 22% when winning. League-wide the score barely moves it (22% vs 22%).

Time Without the Ball

How it's counted

Time Without the Ball

Time without the ball

The opponent has the ball, ball in play only. Time with the ball is the opponent's time without it.

Loose ball
counted for both clubs
Score
the club's, at the time
Minute
15-minute bands, stoppage time in the last of each half
Data
SkillCorner phases of play

Coach

Head coach from the match report, credited as in Coach Reactions.

No coach names
filter faded

How much of the game each club spends defending, by score and venue.

  • Without the ball
  • With the ball
League 50%
Club
% without the ball
58%
57%
57%
56%
53%
53%
51%
50%
49%
47%
47%
44%
37%

SkillCorner - Tracking data

Time in Each Block

How it's counted

Time in Each Block

Defensive blocks

Share of the club's time without the ball, ball in play only. Every moment is tagged by the data.

High block
opponent building from its own third, under pressure
Medium block
the default, ball around the middle third
Low block
back line near its own box
Running back
after losing it: transition, quick break, long ball
Set play
corners, free kicks, long throws into the box
Loose ball
nobody in control
Score
the club's, at the time
Data
SkillCorner phases of play

Coach

Head coach from the match report, credited as in Coach Reactions.

No coach names
filter faded

How each club spends its time without the ball, from high block to low.

  • High block
  • Medium block
  • Low block
  • Running back
  • Set play
  • Loose ball
League 16%
Club
High block %
25%
24%
19%
19%
17%
17%
17%
15%
12%
12%
12%
12%
11%

SkillCorner - Tracking data

How High the Back Line Sits

How it's counted

How High the Back Line Sits

Back line

The deepest outfield defender's distance from his own goal, weighted by time.

Read
on every opponent possession

Coach

Head coach from the match report, credited as in Coach Reactions.

No coach names
filter faded

How far each club's last line stands from its own goal without the ball.

League 32.8
Club
Metres
38.2
36.2
35.6
34.6
34.5
32.9
32.5
30.1
30.1
30.1
29.8
29.1
28.1

SkillCorner - Tracking data

Where Each Block Starts

How it's counted

Where Each Block Starts

Where each block starts

Each time the opponent's attack enters a new phase, the ball's spot at that moment. Drawn from the defending club's side: its own goal on the left.

Phase
a stretch of play tagged with one block; a new one starts when the attack changes phase
Share
of the club's phases (in the picked block) that began in the zone; opens on the medium block
Pitch
6 bands goal to goal × 5 channels: wings, half-spaces, centre
Read with care
high blocks always start in the opponent's third and low blocks never do: the tag depends on where the ball is
Data
SkillCorner phases of play

Coach

Head coach from the match report, credited as in Coach Reactions.

No coach names
filter faded

Where the ball is when a club settles into each block.

0 phases began here1 phases began here<1%33 phases began here7%26 phases began here6%41 phases began here9%2 phases began here<1%0 phases began here0 phases began here16 phases began here3%20 phases began here4%26 phases began here6%1 phases began here<1%0 phases began here0 phases began here20 phases began here4%31 phases began here7%36 phases began here8%12 phases began here3%0 phases began here1 phases began here<1%27 phases began here6%10 phases began here2%40 phases began here9%3 phases began here1%0 phases began here2 phases began here<1%44 phases began here9%31 phases began here7%43 phases began here9%0 phases began here
← own goalattacks →

SkillCorner - Tracking data

Does the Block Work?

How it's counted

Does the Block Work?

Block outcomes

Each spell in a block, and the attack it was part of.

Ball won
the opponent lost it in the spell; per 10 minutes in the block
To a shot
the opponent's possession went on to end in a shot
Shown
a minute or more in the block

Small samples

Clubs with one tracked match are shown, not ranked.

Coach

Head coach from the match report, credited as in Coach Reactions.

No coach names
filter faded

How often each block wins the ball, and how often the attack against it ends in a shot.

League 7.2
Club
Ball won / 10 min
11.2
10.8
10.1
8.0
7.7
6.8
6.5
5.9
5.8
5.6
5.3
4.5
1.3

SkillCorner - Tracking data

Blocks by Score and Minute

How it's counted

Blocks by Score and Minute

Score, half and minute

Share of ball-in-play time: with the ball, then each block.

Score
the club's, at the time
Minute
15-minute bands, stoppage time in the last of each half
Minutes
ball in play

Do teams defend more, and deeper, when they lead or as the match wears on?

  • With the ball
  • High block
  • Medium block
  • Low block
  • Running back
  • Set play
  • Loose ball
Score
Minutes
Winning
614
Drawing
875
Losing
614

SkillCorner - Tracking data