Game management: the last two minutes

Setup

1. Two full teams of five, with substitutes in the substitution zones.
2. A coach runs a stop clock: it stops whenever the ball is out of play.
3. Before each round, the coach sets a scenario: score, team fouls and whether each team still has its timeout.

How it runs

1. Each round is 2 minutes of stop-clock play from a set scenario.
2. Example 1: Blues lead 1-0, Reds have the ball and a timeout left.
3. Example 2: level, Blues are on 5 team fouls, so the next one is a 10 m kick.
4. Example 3: Reds trail by 1 with 60 seconds left and can bring on a fly goalkeeper.
5. Each team's official may call one 1-minute timeout per round, when their team has the ball and it's out of play.
6. After each round, 2 minutes' review: what was the right call, and did we make it?
7. Run 5 or 6 rounds, swapping who leads.

Coaching points

• Leading: keep the ball and stay calm. The clock runs only while it's in play, so possession is what wastes time.
• Leading: no risky passes across your own goal. Play forward into the pivot or to the corners.
• On 5 team fouls: defend standing up and show players wide. The sixth gives a kick with no wall.
• Restarts: take kick-ins and free kicks within 4 seconds, but with a plan.
• Trailing: decide early when the fly goalkeeper goes on, and use the timeout to set the power play.
• Know the opponent's fouls too. Attack the player who is one foul from giving a 10 m kick.
• Captain and coach: agree the call and tell everyone. One message at a time.

Common mistakes

• Leading team booting the ball out, which stops the clock and gives it straight back.
• Rushing a restart and losing the ball in their own half.
• Forgetting the team-foul count and fouling in a dangerous area.
• Saving the timeout and never using it.
• Trailing team bringing on the fly goalkeeper too late to matter.