A Comparative analysis of the physical, technical and tactical performance leading to goals scored in elite male and female football competition. Leeds Beckett University.Carnegie Faculty. Submitted in part fulfilment of the degree, BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching. 1 | Page
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A Comparative analysis of the physical, technical and tactical
performance leading to goals scored in elite male and female football
competition.
Leeds Beckett University.Carnegie Faculty.
Submitted in part fulfilment of the degree, BSc (Hons) Sports Coaching.
Jonathon Robert Holden (33238252)
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Declaration
I confirm that this Major Independent Study constitutes my own work. I confirm that the text of the submission does not exceed the upper word limit of 10,000 words.
Student (Print Name) ………………………………………………………………
Signed ………………………………………………………………
Date ………………………………………………………………
Supervisor ……………………………………………………………...
Date ……………………………………………………………..
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Contents
List of Tables..........................................................................................................................................5
List of Appendices..................................................................................................................................6
Table 1 – Table showing number of games played, goals scored, goal per game ratio and average distance of goals scored by male and female football teams.
Table 1.2 – Table showing how goals were scored by both teams, including statistics on distribution of left, right and headed goals and the techniques used.
Table 1.3 – Table showing data collected regarding the location in the net where goals were scored by both teams.
Table 2 – Table showing where possession was won and how it was won by both teams.
Table 3 – Table showing data collected on the number of players involved, number of touches on the ball and the average pass length in the build-up to a goal. This table also shows where the final ball distribution was made from.
Table 4 – Table showing when goals were scored during the duration of the game.
Table 4.2 – This table shows the match state prior to and post goals being scored.
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List of Appendices
Appendix 1 - Notational Analysis Tool
Appendix 2 - Pitch Channels
Appendix 3 - Goal Area
Appendix 4 – Goal Location
Appendix 5 – Male Notation Data
Appendix 6 – Female Notation Data
Appendix 7 – Male Goal Area Data
Appendix 8 – Female Goal Area Data
Appendix 9 – Male Goal Location Data
Appendix 10 – Female Goal Location Data
Appendix 11 – Thirds of a Pitch
Appendix 12 – Male Team Formation
Appendix 13 – Female Team Formation
Appendix 14 – Leeds Beckett University Ethics Forms
Appendix 15 – Meeting Minutes Forms
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Acknowledgements
My thanks firstly go to my friends, especially; Alex Hindwood, Jack Banks and John Bentley, who throughout my time, especially my final year at university, have always supported me and been there for reassurance throughout.
I would like to thank my M.I.S supervisor, Stephen McKeown for his endless support, enthusiasm and knowledge on my topic.
Thanks to every single player and staff member who I have the pleasure of working with at Leeds Beckett University Football Club and Bradford City Women’s Football Club for providing the inspiration for this research. It would be a huge understatement to say that, without working with these players, none of what I have learnt at university would have been meaningful. To those players who have contributed directly to my university work I am even more grateful.
I would also like to personally thank John Hall and Chris Welburn, who without I wouldn’t have been involved with the university football programme and would not have been able to achieve what I have so far as a coach. Both have been assessors on my FA coaching courses and been incredibly inspirational and motivating, as well as being incredible role models.
Finally I would like to thank Laura Gadd, without who I would probably have stopped working on this research project. She is someone who is always there for me and has always believed in me.
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Abstract
The popularity and professionalism of women’s football (soccer) continues to grow
all over the globe in the build up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada 2015.
With players being able to earn more from their footballing contracts than the
expenses they incur, putting them in to professional or semi-professional status. With
increased research in to the physical comparisons within male and female versions
of the game in existence, this study aims to present the technical and tactical
differences in the game too. This study identified the differences in attacking
strategies that lead to goals (n=66) created by two elite football teams. All the games
analysed were regular season games (n=24) played at the home ground of the two
teams being observed. One of the teams being analysed is a professional female
football team, while the other is a professional male football team. Both teams
finished first in their respective leagues in the season prior to this study being
conducted in April 2015. From the data compiled it is apparent that at present the
women’s game is far more technical and tactical opposed to the physical nature of
the male game. The build up to goals in the female game is slower and longer in
duration, allowing for more touches on the ball, more passes and more players to be
involved. It has also shown a stark contrast in the methods used by male and female
player to gain possession of the ball and the areas of the pitch for them to attempt to
do so. The number of goals scored by successful male and female teams is similar
over the course of 12 competitive league games. The average difference in distance
from goal for men to score from is .5m further away than goals scored by the female
team.
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Introduction
Analysis of football games has received great attention over the last decade or so.
The results of this analysis has been utilised by coaches for the planning of weekly
training sessions, their annual goals and informing their coaching philosophies. The
objective of analysis is to examine the strengths and weaknesses of a team or an
individual (Carling, Williams, & Reilly 2005). In this instance two teams have been
analysed to determine the difference in strategies used by elite male and female
football teams. The attacking strategies of many teams from all over the world have
been analysed, however predominately using male football teams in their samples.
Scoring goals is a rarity in football and given that they are the key statistic that
determines the outcome of a game, it is vital that teams are able to create them.
Goal scoring has received extensive attention in scientific research (Hughes &
Franks, 2005 and Tenga et al 2010). Armatas & Yiannakos (2010) reported that in
almost 70% of matches, the team scoring the first goal, goes on to win the game.
There is still a lack of scientific research published on the attacking strategies
employed in women’s football. The technical, tactical and physical attributes of male
and female footballers differ, Kirkendall et al, (2002). Mara et al, (2012) have
analysed the attacking strategies implemented by Australian W-League sides in 34
league games. The outcome of their research showed the differences in the
approaches taken by the most successful and the least successful teams in the
league over the course of a season. While Kirkendall et al, (2002) have compared
male and female strategies used at the 1998 and 1999 FIFA World Cup tournaments
in France and Brazil respectively. However the development of women’s football
over the last 16 years has been immeasurable, with the creation of ‘professional’
leagues for female’s in their early years all over the world. The Football Association
Women’s Super League (FA WSL) being introduced in England in 2010 when there
were just 8 founding teams. There are now 18 sides with licences to play in the two
tiered FA WSL in 2015, while the majority of the sides remaining semi-professional.
The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the United States of America was
founded in 2012 following the demise of the Women’s Premier Soccer league, due to
financial reasons. While in the US, national team players are distributed evenly to
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each of the 8 member teams and are paid by the national governing bodies.
Statistics from The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA 2013) show that
women’s football is one of the fastest growing team sports in the world, with some
nations reporting increases of 511% in registered players over a five year period
leading up to the study being conducted. While the English ‘Game Changer’ strategy
has enhanced the funding in the female game in the country to £15M, the Football
Association still makes no mention of the differences in the male and female game in
either its coaching manual (FA 2014) or its Future Game document (FA 2010). There
is a severe lack of research done to compare elite male and female football, only
Bradley et al, (2014) have directly compared elite footballers previously.
Aims and Objectives of this study
This new research has specifically looked at the differences in: The position on the
field that possession of the ball is won, the number of individuals involved in the
build-up to a goal being scored, the number of touches each player has, the number
of ball distributions made, where the final ball distribution is made from, where the
shot on goal leading to a goal scored is made from, where in the goal the ball
crosses the goal line, the length of time passed from possession being won to a goal
being scored, the time of the goal and the state of the game pre and post goal being
scored. To ensure this study is as relevant as possible, both teams used are playing
at the highest level possible in club football. The study has assessed games played
in home league fixtures only to ensure that the reliability and validity of data recorded
is not affected by changes in the size of the pitch. The results from this study have
been generated with coaches in mind, to help highlight the key physical, technical
and tactical differences in male and female football. This information should not be
taken as being solely for football coaches, as other invasion sports such as rugby,
basketball and hockey may also have similar differences to those brought to light in
this study. The results of this study aim to help coaches create attacking strategies
based on the key physical, technical and tactical differences in male and female elite
football. The study also aims to define the development of female football in line with
that of male football.
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Literature Review
In order to compile this literature review, a systematic compilation of relative
research has been compiled using; Sport Discus, PubMed, Discover and Google
Scholar. Journals with key terms such as; gender differences in sport, attacking
strategies and soccer match analysis were located using these databases and were
narrowed down using date published to locate the most recent and up to date
studies in the related areas for this research project.
Attacking Strategies
The ability to score goals has a huge bearing on overall success levels, teams in
several of the world’s top leagues (English Premier League, Spanish Premiera and
the German Bundesliga) shows that those who score the most goals finish higher up
the league table. Teams at the top of the league were able to score 2 goals per
game on average while those at the bottom are only able to average 1 per game.
This is also the case for women’s teams competing in elite level competitions (Mara
et al 2012). To enhance their ability to score goals teams often create attacking
strategies with the intent of producing moments more likely to produce a goal
(Luhtanen et al, 2001). However, Cordes et al, (2012) suggested that coaches rarely
spend time comparing actual performance to that planned prior to the game, instead
opting to provide general feedback to the team. These attacking strategies are often
specific to the position on the pitch where possession is won and where the attacking
team wish to position the ball in order to create goal scoring opportunities (Horn et al,
2002). Again the quality of the team usually determines the areas of the pitch they
choose to exploit, Mara et al, (2012) found that the teams finishing in the top
positions scored most of their goals by attacking from the left, the mid-table teams
attacking from the right and the least successful teams attacked through the middle.
The type, length, height and direction of ball distribution is a vital factor in the
effectiveness in a team’s attacking strategy (Taylor et al, 2005 & Leite et al, 2009).
Mara et, al. (2012) analysed the strategies employed by teams in the Australian W-
League in 34 games, which showed that 24% of goals scored over the course of the
league season by all of the teams involved were the result of a cross in open play
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and that 26% of corners taken directly led to a shot on target. This would suggest
that crossing is a fundamental part of the game and should be a key aspect of
successful teams play. This research was conducted on the Australian national
women’s league, The W-League, which was established in 2008. This league is
dominated by Australian players, with the Australian national team sitting 10 th in the
world. This could question the quality of play being analysed by the researchers.
With women’s football increasing in stature and quality since 2012 when the
research was completed, the validity of this study at present is now questionable. In
analysing the attacking strategies of the 8 teams in the league in 2010/11 they
looked at all the games played in the league on all grounds throughout the country.
The amount of travel teams making to play in away games could have a significant
effect on their strategy in attack. The research does not discuss the formations used
by the teams either, this could also dictate the strategy they use to create goal-
scoring opportunities. The size of the pith being played is also not considered and
therefor this could affect the areas in which teams choose to attack from. Should a
pitch be narrow they would have less opportunity to play the ball in to the right or left
wing areas. Taylor et al. (2005) & Leite et al. (2009) both also suggested that the
area of the pitch in which possession of the ball is used is key to goal-scoring.
Teams who operate in the wide areas and manage to deliver a cross in to the central
area promote goal-scoring opportunities. Published research by Hughes & Franks
(2005) and Yiannakos & Armatas (2006) focusses on the comparisons between
direct (using long passes) and possession play (using shorter passes). This research
examined the relative success of these two different approaches to the game and
recommended that direct play was most effective in creating a goal-scoring
opportunity. However analysis from the 2011 Women’s World Cup suggests that the
long ball no longer has a place in the game according to FIFA (2011), yet this
approach was very effective in the 2014 Under 20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA
(2014). The differences in the U20’s ability to be successful through the long, direct
passing approach highlights the lack of ability to read the game, due to less
experienced players in comparison to those playing in the senior competition. It
could also be a sign that the game is changing and the physical capabilities of
female players is increasing and therefor allowing players to hit long, direct passes
that are now more effective due to the pace of the pass. Lago (2009) suggested that
teams often change the style of play during a game depending on the game
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situation, whether they were winning, losing or drawing. Teams retain possession of
the ball for longer periods, possession play, while losing in an attempt to dictate play.
This is opposed to when winning or drawing, these teams are more inclined to play
‘direct play’ as they are happy to counter attack their opposition, Bloomfield et al.
(2005), Jones et al. (2004) and Lago and Martin (2007). The attacking strategies of
many teams from all over the world have been analysed, however predominately
using male football teams in their samples. There is still a lack of scientific research
published on the attacking strategies employed in women’s football. The technical,
tactical and physical attributes of male and female footballers differ, Kirkendall et al.
(2002). This research suggests that the majority of goals scored in men’s football
were a direct result of set plays in contrast to women’s, where a large proportion of
goals scored were from open play. While research has been done on the
effectiveness of direct free-kicks in women’s football by Alcock (2010), little has been
done on the open play strategies.
Physical Comparison
While there are distinct differences in the intensity in which the men’s and women’s
games are played, the nature of the game, in terms of work-rest ratios, and
proportion of time spent moving at several different intensities is very similar
between men and women (Andersson et al. 2010, Gabbett & Mulvey 2008 and
Gabbett et al. 2012). Football has been characterised as a physical game defined by
athlete’s ability to perform high-intensity bouts of movement following longer periods
of low intensity movement, (Gabbett, Carius&Mulvey 2008 and Bradley et. al, 2013).
FIFA (2011) and Bradley et al, (2013) both suggest that female players are unable to
produce high levels of sprinting ability. The average distance sprinted at maximal
velocity in the 2011 Women’s World Cup was just 55m. This equates to just 0.5% of
the game time spent at maximum speed. Whereas men in the 2010 World Cup were
able to spend 5.1% of the time at top speed (FIFA 2010). However these figures
could be argued to be unfair as the sprint speed used for both groups were the
same, meaning female players had to reach the same speed as their male
counterparts to be considered to be sprinting. Lepers, Knechtle& Stapley (2013)
found that in the 2012 London Olympic Triathlon event that the average time
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difference over a 10km run was 12.3% in favour of males. While in cycling the time
difference over ranging distances from 100m to 2000m is 11% in favour of males
according to Schumacher, Mueller and Keul (2001).Baumgart, Hoppe &Freiwald
(2014) found that there is a difference of 11.3% and 31.6% in incremental and
interval shuttle run testing between male and female soccer players in Germany.
They also noted that the gender differences increased when the training was
intermittent and non-linear. With football being characterised as a physical game
where physical performance is measured by the distance covered in a game and an
athlete’s ability to perform short periods of high intensity, high velocity movement,
between longer periods of moderate to low speed running. So by using the same
speed variables to determine running intensity for male and female soccer players
could be seen as unfavourable to females. Baumgart et al (2014) used a male team
from division four of the national league to compare against a division one female
side, this was due to the similarity of training schedules to allow the tests to be
deemed fair. However a comparison of the most elite female footballers in Germany
could have been compared to the most elite male teams, this would have given a
better representation of the standard of elite women’s football in the country. The
tests run did allow for the assumed differences in physical ability between male and
females. The researchers allowed the female athletes to start at a slower speed than
the males in their incremental tests, however the increase in speeds were the same
for both. This would mean that the relative increase in pace for women would be
higher than that of their male comparisons. The tests were also done on different
days, the researchers noted a difference of seven degrees Celsius and 15% in
humidity on the two separate occasions. They failed to note in the article which
athletes had the benefit of the favourable conditions for their tests. While Datson et
al, (2014) state that women’s physical performance can be effected by their stage of
the menstrual cycle, something again the Baumgart et al study does not take in to
account.
As women train and compete at all stages of their menstrual cycle, the possible effect on performance should be considered. These effects have received a limited amount of research attention and the findings to date have been unclear. (Datson et al, 2014)
Pankhurst & Collins (2013) stated that the technical ability of an athlete is limited by
their physical development. The world records for 100m and 200m sprints for
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females has stood since 1988 while the male world records have been broken on
several occasions since then and most recently set in 2009 according to IAAF data
(http://www.iaaf.org/records/by-category/world-records). If the statement from
Pankhurst and Collins be considered fact then the inability of females to develop
over short sprint distances is holding back their ability to perform technically at the
elite level in football. Data collected by Vescovi & Favero (2014) provides evidence
that Division One players in the American college system have similar outputs in all
the speed bands used to analyse the movements of players regardless of whether
the complete the whole game, substituted on or substituted off. Coaches in this
league have an unlimited number of substitutions, in the second half, available to
them and players are free to leave and re-enter the same game after a substitution.
Carling et al, (2009) reported no difference in the work rates, of French first division
players, for second half substitutes in comparison to the players they had replaced in
the game. However an analysis completed by Bradley et al (2013) showed a
significant difference in both total distance covered, 117m/minute to 109m/minute,
and high intensity movement, 33m/minute to 23m/minute by players substituted on
compared to those playing a complete game.
Technical and Tactical Comparison
While a footballer has a requirement to have an all-round ability to move at varying
speeds, the game is more than just a physical contest (Gabbett, Carius & Mulvey
2008). Football is also a test of technical and psychological skill and an athlete’s
ability to perform under pressure and fatigue (Abernethy & Russell1987). Bradley et.
al (2013) suggested that the total time in possession of the ball, the total number of
touches and the duels won is was the same for players in the male and female
game. However it did suggest that male footballers have a better pass completion
and lost possession less often than females of a similar standard of competition.
Success at the 2010 FIFA World Cup depended on team’s abilities to intercept
passes and make tackles to recover possession of the ball, Barreira et al, (2013) and
Delgado-Bordonau(2013) stated team’s attacking ability was more important than the
quality of their defending in the same tournament. However they stated that the more
successful teams, those who reached the knock out stages, weren’t able to develop
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their attacking qualities yet their defensive ability declined as the tournament
continued. Teams in this tournament also paid a high price on possession and this
was successful as the teams who had most possession were able to win more often
than their opponents (FIFA 2010). Whereas in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil teams
with less possession were able to win 21 games (FIFA 2014). This was in large part
down to their ability to counter attack, FIFA (2011) stated that female footballers
weren’t able to counter attack due to the lack of explosive movements female
players are able to generate. While these study’s all discuss the strategies of
international male football in tournament play. Barreira et al, (2013) showed there
was a significant difference in the ball retrieval methods used by the most successful
teams from the group matches to the knock-out phase of the same tournament.
‘A notational analysis system has not been developed to evaluate the technical and tactical skill of a player in order to determine its importance in scoring goals during a soccer game. In fact, for an observer (usually the coach), the traditional method of assessing skill and its importance in a game has been to watch a game and make subjective conclusions about the individuals’ or team’s performance.’ (Thomas et al, 2009)
This research analysed individual skills performed over ten games for one college
football team in the United States of America. The results showed that on average
45% of the skills executed by players were defensively linked, yet the team being
assessed conceded just three goals in the ten game period under investigation and
averaged 2.3 goals per game scored by the team in question. The researchers
suggested that dribbling was the most important skill in the game, however only 8%
of games were spent by players dribbling with the ball and that defensive skills were
the least important in the game. Given the time spent by players performing these
types of skills it is hard to determine if these comments would be a fair assumption.
As coaches they may believe that defending is the least important aspect of the
game they need to work on as a team due to their excellent defensive record. Given
the small sample size of players analysed and that it was limited to one team’s style
of play it is impossible to generalise from the nature of this study.
There is a key difference between the genders at this age group, with female players
able to achieve success through the long ball up to the forward players, while male
players rely on individuals or counter attacks through midfield to create goal scoring
opportunities, FIFA (2014) and FIFA (2012). However the 2012 London Olympic
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tournament for men did include players over the age group as per FIFA’s ruling on
junior tournaments. The women’s 2012 Olympics were won again by USA, the fourth
time in the five occasions that women’s football has featured on the Olympic
calendar. FIFA (2012) suggested that the USA were able to heavily rely on the
individual brilliance of Carli Llyod, Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan to create
openings while other teams worked together cohesively to build up play using a
variety of attacking strategies and formations. The report from the Olympics showed
that each team now clearly has its own playing philosophy, as opposed to previous
tournaments, where teams would change styles of play from game to game. In all
three of the last major Women’s tournaments the majority of goals have come from
wing play (FIFA 2011, 2012 & 2014), compounding the importance of the research
complied by Mara et al, (2012). However the work of Thomas et al, (2009) cannot be
over looked when taking the importance of dribbling in to account. The lack of work
produced on women’s football globally means there is currently no data to tell us
how the ball was worked to the wing for the goals to be scored in the first place.
Wingers are renowned for their ability to travel at pace with the ball, especially in the
men’s game (Giggs, Robben, Ronaldo and Bale). Zubilagaet, al. (2013) identified the
influence of the position of the ball in team shape for Spanish women’s football
teams. This research used GPS tracking technology to analyse the position of
players in relation to the position of the ball at any given time in games. They were
able to establish the shape and size of the pitch being used during different phases
of play. From this coaches are able to determine the technical and tactical skills
players need in these moments of the game. This study did not make note of the
size of the pitch the six games was being played on or whether this was the same for
the whole study. This research may have been limited to one playing area and the
playing surface may also have an effect on this, the study does not say whether the
game was played on grass or an artificial surface. Research conducted by
Konstadinidou & Tsigilis (2005) suggested that teams who are able to make crosses
in to the mid-section of the receivers body, between the knee and shoulder, were
more successful than crosses of any other height. This would suggest that women’s
footballers are less likely to head the ball and prefer to control the ball before having
a shot at goal.
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Method
Ethical Approval
Before this research commenced all ethical approval requirements were passed in
accordance with Leeds Beckett University ethic’s processes. (See Appendix 14)
Subjects
Notational analysis coded all goals scored (n=36) in home games by two
professional football teams, one male and one female. The female team played 12
home games while the male team played 19, therefore only the games played
against the next best 12 teams have been analysed for this study. The two teams
that have been chosen in this study both won their respective leagues in the
season’s ending in 2014. All ball distributions, individual ball touches, set pieces and
shots have been coded from the time possession of the ball was won to the point the
ball crossing the goal line. The performance analysis also includes where on the field
possession was won and how it was regained by the team.
Match Analysis
Games publically broadcast for both teams were analysed using a hand notational
analysis system designed specifically for this study Appendix 1. The analysis was
compiled by an experienced data analyst who has experience in coaching both male
and female football of a high level. The observations were made in lapsed-time and
the analyst was permitted to pause, stop or rewind the footage at any time to
increase the accuracy of the date being coded, Bloomfield et al (2004). The variables
used in this study describe the attacking strategy produced by the attacking team
from possession being gained to the goal type. The variables used and the
associated definitions are outlined below.
Definitions:
Games Played – The total number of games analysed from each of the teams being used in the study.
Goals Scored – The total number of goals scored in all games played by each of the teams being used in the study.
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Goals:Game – The average number of goals scored per game each of the teams played.
Average Goal Distance – The average distance from goal the ball was last struck by the goals scorer before the goal was scored.
Average Goal Distance* - The average distance from goal the ball was last struck by the goal scorer before the goal was scored, minus those goals scored as a direct result of a penalty.
Player:Goal - The average number of different individual players involved from the time possession is won to a goal being scored.
Touch:Goal – The average number of individual touches on the ball from the time possession is won to a goal being scored. This number is inclusive of the final touch before the ball is deemed to have crossed the goal line for a goal.
Ball Distribution:Goal – The average number of distributions made from the time possession is won to a goal being scored. This does not include the final distribution from the goal scorer.
Average Pass Length – The average length of pass made from the time possession is won to a goal being scored.
Average Goal Duration – The average length of time that has elapsed from the moment possession is won to a goal being scored.
Attacking Strategy: This is broken down into where the ball is won, how the ball is won and the ball distribution type leading up to a goal being scored by the attacking team in possession of the ball.
Ball Distribution: This describes the movement the ball travels thorough leading up to a goal being scored.
Pass - intentional transfer of the ball from one player to another on the same team.
Cross - Intentional transfer of the ball from one player to another on the same team, from a wide zone (Left or Right) to the central zone inside the penalty area.
Free Kick - The method of restarting play after a foul has been committed. Corner - The method of restarting play if the defending team touches the ball
last and the ball goes out of play beyond the by-line. Throw in - The method of restarting play if the defending team touches the
ball last and the ball goes out of play beyond the side-line. Final Ball – The last ball transfer made to the individual who scores the goal.
Pass/Cross type: The method in which the intentional pass/cross is made from one player to another.
Conventional: distribution made with the inside of either foot that stays below knee height.
Driven: distribution made with the laces of either foot that travels below waist height.
Lofted: distribution made with the laces of either foot that travels above waist height.
Swerved: distribution made with the inside of either foot that bends, from left to right or right to left, as it travels from one player to the next.
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Left – The final ball distribution, to the goal scorer, was from the left wing area. See Appendix 2.
Right – The final ball distribution, to the goal scorer, was from the right wing area. See Appendix 2.
Centre – The final ball distribution, to the goal scorer, was from the central area. See Appendix 2.
Goal Type: This is broken down in to many areas including the part of the body used, the way in which this body part is used and the area from which a goal was scored, intentionally or not.
Left Foot– The goal was scored using the left leg/foot of the last individual, of the attacking team, to touch the ball before a goal was scored.
Right Foot – The goal was scored using the right leg/foot of the last individual, of the attacking team, to touch the ball before a goal was scored.
Head – The goal was scored using the head of the last individual, of the attacking team, to touch the ball before a goal was scored.
Inside – The inside of the foot was used to direct the ball in to the goal. Laced – The top section of the foot was used to direct the ball in to the goal. Glanced – The ball was deflected in to, using the pace of the ball distribution,
the goal by the goal scorers head. Driven – The goal scorer applied power to the ball, using their head, to direct
the ball in to the goal. Goal Time – The amount of time passed in the game from kick-off to the point
of the goal being scored. Goal Area – The area of the net in which the ball is placed for a goal to be
given. See appendix 3 Goal Location –The area on the pitch from which the goal was scored from.
See appendix 4
Data Analysis
All data has been analysed using Microsoft Excel (Version 2010 for Windows, USA).
The software was used to produce total and average figures for the various aspects
of the data collected through the hand notational analysis of the technical and
tactical performanceAppendix 5 - Male and Appendix 6 – Female. The analysis has
examined the differences in the number of passes, players involved and the number
of individual touches on the ball by those players from the moment possession of the
ball has been won to the moment a goal was scored by the attacking team. Data has
also been recorded to understand where on the pitch the ball was won, how the ball
has been won and the area from which the final ball distribution was made before a
shot was made that lead to a goal being scored. An examination of each goal has
20 | P a g e
been to establish the location the shot was taken from and the area of the net the
goal was scored in.
21 | P a g e
ResultsHow many goals were scored?
The data collected showed that the teams scored 66 goals between them in the 24
games that were analysed. Both teams failed to score in one game each, this
resulted in a 0-0 draw for the female team while the male team went on to record a
0-1 defeat. The male team scored a total of 36 goals and 3 goals per game, while
the female team scored 30 at an average of 2.5 per game for the 12 games they
played. This is a difference of 16% in favour of the male team over the female side.
Table 1
Male FemaleGoal Data
Games Played 12 12Goals Scored 36 30Goals:Game 3 2.5Average Goal Distance 11.61 11.33Average Goal Distance*
Channel Final Ball From Play SwitchedTimes Switched
Centre 0Centre 0Centre 0Centre 0Left Centre to Left 2
RightRight to Centre 1
Centre 0Centre 0Centre 0Centre 0Centre 0Centre 0Centre Centre to Left 2Right Left to Centre 1Centre 0Centre 0Left Left to Centre 1Centre 0Centre 0Centre Centre to Left 2
CentreRight to Centre 1
Centre 0Centre 0
RightRight to Centre 1
Centre 0Centre 0Left Left to Centre 1Centre 0Centre 0Left Left to Centre 1Centre 0Centre 0Left Left to Centre 2
Pen-IRF, BLHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central TackleShot - IRF, BLHC 15 Inside Extreme Central OffsideShot - IRF, Centre 7 Inside Extreme Central GKHead - Glanced, TC 6 Inside Intermediate Central InterceptionHead - Driven, TC 5 Inside Immediate Central InterceptionShot - Driven, RF, BLHC 23 Outside Right Central InterceptionPen-IRF, BRHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central Foul
Shot - IRF, Centre 11Inside Intermediate Right Central Tackle
Shot - IRF, Centre 8 Inside Intermediate Central OffsidePen - IRF, TLHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central OffsideHead - Glanced, TC 11 Inside Intermediate Central InterceptionVolley - Driven RF, BLHC 11 Inside Intermediate Central InterceptionShot - Driven LF, BRHC 19 Outside Left Central InterceptionPen - IRF, BLHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central InterceptionShot - RF, TC, Lob 22 Outside Left Central ThrowinPen - IRF, BRHC 12 Inside Intermediate Central InterceptionVolley - Driven, RF, BLHC 6 Inside Immediate Right Central InterceptionShot - ILF, BRHC 8 Inside Intermediate Left Central GKShot - IRF, BRHC 10 Inside Extreme Central InterceptionShot - IRF, Centre 8 Inside Intermediate Central InterceptionShot - ILF, BLHC 7 Inside Intermdiate Left InterceptionHead - Glanced, TRHC 11 Inside Intermediate Central Interception
Shot - Driven, RF, BLHC 13Inside Intermediate Right Central Interception
Head - Glanced, TLHC 7 Inside Intermediate Left Central Interception
Shot - IRF, BRHC 10Inside Intermediate Right Central Interception
Shot - Driven, RF, TRHC 8 Outside Left Central InterceptionVolley - Lob, RF, Centre 23 Inside Extreme Central FoulShot - IRF, BRHC 13 Outside Left Central InterceptionShot - Driven, RF, BRHC 10 Inside Intermediate Central GKShot - IRF, BRHC 8 Inside Intermediate Left Central Interception