Performance Analysis

Performance indicators are normally selections or even combinations of action variables that are normally aimed at defining different aspects of performance in different sports. These indicators of performance should always be related to the successful performance of an outcome, especially when seeking university dissertation help (Mackenzie and Cushion, 2013).

Technical parameters

This game is between Hibernian U20s and Greenock Morton U20s. The player coordination in the Greenock is superb and the players appear to be very fit physically. Their ball control is superb as their dribbling skills and accuracy of passes. The good ball control is shown by the ability of the different members in the team to collect the ball and gain control of it using the different parts of their bodies including their heads, chests, legs and feet. This is one of the reasons why throughout the first half, they maintain a high possession of the ball. Those players who are normally good at ball control are normally in a better position to receive passes on both the ground and even out of the air with clean first touches and keeping the balls close to their bodies. There is a close relation between ball control and the ability of a player to maintain ball possession and further preventing the opponent players from accessing the ball. The player with jersey number three in Greenock Morton U20s specifically is observed to be quick and sharp whenever with the ball. The importance of these abilities in achieving success in football is paramount.

Ball possession chart for the entire game

For soccer players, the coordination skills which are normally important are spatial orientation which involves the awareness of a player of their position within a pitch in relation to different teammates and even their opponents, especially whenever they turn. Players should also have good balance. Proper balance is the stable posture of a player even when they are pressurised by their opponents. Good players should also have high reaction speeds (Carling et al., 2014). This entails being capable of being the first to reach the ball whenever it rebounds from the goalkeeper. Additionally, players should also have proper rhythmic skills. This includes an explosive start on landing after a jump to head the ball or an equivalent excellent dribble following a feint.

The dribbling skills among the players in Hibernian U20s are on the other hand quite poor. Dribbling skills normally refer to the abilities of a player to move up and down a pitch, with both feet and in different directions. The players in this team do not have proper skills of dribbling. They are not able to successfully manoeuvre through their opponents with ease and without losing the possession of the ball. So as to achieve success in football, it is necessary that football players have superb dribbling skills. It is with no doubt that there exists a significant link between both the number of goals conceded and the number of goals scored and success in football. These relationships are, however, not very clear when compared to other such parameters like the number of passes completed and shots on goal and a game’s final results.

Greenock Morton U20s superb passing skills are evident from most of the first half of the game. The accuracy is evidenced by the ability of the players to use their different body parts to send the ball to the desired players in different instances. These players appear to have properly trained as at most instances different players are seen to send the ball to their teammate's feet with a high level of accuracy and also with power and precision. Generally, passing sequences that are long are always an efficient means of scoring as compared to passing sequences that are shorter. Greenock Morton U20s was observed to execute a wide variety of passes as they used this as a tool of creating shots and further reducing on the chances of their predictability and further increasing the frequency of shots. The team used both chips and passes significantly as compared to their usage in Hibernian U20s. The number of shots for Greenock Morton U20s were increased by penetrative passes into the 6-yard area and the box. On the other hand, for Hibernian U20s, there were relatively more passes within the pre-defensive area.

Physical/Physiological parameters

The players’ capacity in terms that are physical seemed to be a factor that was key in match performance, which was evidently the weakest team in the game physical was a key indicator of performance throughout the match despite the fact that Hibernian U20s, covered a distance that was greater in high-speed movement activity. This is with no doubt a good suggestion that there are other factors that are important for the achievement of success and not just physical performance. Differences that were not very significant were observed in body composition. There, however, were also differences that were quite significant differences between the players in Greenock Morton U20s and the players in Hibernian U20s. The most notable differences were observed in power and strength measures which include, leg extension and the countermovement jump.

In all football scenarios, the player's technical abilities are influenced by their improved physical capabilities. These technical abilities include increased pass rates. As such, physical capacity as always the foundation for being ready to play, as the physical demands of the players will always be affected by different playing styles.

Greenock Morton U20s are using the 3-4-3 formation which in the football world is always considered to be a very offensive minded formation. With this formation, numerous options are provided to the players all over the field and this creates a style of attacking that is quite dynamic. In this formation, three men are offered backline that is quite strong for the opponent’s central attacks.in every football match, it is always essential for one of the central midfielders to always be in a position to cover in the spots that are defensive in the event a central defender is sucked outside for purposes of pressuring the ball. A holding midfielder is designated by the 3-4-3 format that covers whenever necessary and also shields the back line. The style used by Greenock Morton U20s allows the other midfielders to join attacks with lowered risks of being exposed on the counter-attack.

With the 3-4-3 format, Greenock Morton U20s are able to place pressure on the ball high up the field. Additionally, three forward players are provided by the formation together with numerous options for passing the ball forward and even playing through ball in behind the back line.

For Hibernian U20s, the 4-3-3 formation is used. This formation normally sets players on the pitch into three lines, consisting of a typical defence of two full-backs and two centre-backs, three midfielders in the centre and three strikers. Among the three strikers, there is usually one central striker and other two who play on the flanks (Memmert, D., Lemmink, K.A. and Sampaio, 2017). Key to Hibernian U20s formation are wide forwards who normally flank the lone striker. The pace of these players in Hibernian U20s is quite good and they sum up as all-around attacking players who normally have shooting abilities and pace. Two of the central midfielders aid the strikers. A tight triangle is formed by the central midfielders in the centre of the pitch and more than often, they take up the roles of being creators-destroyers-passers, to attack and further maintain proper possession of the ball.

Among all modern formations, the 4-3-3 formation is with no doubt the most overwhelming. At least seven players are normally given the opportunity of attacking by the 4-3-3 formation in possession, as the defence is squeezed by the wide forwards (Delal et al., 2015). As two of the central midfielders push forward, the full-backs come up behind them. Hibernian U20s are however not able to effectively and efficiently utilise this formation. The strangling quality of the 4-3-3 formation is its special quality. This is usually achieved from a combination of two different elements, a three-man central midfield with the capabilities of dominating possession through passing triangles and three strikers who are capable of pressing high up the pitch. If this formation had effectively been used, Greenock Morton U20s players would have found it quite hard to get the ball and staying with the ball would even be harder.

A 4-3-3 offensive that is fully functional is only comparable to a tide against a sand castle. Even though breaking through a defence takes time, eventually, it happens. Hibernian U20s` 4-3-3 is not capable of holding the ball whenever they attack something that makes them very vulnerable. Only the centre backs and the defensive midfielder are normally left back in defence. A very dangerous situation results from this, as the opposing wide players are given extra space to break into by this. The centre backs can be left in a very exposed situation if the top defensive midfielder is not strong physically nor has no great positioning (Hughes, and Bartlett, 2002). Misplaced passes by Hibernian U20s side led to numerous and dangerous counterattacks, some of which resulted in conceding of goals.

In addition, a huge amount of discipline is required from the players in a team using the 4-3-3 format. Their further exists a wide potential of being exposed by having wide forwards who are not capable of tracking back. It is necessary for those centre backs who storm up in support of attacks to have the energy to race back and further defend within 90 minutes.

Ball possession

Throughout the game, situational variables appeared to influence ball possession. Additionally, the status of the game influenced the variable of the game. For most of the first half, most of the game was played on Hibernian U20s half of the pitch. It appears that the score-line influenced ball possession in certain areas of the pitch. Something that is quite notable is that Greenock Morton U20s significantly increased its possession in the middle and attacking third in comparison to the average for the half. Their longer ball possession led to more shots per possession. The goals strike ratio was, however, better for direct play when compared to possession play. From the past, teams that have had higher ball possession percentages have scored even more often from longer possession of the ball. On the other hand, Hibernian U20s significantly increased its possession in the middle and attacking third and further decreased the possession in its own defensive third. What is actually interesting is that they played more passes within their pre defensive area. That really cost them.

Playing style/ formation - Tactical ability

Quantifying the tactical abilities of each and every player on the field is quite hard. However, the style of playing, tactical abilities and formation are all good indicators of performance. For example, some behaviours that would be considered as key sports behaviours include subsequent fast counter-attack and interception of the passes made by opponents (O`Donoghue, 2009). The offensive play in a team is normally influenced by situational variables, for example, the numerical relationship between defence and attack players. A key role was however played by offensive actions throughout the game. An organised offence more specifically presented the highest frequency in the scoring of goals. That is followed by counter-attacks and set pieces. Additionally, a huge chunk of the goals that were scored after attacks that only lasted for short durations and the ball was touched by the players for a maximum of three to four times.

As many on goal shots are performed directly from the area in front of the penalty area as well as the numerous. Crosses are with no doubt the most effective means of increasing shots on goal. One of the most promising ways of building up attacks is through mixing long and short passes. This additionally increases the chances of scoring from both long and short distance, something that increases the complexity of defending. For both teams, the pressure that was applied to players who had the ball proved to be crucial within the mid-offensive zone, as successful finishing was preceded by these actions, otherwise defined as shots on target. Behaviours in zones near the goal post of the opposing team mostly preceded the goals that were scored. At the end of the first half, it was evident that pressing was a key index in and around the box and in general players who were less pressured where more affected and as such more dangerous. Recovery of the ball was seen as an indicator of performance, defensively. A team’s individual defence ability has the capabilities of controlling the movements of the opposing team, something that greatly impacts on a teams` success (Sarmento et al., 2014).

Time-motion analysis

From this game, it is very evident that players who are fit have the potential of covering great distances, whenever this is required of them in total disregard of the level of play.

In the past, researchers have proven that those distances that are normally covered at high intensities are normally more valid and sound measures of physical performance in soccer. This is largely as a result of the strong relationship that exists between them and the status of training. Generally, however, parameters for time-motion analysis were also influenced by numerous factors, for example, the opponents, ball possession and score line and therefore were not appropriate indicators of performance (Hodgson, Akenhead, and Thomas, 2014).

Factors that influenced performance throughout the game

It is evident that performance is a very specific index that often is influenced by different variables and which should always be considered in such a context. At all gaming instances, the influences magnitude always needs to be considered with regards to the abilities of a team and its opponents. Those teams that are normally successful normally have significant differences from their opponents in terms of goals, shots on goal, the efficacy of shots on goals, possession in general, position characteristics for example counterattack, possession with 0-4 passes, successful passes. Throughout this game, the distinction between a team that is successful and one that is not successful becomes evident. Generally, Greenock Morton U20s, which was the more successful of the two teams had a higher ball possession percentage. Greenock Morton U20s preferred using ground passes into the final third, in deep contrast with Hibernian U20s the Greenock Morton U20s were also observed to be more efficient at scoring from set-plays when they were compared with their opponents.

The ultimate indicator of performance is always the ability to score more than the opponent. Scoring first is especially seen to have a strong impact on a game`s final outcome. The Greenock Morton U20s were the first to score in the first few minutes of the game. Something that was quite notable is that Hibernian U20s tended to show improved possession of the ball in the mid offensive zone. On the other hand, so as to get closer to the closer to their opponent's goal, by performing attack and defence transition behaviours. Whenever drawing, both teams were observed to vary their offensive methods so that they could increase their chances of scoring. The centre position was the most frequent position to shoot from.

The entire game was divided into two different halves, with each half going for forty-five minutes. At the end of the game, it was evident that the period of the game had had an impact on the length of actions that were offensive. As time progressed, and more distance was covered, the quality of the game seemed to deteriorate. The deterioration in physical conditioning would be appropriate for explaining this, fluid balancing, the tactical play and concentration lapses. The effect of fatigue on the game could however not be clearly established.

Goal scoring in the game was observed to be done by attacking players. For creating opportunities for scoring, it emerged that dribbling is the most important skill. This was followed by individual defences, passing and first touch.

At all gaming instances, it is always necessary to consider performance with regards to different situational variables, for example, the type of competition witnessed in a match, the location of a match, and the quality of a match. In addition, dismissals and score line always affect performance. Throughout the game, the key performance indicators seemed to change. It is with no doubt important for teams to develop a specific index of performance, for example, how they can enter an opponent’s attacking third, in a specific time during a match.

In some instances, the performance index may be specific to individual positions as there is a sharp distinction in the physical and technical demands. Target strikers, for example normally have different technical skills, different movements whenever they are compared to central midfielders. Their shots on target will, however, be more crucial as their positioning to the goal is closer, something that improves their scoring chances. In general, efficacy appears to be largely key both defensively and offensively. Possession of the ball in some quotas appears to be more important if a team is to establish control over a game. Ball possession is, however, not necessarily an indicator of performance. Maintaining a high ball possession percentage does not necessarily guarantee the scoring of goals, it is, however, an effective way of controlling a game whenever a team is winning.

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More opportunities for individual players are created by the creation and covering of spaces over large distances on the pitch. As such, this lowers interception chances, simultaneously, however, it increases the chances of increasing the demand and the further complexity of reorganising the defence whenever losing the ball. Counterattacking is as such a quite effective means of winning a game, especially for those teams whose ranking is lower.

References

• Carling, C., Wright, C., Nelson, L.J. and Bradley, P.S., 2014. Comment on ‘Performance analysis in football: A critical review and implications for future research’. Journal of sports sciences, 32(1), pp.2-7.
• Dellal, A., Lago-Peñas, C., Rey, E., Chamari, K. and Orhant, E., 2015. The effects of a congested fixture period on physical performance, technical activity and injury rate during matches in a professional soccer team. Br J Sports Med, 49(6), pp.390-394.
• Hodgson, C., Akenhead, R. and Thomas, K., 2014. Time-motion analysis of acceleration demands of 4v4 small-sided soccer games played on different pitch sizes. Human movement science, 33, pp.25-32.
• Hughes, M.D. and Bartlett, R.M., 2002. The use of performance indicators in performance analysis. Journal of sports sciences, 20(10), pp.739-754.
• Mackenzie, R. and Cushion, C., 2013. Performance analysis in football: A critical review and implications for future research. Journal of sports sciences, 31(6), pp.639-676.
• Memmert, D., Lemmink, K.A. and Sampaio, J., 2017. Current approaches to tactical performance analyses in soccer using position data. Sports Medicine, 47(1), pp.1-10.
• O'Donoghue, P., 2009. Research methods for sports performance analysis. Routledge.
• Sarmento, H., Marcelino, R., Anguera, M.T., CampaniÇo, J., Matos, N. and LeitÃo, J.C., 2014. Match analysis in football: a systematic review. Journal of sports sciences, 32(20), pp.1831-1843.