Why pressing high is costing Ashford points
The best defence in the league has one weakness, and Rovers found it twice.
Ashford United have the second-best record in the league and the best defence. So why do their supporters leave the ground worried? The answer is in the way they press, and in what happens in the ten seconds after the press is beaten.
This is a tactical piece. If you have never thought about where a team's full-backs stand, you will by the end of it.
What Ashford do
When the other team has the ball in their own half, Ashford's three forwards and two central midfielders push up together. The aim is simple: force the ball wide, then trap it against the touchline. The full-backs join in, stepping forward to cut off the pass down the line.
When it works, it is devastating. Ashford have won the ball in the opponents' third forty-one times this season, more than any other side. Nine of their fourteen goals have come within fifteen seconds of winning the ball high up the pitch.
The problem
The problem is the space the press leaves behind. When both full-backs step forward, Ashford's two centre-backs are alone with the whole width of the pitch to cover. If the opponent escapes the press with one good pass, there is nobody between the ball and the goal except two defenders who are running backwards.
We accept the risk. If you want to win the ball high, you have to leave something open at the back. The question is whether the other team is good enough to find it.
Gareth Pym, Ashford United manager
Most teams in the league are not good enough. But the ones that are have hurt Ashford badly.
The evidence
Here are Ashford's five games against the teams in the top half, and what happened when the press was beaten.
| Opponent | Times the press was beaten | Shots conceded after | Goals conceded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside Rovers | 9 | 5 | 2 |
| Elmwood | 7 | 4 | 1 |
| Northgate Albion | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Kingsbridge Athletic | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Harbour City | 3 | 1 | 0 |
In every one of those games, the goals Ashford conceded came from the same situation: a long, diagonal pass from the opponents' centre-back into the space behind the advanced full-back.
Why the long diagonal works
It is geometry. When Ashford press, their shape tilts towards the ball. The full-back on the far side is often thirty yards from the touchline behind him. A good diagonal pass, hit early, goes over the press and lands in space that nobody is defending.
Rovers found it twice on Saturday. Webb's goal started with a pass from Rovers' centre-back into exactly that space. Ashford's full-back, Dean Hollis, had to turn and chase, and by the time he got there, Webb had cut inside.
What could Ashford change?
There are three options, and each has a cost.
- Press with one full-back, not two. The far-side full-back stays back and covers. Ashford lose one presser, and the press becomes easier to escape.
- Drop the defensive line. The centre-backs stand deeper, so there is less space behind them. But the gap between the midfield and the defence grows, and good teams will play through it.
- Press less against good teams. Keep the press for the weaker sides, and sit in a block against the top four. This is what the best teams in Europe do, but it means changing the identity of a team that has been built on pressing for three years.
What we think
Pym will not change much. He believes in the press and his players believe in it, and it is the reason they are second. But the difference between second and first is usually a handful of games against the best teams. If Ashford want to win the league, they will have to find a way to defend the long diagonal. Rovers have shown everyone else how to hit it.
How Rovers did it
It is worth looking at exactly how Rovers beat the press on Saturday, because every other team in the league will be watching the tape. Ogden's centre-backs played wider than usual, almost on the touchlines, which pulled Ashford's forwards apart. Her goalkeeper, Kyle Bamber, stayed on the ball longer than is comfortable to watch, inviting the press to come. And when it came, he hit the ball long and diagonal, over the top, to the far side.
Rovers did this nine times. Five times they lost the ball straight away. Twice they won a throw-in. Twice they created a clear chance, and one of those became Webb's goal. That is not a high success rate. But against a team that concedes so few chances, two clear ones in a game can be enough.
What the other managers say
We asked three managers in the league how they plan to play against Ashford. All three said a version of the same thing: be brave on the ball, and aim for the far side. One of them, who asked not to be named, put it more simply. "They squeeze you. So you go over them. It's not complicated. It's just hard to do when your legs are shaking."
