far post

McCulloch's goal for scotland against ukraine came from a good free-kick. no doubt, ukraine should have done better, but ferguson's ball was really clever, and very well-timed, such that mc culloch had enuff time to get into that sort of space.

the position McCulloch was in is one of the most dangerous position on the field, in my opinion. i feel that any ball played there can cause a lot of trouble.
Yellow: the ball can be slipped into the path of the player after a 1-2.

Red: a straight ground pass can be taken first touch by the attacker.

Grey: Throughballs that curl back into the path of the attacker are dangerous anywhere, seriously.

Green: the lobbing ball

Blue: the cross

i think this position is dangerous because it can easily become a far-post situation, and because there is usually more space there. the key to fully utilising the advantage your player gains by getting into this position is to play such a great ball that all he needs to do is to make sure he hits the target with one touch, or maybe 2 touches, 1 to bring the ball down, the other to strike it.

he may have space and time, but that can also be closed down very quickly, so the ball needs to be put into the net in the shortest amount of time. the best way to do this is to do everything else for the attacker. meaning you beat the whole defence for him with that service. all he needs to do is to make the connection.

that's the beauty of passing. one pass can take out the entire defence. of course watching a player run at defences is very exciting as well, but i really appreciate a good pass because it shows technical ability, tactical awareness, intelligence and creativity all at the same time.