Forcing Bad Decisions
"This is my not-so-humble analysis."
Today’s analysis is on OkLiga Day 2 between Alcoi and Barça, a close match that ended 3-4 in favour of Barça. Alcoi is showing promise early in the season, while Barça is adapting well despite the loss of their star, Pau Bargalló, and a coaching change. Time will tell.
As a reminder, follow these steps:
- Take a look at the video.
- Read and think about the analysis.
- Match the analysis and the video. It starts at 1:59.
Restarting
Matias Pascual (Barça Nº4) and Llorca (Barça Nº44) are set up at the box’s bottom corner, with Aragones (Barça Nº55) near the penalty point, covering the weak side, and Eloi Cervera (Barça Nº72) on the strong side for balance. As soon as the ball restarts, Aragones skates backward, creating space in two ways: he opens 9 and forces his defender to choose between holding or following. Eloi fakes a block before cutting toward the floor’s corner, and Matias moves into 9. This decompression pulls defenders closer to the cage, pressuring them to decide when attackers move the ball out, even reaching zone 0. It’s a powerful tactic against tight defences, prompting hesitation and forcing decisions.
Compressing
Llorca makes a lateral entry, challenging his defender with Matias waiting at the second post for a rebound. Aragones maintains balance, with his defender focused on Llorca, and Eloi also stabilises by distancing himself from the goal.
Compressing and decompressing is also known as accordion