Finishing
Poacher's Box: Score Challenge
Finish quickly inside the box
Finishing
Attacking
Speed & Agility
Poacher's Box: Score Challenge is a 12-minute finishing drill for 3-14 players, suitable for Under 7 to Adults at beginner, intermediate, advanced level. You need balls, cones, full goals. Below you will find the objective, the set-up, how to run it, coaching points, common mistakes, progressions, regressions and variations.
Back to drill libraryFinishing
Attacking
Speed & Agility
Technical Practice
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Full Squad
Foundation Phase
Youth Friendly
Adult Suitable
Goals Needed
Competitive
Fun
Repetition
Duration
12 min
Players
3-14
Pitch size
Six yard box area
Ability levels
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced
Pitch diagram
Poacher's Box: Score Challenge — Crossing and finishing — wide delivery into the box · Six yard box area
Step 1 of 4Servers deliver low, driven balls across the six yard box.
- 1. Servers deliver low, driven balls across the six yard box.
- 2. Finisher must score first time.
- 3. Twelve repetitions then swap.
- 4. Run it as a timed competition — pairs or teams count successful reps and compare scores.
- Cones mark the area
- Full goal
- GK = goalkeeper
- Dashed lines = wide crossing channels
- Ball
- C = coach / server
- Solid arrow = pass, thick = shot, dashed = run / dribble
Objectives
- -Finish quickly inside the box
- -React to loose balls
- -Score with one touch
Setup
- 1Servers on both sides of the box with plenty of balls.
- 2Finisher works between the penalty spot and six yard box.
- 3Keeper in goal.
Coaching instructions
- 1Servers deliver low, driven balls across the six yard box.
- 2Finisher must score first time.
- 3Twelve repetitions then swap.
- 4Run it as a timed competition — pairs or teams count successful reps and compare scores.
Coaching points
- -Get in front of the imaginary defender
- -Any surface will do — score it
- -Stay on the toes ready to react
- -Keep quality while the score matters
- -Reset quickly between reps to fit more in
Common mistakes
- -Waiting for the perfect ball
- -Standing flat footed
- -Trying to control before finishing