Correspondence Between Small-Sided Games Implementation and Competitive Ball Progression in Elite Football: A Retrospective Case Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53905/inspiree.v8i01.193Keywords:
small-sided games, ball progression, football performance analysis, tactical training, representative learning designAbstract
Background & objective: Small-sided games (SSGs) are widely used in football because they manipulate player numbers, playing area, rules, while preserving key features of match play. However, evidence linking SSG implementation to ball progression during elite competition remains limited when SSGs are embedded in a real-world preparation programme rather than imposed experimentally. This study examined the correspondence between SSG implementation and ball progression performance in the East Java Provincial Football Team during the 2024 National Sports Week (PON XXI).
Materials & Methods: A quantitative ex post facto performance-analysis design was used. Official training documentation, match recordings, match statistics, were reviewed. The performance dataset comprised three PON matches against Papua Pegunungan, West Java, and Aceh. SSG implementation was characterised by player-number modification, playing-area manipulation, game constraints, intensity, and training objectives. Ball progression was assessed using passing accuracy, attacking-third passes, successful progressive passes, through passes, and chances created. Descriptive statistics were used because the available dataset did not support a valid participant-level inferential model. STROBE was used as the reporting framework.
Results: Across the three analysed matches, possession ranged from 31% to 47% and passing accuracy from 63.46% to 72.87%. Successful progressive passes ranged from 19 to 40, successful attacking-third passes from 80 to 115, and chances created from 2 to 7. Progressive passing and through passes were present in all three matches. Training documentation showed consistent alignment between SSG characteristics and observed attacking indicators; however, no causal or statistically significant contribution estimate could be established.
Conclusions: In this elite provincial-team case, SSG implementation was consistently accompanied by progressive passing and attacking-third progression across different match contexts. The international contribution is applied and methodological: naturally implemented, representative game-based training can be examined alongside competitive performance while separating correspondence from causal effectiveness. Controlled longitudinal studies are needed to estimate effect magnitude and mechanisms.
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