Three situations exist when the opposition uses someone in this super forward set up:
1. If they have a skillful player who can get free in traffic and pass, I'd give a lot of thought to having a relatively close marker (a yard or two in front of the super forward). This is especially true at youth levels. If your GK is the nervious type or is not good at leaving the box, this makes even more sense.
2. From my experiences in adult competition, a pretty effective defensive ploy is to have one defender in a slightly deeper position about halfway (60%) between the ball and the super forward. This protects against the quick-deep release and still puts your deep player in a position to control play from the back. The GK's role is to defend the long ball over the top (which has to be perfect or misplayed to cause a problem).
3. Your solution to control play forward and trust in your team's skill, recovery, and ability to maintain shape. This works well if your GK is active and you know your team can score when the occasional long ball works. I wouldn't use this approach if I didn't have substitutes to keep everyone fresh. The recovery runs back will eventually have you short sided on both sides of the ball.
These decisions, I believe, are personnel, situation, and opponent driven.
As a general indoor rule, I think you have to match numbers defensively and get numbers up offensively. How quickly your can do both will determines your success. The ability to make these transitions are determined by speed, skill, and numbers indoors. |