After 23 league matches, Puszcza Niepołomice have managed just 21 goals—but set pieces have been their lifeline.
An incredible 38% (8/21) of their goals have come from long throw-ins, with six scored directly (29%) and two resulting from penalties (9%).
Another 19% (4/21) have come from free kicks and corners, meaning a staggering 57% (12/21) of their total goals have stemmed from set plays.
Without these moments, Puszcza’s fight for survival in the Polish Ekstraklasa might have been over.
In a difficult relegation battle, their mastery of dead-ball situations isn’t just an advantage—it’s their most important and dangerous weapon.
These long throws have been a consistent threat all season, but it is also important to note that they attempt to throw the ball into the box more than any other side.
Thanks to stats posted by Ben Griffis on February 2nd, we know that Puszcza have attempted 104 throw-ins into the box, with 28 of those leading to shots or penalties.
Puszcza interestingly opt for the long throw almost any time there is a throw-in in the opposition half.
Due to their strength in controlling second balls, they often generate two or three shots from a single throw-in.
This tactical analysis will delve into Tomasz Tułacz’s tactics during set pieces, particularly Puszcza’s use of long throw-ins, to stay competitive in the league.
We will also analyse their different routines, showing that their approach is far from random but instead built on a clear strategy to exploit key areas.
One key factor in this set-piece analysis is their precision and organisation, ensuring they make the most of every dead-ball situation.
They use clever movement and physical mismatches to create chaos in the box, leading to high-quality chances, though there is still room for improvement in execution.
We will examine what makes Puszcza’s set pieces so effective and how refining their methods could make them an even bigger threat.
Long Throws
The first and most important thing to note about Puszcza’s long-throwing success is the range of the throws.
Dawid Abramowicz has an exceptional ability to throw the ball over a really long distance, reaching the penalty spot when the throw is in line with the box.
As the graphic above shows, Abramowicz can reach the box deep in the opponent’s half.
The range allows the ball to be delivered into the central areas of the penalty box, from where the ball can rebound into multiple areas.
Often, the long throw only reaches the areas between the six-yard box and first post, where it can be hard for the ball to rebound to the far side of the box.
This gives opponents less space to worry about, and they can fill the near side of the penalty box with more numbers.
However, Puscza’s extra range and threat mean that without doing anything ‘special,’ they can create extra problems for opponents and space for themselves.
As we can see in the clip below, three players can position themselves around the box in rebound zones, while four players can be ready to arrive in the target area.
Seven players are ready to attack the ball in the first and second phases, meaning Puszcza has a strong presence in all areas of the box.
The taker and another player outside the box are ready to collect headed clearances and deliver the ball back in.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 6, 2025
One technique that Puszcza have used to achieve success is referred to as the ‘big box’.
Two attackers and two defenders start close to each other.
The first attacker moves towards the ball, dragging his marker with him and opening up space for a 1v1 situation between the two pairs.
The player highlighted in red must make the movement early enough to attract his defender, even if the ball is thrown over both of them.
While this happens, the player highlighted in white must set his position to prevent his marker from entering that space.
This creates a safe space for the ball to arrive in, and the attacker can time his movement to the ball in the last second, to flick it on or pass the ball with his foot before the defender can arrive to block it.
The throw-in is so exceptional that Puszcza can attempt this from 50~ yards away.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
Puszcza have impressed in their patience and composure in their routines in a sense.
Rather than throwing the ball as close to the goal as possible, the focus is on winning the first contact.
This is achieved by targeting the spaces near the penalty spot.
When there is no clear space for the ball to land in, inside the box, Puszcza use mismatches to guarantee the first contact.
The zonal defenders usually protect the six-yard box, which Abramowicz has the ability to reach.
Instead, Puszcza create mismatches around the penalty spot by using their stronger aerial players to beat the smaller man markers, and then flick the ball into the more dangerous areas between the defensive line and goalkeeper when possible.
The biggest players target areas where opponents position players with less aerial ability, with Abramowicz always being able to adjust and reach those areas.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
The need to target the smaller players is only in situations when the box is packed with defenders.
If teams go more man-to-man when defending these situations, Puszcza already have space in the box for the ball to arrive in, and only needs to use the ‘big box’ space creation method to create small separation for the attackers to win the first contact.
Similarly to earlier, the first attacker (193cm tall against a 187cm defender) attempts to make the first contact by moving towards the ball early.
He draws the attention of the defender, and the space he just left remains open.
The next player, highlighted in white, makes sure to remain between the ball and his marker, and moves to the space as the ball does, to control it and make an effort on goal.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
The threat of the long throw pushes the defensive line deep, while the attacking unit stays around the penalty spot.
This means that if the first contact is lost and the ball moves into the rebound zones, the ball can be put back into the space between the defensive line and the goalkeeper.
The defensive line struggles to defend the ball into space, with their momentum dragging them away from it.
As a result, the attacker who starts deeper is able to attack and enter the space quicker than a defender stepping up.
They have also had a couple of big chances come this way, and even some goals are disallowed by the smallest of margins.
The attackers and defenders move in opposite directions, causing chaos during the second phase.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
With only three players inside the target zone and six-yard box, Puszcza’s threat usually comes from the rebound zones.
Puszcza occupy the far side of the box and central areas with three players, who collect the loose balls the majority of the time.
Alongside this, we can see another player just outside the box on the near side of the penalty box to collect loose balls, while the throw-in taker also comes to collect clearances on that side.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
The occupation of different zones is quite fluid and depends on the location of the throw.
From the closer distances, when the ball can travel nearer the penalty spot and arrive at a faster pace, it is important to cover the far side of the box from the start.
When the throw is from a longer distance, it’s more important for the players to be closer to the ball before the first contact, as the ball arrives at a slower pace, it cannot travel as far from the initial clearance and has less potential to reach the far side of the box.
Once the ball is in the second phase, the players rotate, as seen below, to cover the potential spaces the ball can be cleared to.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
Corner Kick Attempts
Similar to their throw-in efforts, Puszcza attempts to guarantee the first contact by delivering to areas further away from the goal.
Following flick-ons towards the far post areas, they can then score goals in the second contact.
This tactic is reminiscent of Gianni Vio, the ex-Spurs and Euro-winning set-piece coach, who used a similar strategy with SPAL in Serie A.
Instead of gambling on winning the first contact in risky areas, Puszcza bank on taking advantage of situations in the second phase once the ball is headed towards the far post.
The player arriving from outside the box will usually be unmarked and can arrive in the target zone to attack the ball unopposed.
The header in that zone is not easy to accurately redirect towards back post areas.
Still, similar to how they take advantage of second-phase opportunities in long throws, when a defensive line steps up, Puszcza loves to exploit the space behind.
At the same time, the momentum makes defenders unable to react.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
While the defenders are focused on what happens in the first contact, the player on the far side is able to remain in the blind spot and sneak into the space at the back post.
The timing requires a little bit of work, but had the run been a little earlier, the attacker at the back post would have made contact with the ball whilst in between the posts and put the ball into an open goal.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
Another way in which Puszcza attempts to guarantee the first contact is by going directly to the back post.
The idea of attacking space outside of the block always remains.
In this case, the screen is set on the furthest zonal player to ensure the back post remains unmarked while the player highlighted in white arrives there from inside the goal.
The player starts his run as the taker raises his arm, which gives him the time to arrive at the back post and then to adjust his run and attack the ball with enough time.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 5, 2025
One last interesting idea is the use of the starting positions, like Blackburn attempted in the recent weeks.
The attacking unit starts far away in a cluster, before all making runs to different parts of the box just before the ball is about to be delivered.
The corner is miskicked, and the advantages of the angle of the runs aren’t that attractive for this to be repeated and be an effective method, but this is a sign that Puszcza continues to search for the best solutions to corner kick success, and anyone with set-piece curiosity should follow it.
— Footie Clips (@FootieClips) March 6, 2025
Conclusion
This set-piece analysis has shown how Puszcza Niepołomice have turned set pieces into a weapon, with long throws and smart routines keeping them in the fight.
Abramowicz’s giant throw-ins and well-timed movements create chaos and chances.
Their strategy may be unusual, but it works, and best of all, it fits the strengths of their players.
