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Referee shows the goalkeeper a yellow card for time wasting.

Medium: Slow down

Medium: Slow down

Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

This episode is medium so we’re looking at football words and phrases you need to describe what’s happening on the pitch or words and phrases fans and commentators on TV might use. There are lots of phrasal verbs to learn at this level.

Summary

Learn more football vocabulary with Premier Skills English. Each lesson in our Premier Vocabulary section looks at one football word or phrase. This lesson looks at the phrase to slow down

You can find more lessons on the side of this page.

Transcript

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to Premier Skills English - Premier Vocabulary.

Jack: Hi there! I’m Jack. We’re here to help you with your football English. Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. 

Rich: We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

Jack: This episode is medium so we’re looking at football words and phrases you need to describe what’s happening on the pitch or words and phrases fans and commentators on TV might use. There will be lots of phrasal verbs to learn at this level.


Rich: The phrase we are looking at in this episode is to slow down. Something can slow down or we can slow something down.

Jack: The phrase slow down can be used in several ways. Let’s start with how we often see it used in football.

Rich: We often talk about a team slowing the game down. When we try to slow something down we are trying to make something go at a slower speed or be less active.

Jack: One team might pass the ball around a lot in defence to slow the game down against opponents who want to play at high speed and at a high intensity.

Rich: A team might also slow the game down if they are winning and it’s near the end of the game. They will slow the game down by keeping the ball and taking their time when they have a throw-in or a free-kick.

Jack: So, a team can slow a match down - we can slow something down. We can also slow someone down.

Rich: Someone might be walking or talking too fast and you can ask them to slow down. 

Jack: We often use the phrase to describe something that makes us go slower. Lots of traffic on the roads might slow you down.

Rich: A defender might put pressure on an attacker with the ball which will slow the player down.

Jack: You can also use the expression to slow up - no, to slow up is not the opposite of slow down it can actually mean the same.

Rich: The match slowed up in the second half. Sorry we’re late, the traffic slowed us up.


Jack: To slow down also means to go more slowly or be less active. The car slowed down before it stopped.

Rich: When I go for a run I usually slow down after about 10 kilometres.

Jack: You mean you slow down after 10 metres, not 10 kilometres.

Rich: Ah, yes. Football matches often slow down near the end of the game because players are tired or because it’s very hot.

Jack: We also talk about players slowing down as they get older. A player might be a winger or a box-to-box midfielder when they are younger but a central midfielder when they get older.

Rich: Players slow down as they get older and need to adapt if they want to carry on playing at a high level.

Jack: Other things slow down too. The economy slows down from time to time and we might need to slow down too sometimes.

Rich: Yes, if you work a lot it’s a good idea to slow down sometimes and take a break.


Jack: There is the final whistle!

Rich: We’ll be back soon with more Premier Vocabulary from Premier Skills English.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football. 

Discuss

  • Why do teams sometimes try to slow play down?

Write your answers in the comments section below.

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Comments

KareemZain
08/08/2023
EG
383
points

Some teams try to slow the play down to pass time so they can win or at least draw if they are playing against stronger teams.


KareemZain
08/08/2023 20:26
Egypt
Manchester City
383

Some teams try to slow the play down to pass time so they can win or at least draw if they are playing against stronger teams.

Michaelsun
20/02/2022
CN
738
points

The football teams which are leading two or more goals in the match usually try to slow play up.


Michaelsun
20/02/2022 10:02
China
Manchester United
738

The football teams which are leading two or more goals in the match usually try to slow play up.

Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
11/05/2021
BR
1512
points

It might be in situations that they are winning and the match is getting to its end. They could buy themselves some time by slowing down the free kicks, goal kicks, etc.


Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
11/05/2021 15:54
Brazil
Arsenal
1512

It might be in situations that they are winning and the match is getting to its end. They could buy themselves some time by slowing down the free kicks, goal kicks, etc.

Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
05/04/2021
EG
438
points

because they might slow the match down if they are winning and the game is nearly to end. They will slow the game down by keeping the ball and taking their time when they have a throw-in or a free-kick.
Also making exchanges if it's possible to win more time.


Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
05/04/2021 13:05
Egypt
Arsenal
438

because they might slow the match down if they are winning and the game is nearly to end. They will slow the game down by keeping the ball and taking their time when they have a throw-in or a free-kick.
Also making exchanges if it's possible to win more time.

hsn's picture
hsn
10/02/2021
TR
5560
points

Unnecesarry long runs and tackles make footballers exhausted. They have to use their breath effectively. They also should care about wellness. I can’t imagine a player who does regularly exercises and care about her/his stamina will get tired.

There are a lot of examples of players who continues footboll career until (30-35) years old except goal keepers.

Slowing the match down mustn't be part of manager’s tactic. Fans always want to watch an "end to end" matches included spectacular positions.

Jokes of the day-:)
• The footballers who come from “slow cities/ Cittaslow” try to slow the game down.
•Attention! Slow your car up while driving but not your tempo while walking.


hsn's picture
hsn
10/02/2021 16:55
Turkey
Tottenham Hotspur
5560

Unnecesarry long runs and tackles make footballers exhausted. They have to use their breath effectively. They also should care about wellness. I can’t imagine a player who does regularly exercises and care about her/his stamina will get tired.

There are a lot of examples of players who continues footboll career until (30-35) years old except goal keepers.

Slowing the match down mustn't be part of manager’s tactic. Fans always want to watch an "end to end" matches included spectacular positions.

Jokes of the day-:)
• The footballers who come from “slow cities/ Cittaslow” try to slow the game down.
•Attention! Slow your car up while driving but not your tempo while walking.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020
UA
6578
points

Brighton 1 : 4 ManCity


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020 05:40
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Brighton 1 : 4 ManCity

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020
UA
6578
points

Sheffield 1 : 3 Chelsea


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020 05:39
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Sheffield 1 : 3 Chelsea

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020
UA
6578
points

Liverpool 3 : 0 Burnley


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020 05:39
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Liverpool 3 : 0 Burnley

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020
UA
6578
points

Watford 2 : 1 Newcastle


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020 05:38
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Watford 2 : 1 Newcastle

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020
UA
6578
points

Norwich 1 : 1 West Ham

 


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020 05:38
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Norwich 1 : 1 West Ham

 

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020
UA
6578
points

Yesterday on the road on my way home from my summer house on a bike I had to slow down when I felt tired not to get into trouble. 


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020 05:37
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

Yesterday on the road on my way home from my summer house on a bike I had to slow down when I felt tired not to get into trouble. 

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020
UA
6578
points

I'm not in the position to slow down if I aim to get to the leader's place again.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
10/07/2020 05:34
Ukraine
Liverpool
6578

I'm not in the position to slow down if I aim to get to the leader's place again.

mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
09/07/2020
TR
6539
points

Teams sometimes slow down because they get what they want from the game like they are winning 3-0 or 4-0 so they want to save their energy for the next game or the players might feel tired and couldn't cope with the pace at the last 5 or 10 minutes in the game so they slow down.
Also , the manager might ask his players to slow down to absorb the enthusiasm of the other team after conceding a goal from a tactical point of view or other team might slow down to control the rhythm of the game.


mobeckham's picture
mobeckham
09/07/2020 15:58
Turkey
Manchester United
6539

Teams sometimes slow down because they get what they want from the game like they are winning 3-0 or 4-0 so they want to save their energy for the next game or the players might feel tired and couldn't cope with the pace at the last 5 or 10 minutes in the game so they slow down.
Also , the manager might ask his players to slow down to absorb the enthusiasm of the other team after conceding a goal from a tactical point of view or other team might slow down to control the rhythm of the game.

Gergő Nagy
09/07/2020
HU
3396
points

Because they have a better chance to win the match near the end of the game, but if the teams are in a cup competiton, they have to keep the resault in their hands and that doesn't matter if you lost the game in the second leg.


Gergő Nagy
09/07/2020 11:15
Hungary
Chelsea
3396

Because they have a better chance to win the match near the end of the game, but if the teams are in a cup competiton, they have to keep the resault in their hands and that doesn't matter if you lost the game in the second leg.

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6578
2mobeckham6539
3hsn5560
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia74679
2Ukraine33892
3Spain29531
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23661
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20460
8Turkey20111
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United147000
2Liverpool111527
3Chelsea90265
4Arsenal86299
5Manchester City58989
6Tottenham Hotspur19506
7Newcastle United10626
8West Ham United7701
9AFC Bournemouth4915
10Crystal Palace4568

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

Learn more football vocabulary.