## 3 Results
### Comparison of Running Demands Between the First and Second Halves Within Each Group  
Descriptive statistics of the full matches in Group A and Group B are presented in Table 2. The analysis indicated that the #sub was significantly higher (\(p\) < 0.01) in Group B (4.42 \(\pm\) 0.51) than in Group A (2.8 \(\pm\) 0.42). No differences between groups were observed in TT (\(p\) = 0.32) and %poss (\(p\) = 0.50). There were no statistical differences between groups in TD (\(p\) = 0.64), DC 19.8-25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) (\(p\) = 0.12), DC \(\geq\) 25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) (\(p\) = 0.80), DC \(\geq\) 19.8 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) (\(p\) = 0.14), SPR (\(p\) = 0.17), #SPR (\(p\) = 0.24), #ACC (\(p\) = 0.33), and #DEC (\(p\) = 0.98). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Match Metric and** & **Group A (\(\leq\)3)** & **Group B (\(>\)3)** & **ES (95\%CI)** & **\(p\) Value** \\
**Running Activity** & **Mean \(\pm\) SD** & **Mean \(\pm\) SD** & **Mean \(\pm\) SD** & **ES (95\%CI)** & **\(p\) Value** \\ \hline \#sub & 2.8 \(\pm\) 0.4 & 4.4 \(\pm\) 0.5 & 3.3 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.00 \\ TT & 94.4 \(\pm\) 1.4 & 94.9 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.4 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.32 \\ TTsubs & 26.6 \(\pm\) 14.7 & 23.4 \(\pm\) 9.8 & \(-\)0.3 \(\pm\) 0.5 & 0.29 \\ \%poss & 43.9 \(\pm\) 6.9 & 46.3 \(\pm\) 9.5 & 0.3 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.50 \\ TD (m) & 100,911 \(\pm\) 2510 & 100,398 \(\pm\) 2462 & \(-\)0.2 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.64 \\ DC 19.8–25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) (m) & 5260.5 \(\pm\) 292.6 & 5513.8 \(\pm\) 426.8 & 0.7 \(\pm\) 0.7 & 0.12 \\ DC \(>\) 25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) (m) & 1482.4 \(\pm\) 227.7 & 1506.8 \(\pm\) 22.8 & 0.1 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.80 \\ DC \(>\) 19.8 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) (m) & 6742.9 \(\pm\) 315.8 & 7033.5 \(\pm\) 545.6 & 0.6 \(\pm\) 0.8 & 0.14 \\ SPR (m) & 5826 \(\pm\) 369 & 6102.8 \(\pm\) 536.1 & 0.6 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.17 \\ \#SPR & 325.6 \(\pm\) 27.9 & 339.6 \(\pm\) 25.4 & 0.5 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.24 \\ \#ACC & 795.4 \(\pm\) 65.2 & 767 \(\pm\) 68.5 & \(-\)0.4 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.33 \\ \#DEC & 916.2 \(\pm\) 48 & 916.9 \(\pm\) 58.5 & 0 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.98 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* SD = standard deviation; ES = effect size; CI = confidence interval; #sub = number of substitutions; TT = duration of the match; TTsubs = duration of the match for substitutes; %poss = percentage of possession; TD = total distance covered; DC 19.8–25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) = distance covered between 19.8 and 25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\); DC \(>\) 25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) = distance covered above 25.2 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\); DC \(>\) 19.8 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) = distance covered above 19.8 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\); SPR = sprint distance covered; #SPR = number of sprits; #ACC = number of accelerations above 3 m\(\cdot\)s\({}^{-2}\); #DEC = number of decelerations above 3 m\(\cdot\)s\({}^{-2}\).  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Descriptive statistics of the full matches in Group A and Group B. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Group A (\(n=73\))**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Group B (\(n=67\))**} \\ \cline{2-9}
**Relative Running** & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**1 st Half**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**2 nd Half**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**1 st Half**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**2 nd Half**} & \\ \cline{2-9}
**Activity** & **Mean \(\pm\) SD** & **SEM** & **Mean \(\pm\) SD** & **SEM** & **Mean \(\pm\) SD** & **SEM** & **Mean \(\pm\) SD** & **SEM** \\ \hline TD (m\(\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\)) & 102.9 \(\pm\) 12.1 & 1.41 & 98.7 \(\pm\) 12.7 ** & 1.41 & 106.1 \(\pm\) 10.9 & 1.34 & 97.1 \(\pm\) 12.7 ** & 1.41 \\ DC 19.8–25.2 & 5.2 \(\pm\) 1.8 & 0.20 & 4.3 \(\pm\) 1.7 ** & 0.20 & 5.4 \(\pm\) 1.8 & 0.22 & 4.6 \(\pm\) 1.7 ** & 0.21 \\ km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) (m\(\cdot\)min\({}^{-1}\)) & 1.4 \(\pm\) 0.9 & 0.10 & 1.2 \(\pm\) 1.0 & 0.12 & 1.6 \(\pm\) 1.2 & 0.15 & 1.4 \(\pm\) 1 & 0.12 \\ DC \(>\) 19.8 km\(\cdot\)h\({}^{-1}\) & 6.7 \(\pm\) 2.2 & 0. Figure 1: Full-match running metrics in Group A vs. Group B.