Sponda - used during football match

I noticed this word when trying to read La Gazzetta dello Sport article, it was used also in player's stats sheet from game. And I am unable to find any proper translation in english dictionaries. 
If anyone is familiar with this one, please help me to understand the calcio properly ;)

Hi AdamT22,

Sponda refers to a specific maneuver during a soccer game. It's translated as flank play in English.

You can find more information about the sponda here (it's in Italian):
http://www.allenatoredicalcio.it/2015/04/22/situazione-di-gioco-sponda-e-tiro-in-porta/

Hope this helps!

Lucia

Thank you very much for your answer!

Molto grazie ;)