There is a great risk of roof falls in the advance support section of the mining face (ASSoMF), and it is difficult to control the roof. Based on the soft roof of Lijiahao coal mine, this paper studies the stress distribution of the ASSoMF and the space-time evolution of the surrounding rock plastic zone by using theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, and reveals its failure mechanism. Based on the control effect of support resistance on plastic zone, it is proposed that the advance support should mainly adapt to the roadway deformation. Advance equipment without repeated support for mechanized movement has been developed, and the support timing analysis and strength check have been carried out. Results show that the roadway at ASSoMF is in a non-uniform stress field, the confining pressure ratio reaches 1.5~7, and the surrounding rock forms asymmetric failure; the principal stress direction deflects, the angle between it and the vertical direction is about 10°~25°, and the plastic zone of the surrounding rock also rotates to the roadway roof. The proposed equipment can adapt to the characteristics of an unsymmetrical large deformation of a soft roof, and can effectively bear the roof load and maintain the stability of the roadway.