On a day when the weather conditions were less than ideal, FC Ryukyu managed to keep their unbeaten streak alive and earn a valuable point that should keep them in the top half of the table at the weeks end. The real story of the night belongs to Ryo Ishii who filled in admirably for the injured Danny Carvajal. Ishii’s presence in goal was a real concern of mine heading into a very tough stretch of games and I must admit, I was wrong to judge him so quickly. Ishii’s efforts were the main reason FC Ryukyu earned 1 point on the day and prevented the unbeaten streak from being broken.
First Half
The first half started out very quickly for Kanazawa and they broke through early because of some rather poor defending on the part of FC Ryukyu. In the 6th minute, Uesato was attempting to play the ball out from the back and though his pass found Komatsu, Komatsu took an errant touch and turned the ball over. The turnover really caught the FC Ryukyu defense in bad positioning as they were in the middle of transitioning into the attack. The worst part of the goal was Okazaki’s attempt at defending the on-rushing Kanazawa player. It seems as if Okazaki couldn’t decide how he wanted to attempt his clearance of the ball, and this probably led to some confusion on his part, which ultimately resulted in him bumbling over the ball -though he never really tracked the ball and was fixated on the Kanazawa attacker strangely enough, and this allowed the Kanazawa player a free shot on net. Taiki Kato slotted the opening goal past a diving Ishii and Masutani to put Kanazawa up 1-0.
In the 17th minute, Kazama had a very nice attempt on net that was sent just wide by the outstretched arms of the Zweigen goal keeper. Shortly thereafter, Ishii was called into action once more as the Ryukyu defense broke down and Kanazawa had yet another free look on net. Ishii chested the shot down and quickly scooped up the rebound thus ending the Zweigen opportunity. Tanka had an absolute gifted chance in the 22nd minute that was saved by the Kanazawa keeper to keep Ryukyu off the scoreboard. I hope these “near misses” that Ryukyu are currently experiencing at the moment will turn into goals. We are going to need some of these to start finding the back of the net the next 2 months. Ryukyu nearly tied the game heading into half time when a shot from Okazaki off a corner kick landed directly at the feet of Suzuki. The resulting shot from Suzuki was saved and the rebound fell right to Masutani who unfortunately sent the third shot high over the bar. Ryukyu would be kept off the score sheet at the half despite several good chances.
Second Half
Zweigen started the second half quickly and had two chances to increase their lead in the 49th and 55th minute. Each attempt saw a break down in defending by Ryukyu that left Ishii extremely exposed. FC Ryukyu were lucky that Kanazawa sent the shots wide or things would’ve ended very differently that night for Ryukyu. Finally, in the 69th minute, Suzuki would level the match and put Ryukyu on the front foot for the first time all game.
Suzuki was able to slip past his marker and found some wide-open territory between the Zweigen defenders and then sent his shot around the Zweigen goalie for his J2 league leading 11th goal of the season. It was a very nice take from the seasoned veteran and it is a shame that FC Ryukyu doesn’t have someone who can provide Suzukui the constant service a top-class striker deserves. Ryukyu’s only other chance of note came in the 77th minute went Uejo sent a shot just over the crossbar. The game would end 1-1 and the unbeaten streak would be pushed to 30.
FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory Review
I put forth 3 keys to victory for FC Ryukyu in the preview article so let us review: 1. Do not allow Zweigen Kanazawa to expose Ishii at the back, 2. Do not allow Zweigen to gain any momentum and finally, 3. Exploit Zweigen’s defense on set pieces.
1. FC Ryukyu absolutely exposed Ishii at the back on multiple occasions and Ryukyu were extremely lucky to earn a draw. The defending on the part of Ryukyu that night was woeful. Zweigen were constantly getting through the middle of our defense and they were also able overpower and round Tokumoto and Nishioka. Hopefully Okazaki just had one of those “brain farts” when he allowed the Zweigen player in on net and this doesn’t become a trend. However, what is a trend is the poor defending by Ryukyu this season. It just goes to show you how good Danny Carvajal, and now Ishii, are at the back as well as how vital these 2 keepers are to the Ryukyu season. The defending issues need to be addressed both on the training ground and in the transfer window this summer. Ryukyu cannot expect to play on the razors edge all year and come out on top. Result: Fail
2. Zweigen began to generate momentum early in both halves but Ryukyu did well to slow them down and prevent them from grabbing a larger lead. Granted, Zweigen had not scored in 3 games leading up to this match but we fully expected them to score against Ryukyu. That statement could be tied directly to the first point I made in this section. Ryukyu wobbled for a bit early in the second half but it wasn’t to the extent we’ve seen them lose concentration in the past. Luckily Zweigen missed those opportunities and Ryukyu recovered nicely. Result: Pass
3. Ryukyu had a golden opportunity near the end of the match to take the lead on a corner kick but unfortunately, Ryukyu’s Uehara was not match fit and therefore we couldn’t get the advantage over Zweigen. I mentioned in the preview that Zweigen would be without their starting LCB and it was crucial for Ryukyu to exploit the new defensive pairing for Zweigen. They did, but it took them until the 69th minute when the Zweigen defender came out too far and the resulting turnover to Ryukyu found Suzuki onside and alone at the top of the box. Result: Pass
Man of the Match
Ryo Ishii. It couldn’t be anyone else on the day despite the lovely goal by Suzukui. Ishii was an unknown commodity heading into this important match up and he really rose to the occasion. He made an absolute stunning save on a set piece that made it over the top of the wall and on net. Some could argue that it was the perfect height for the keeper to save but Ishii still did well to get to the shot and push it away from danger.
I mentioned earlier that he also kept Ryukyu in the match when they were down 1-0 when Zweigen had their second free look on net and Ishii did well to stop the original shot and collect the resulting rebound. There are some aspects of his game that I am sure will tighten up with time and experience and I am not going to nitpick a tremendous performance by Ishii that directly led to the favorable outcome for Ryukyu.
Looking Ahead
FC Ryukyu are on the road next week to take on 5th place Kyoto Sanga. Kyoto are coming off a 3-1 loss to Omiya on the road and are returning home after spending the last two weeks on the road. The games are going to get a lot tougher for FC Ryukyu the remainder of this month and therefore any points earned on the road should be considered a blessing.
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