“The Stuff of Legends” Match Day 28 Preview: FC Ryukyu vs. Yokohama FC 8/17/2019

Intro

FC Ryukyu enters Match Day 28 in a much better mind set compared to the last few weeks. However, this is a “new look” FC Ryukyu side as the club was very active in the summer transfer window. Koji Suzuki, Ryo Wada and Masutani have departed while we welcome in Shinji Ono, Ramon and Yuya Torikai. Yokohama FC have 8 wins and 1 draw from their past 9 matches. They are in good form right now despite the slight wobble they had on the road versus Mito this past week. There are a lot of similarities between Yokohama FC and Reysol and we all know how that game turned out for FC Ryukyu.

Weather

I think you’d be surprised if I put anything other than “rain is expected,” but once again, rain is expected. Scattered thunderstorms with temps in the high 80s that will feel like the high 90s. You know the drill, ASSEMBLE THE PONCHO ARMY!

Yokohama FC

Yokohama have been nothing short of dominant these past 9 weeks. They came from behind against Tochigi, JEF Chiba and Yamaguchi to earn 2-1, 3-1 and 4-1 wins. All of these wins were in very convincing fashion. Yokohama FC can absolutely rip teams apart at the back with speed, crisp passing and excellent finishing. Domingues added a couple of FK goals in these matches and Ibba was just abusing the Yamaguchi back line.

Avispa Fukuoka really frustrated Yokohama at home but the visitors achieved the breakthrough in the 76^th minute. Fukuoka were unlucky in that they hit the post twice earlier in the match and a possible 3^rd goal went through the legs of the keeper and across the mouth of the goal. However, it was Fukuoka who made a mistake defensively and they paid for it.

Both Mito and Yokohama FC were unlucky in the last match as each had golden opportunities to take the lead but neither side could convert. This was a good game despite the 0-0 score line as both teams are in the top 6 and you knew there weren’t going to be many opportunities for either side.

FC Ryukyu

As mentioned in the introduction, this is going to be a new FC Ryukyu team for the remaining 15 games. The loss of Koji and his 15 goals will now put tremendous pressure on players like Uejo, Ramon, Shinji and Kazama to score goals. FC Ryukyu did nothing to address their defensive woes in the transfer window unless you count shipping Masutani to Okayama out on loan. We have 4 healthy defenders at the moment and it will be the first time that all 4 start together on the back line. Not a great prospect heading into a game against a free scoring side like Yokohama.

It is not a given that the momentum and euphoric feeling from the dramatic come from behind victory over Nagasaki will carry over into this game as several of those players will not be involved. Still, it is better to have won than lost when attempting to best a top 6 side who is a good run of form.

So, it will be interesting to see the lineup Higuchi chooses for this game, how the team plays together on the pitch and the timing of the substitutes tonight. The Tokumoto injury plus the fact that we do not have a dedicated striker on the side only strengthens the idea of switching to a back 3 and adding more firepower up front. FC Ryukyu may enjoy loads of possession since they now have some creative players up front, but who will be on the receiving end to finish these plays?

Injuries

FC Ryukyu: DF #5 Tokumoto is out for another 2-3 weeks from an ankle sprain. This was to be expected, and actually could’ve been a lot worse, after Tokumoto suffered a gruesome looking injury versus Nagasaki last week.

GK #23 Ishii is still recovering from a nasal/facial fracture he suffered a few weeks back.

Both MF #36 Koya Kazama and DF #4 Okazaki were subbed off early last week and I do not know if either will be match fit for today. There is the possibility both feature but I have no updates.

Yokohama FC: Not really dealing with any injuries to their main lineup this weekend.

FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

1. Don’t give up too many FKs near the 18-yard box. Yokohama FC feature two of the best free kick takers in the league with Domingues and now Shinsuke. FC Ryukyu are decent at defending FKs but sometimes come apart after the initial shot is stopped, but not completely cleared from danger.

2. Do not make stupid mistakes on defense. Yokohama has been punishing teams when they commit too many defenders to the attack and/or when a defender makes a rash or ill advised challenge. This allows Yokohama to hit sides on the break and Domingues can really pick apart your scrambling back line. Just play sound football and do not over commit the FC Ryukyu defenders forward.

3. Attack Yokohama FCs flanks with speed. If there are any weaknesses to this Yokohama side it is their defense is not as tight as some of the sides above them in the table. They were exposed against JEF, Renofa, Fukuoka and Tochigi down the sides and this is where FC Ryukyu can benefit. Uejo and possibly Ramon’s speed may prove the difference.

Match Prediction

Yokohama are very strong side and I think their good form gets the best of this new look FC Ryukyu side 3-1.

Conclusion

I think there is the feeling among many Okinawan’s that this match will feature 3 icons of Japanese football, Shinji Ono, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kazuyosji Miura. First, I hope this really fills out the Tapista as we really need a bump in our attendance levels. Plus, the weather forecast is terrible so I wasn’t expecting a large turnout today anyway. Second, I hope fans are not disappointed if we do not see all 3 of these icons feature in the match as that would require some serious luck and choreography. Miura played 62 minutes and Shinsuke played the entire 90 minutes this mid-week in their Emperors Cup game. Keep in mind that Miura is 52 years old and hasn’t featured in a league game since March with Shinsuke primarily used as a late substitute. Also, Shinji Ono hasn’t featured in any match since March and is likely to either start and be subbed off by half time or come on with about 30 minutes to go in the game. I hope that Yokohama FC dresses their players for the fans but I doubt we see all 3 on the pitch at the same time. Regardless, see you out there and good luck boys.