Intro
FC Ryukyu ended their season on a bit of a sour note this past Sunday when they fell 2-0 to Ventforet Kofu. They nearly pulled of what would have been a very famous upset on the last day of the season but were never able to score. The loss results in an overall record of 13 wins, 10 draws and 19 losses for FC Ryukyu during the 2019 campaign. For Kofu, the win books them a ticket into the promotion playoffs where they will travel to Tokushima to take on a surging Vortis side.
Match Recap
FC Ryukyu were simply unlucky. That is all I can say. While Kofu fired the opening salvo in the first minute of the match, the better side on Sunday was FC Ryukyu for much of the match. Uehara had a shot just inches wide that would’ve put Ryukyu out in front in 18th minute. Fukui would’ve doubled their lead, or at least opened the scoring, 4 minutes later but his header hit the post. Uejo’s FK was just a matter of inches wide or Ryukyu would’ve leveled the match in the second half. Song Sun nearly found a wide-open Koizumi in the 85th minute from a header he brought back across the mouth of goal but a Kofu defender beat Koizumi to the ball. Finally, Kawai made an excellent break down the left when he went past the Kofu defender with his speed and his shot, which was a tricky lofted one, required the Kofu keeper to tip it over the bar or it may have ended up in the back of the net.
That is a total of 5 goal scoring opportunities that FC Ryukyu had that unfortunately resulted in 0 goals. FC Ryukyu’s dominance was evident in the possession column as they had an astounding 70% in the first half and ended the match with 69%. Ryukyu did all they could to win this game and they put in quite a shift despite the scoreline.
Kofu had 3 highlights this game and 2 of them were goals. One on a deflection that found a wide-open Soneda and the other off a counter where Uejo was rushing to cover the back line with a very nicely taken finish by Soneda for his second. But these things happen in sports, more often than you would like. It’s not always the better performing, or stronger side, that prevails in every game. Kofu made the most of their opportunities and FC Ryukyu did not, it is as simple as that.
As an away fan, all we wanted to see was 1 FC Ryukyu goal. That is the most unfortunate part in all of this. FC Ryukyu were on the front foot for most of the match and looked the better side. They were not over-matched, not out played and definitely not outclassed. They were however, outscored.
Man of the Match
Ventforet Kofu. FW #11 Yutaka Soneda. Scored both goals against FC Ryukyu on Sunday.
Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
1. Play Within Yourselves. PASS: There was nothing in the game that suggested FC Ryukyu had a poor performance. They were simply unlucky.
2. Frustrate Kofu. PASS: Kofu did not score until the added time of the first half and it was only after a deflection fell directly to a wide-open Kofu player. FC Ryukyu controlled the possession and tempo of this match.
3. Park the Bus. FAIL: But in a good way. FC Ryukyu’s game plan was definitely not to sit back, instead, they were attacking early and going for the win all game. Kofu had their first counter attack in the opening minute of the game and only a superb save by Ishii on the Utaka shot prevented Kofu from scoring. Kofu’s second goal stemmed from a counter attack but at that point FC Ryukyu were throwing all they could at Kofu so it is understandable.
4. Score. Fail: 2-0, enough said.
Match Day 42 Prediction
Guessed 4-1 and it ended 2-0. A respectable performance by the boys on the final match day of the year.
Match Day 42 Recap in J2
Yokohama FC earned the second automatic promotion spot with a 2-0 win over Ehime FC. Omiya’s draw at Kanazawa meant they would finish fourth. Yamagata’s shocking home loss to Zelvia means they drop down to the 6th and final playoff spot as both Vortis and Kofu won to round out places 4 and 5.
Speaking of the shocking win by Zelvia, it staved off relegation for a side facing huge odds on Sunday with the hardest draw of all the possible relegation sides. Tochigi SC also pulled off a miracle by beating JEF on the road and climbing out of the relegation zone for the first time on over 3 months. In doing so, Kagoshima was forced down as they succumbed to Avispa 2-1. It is unfortunate that Kagoshima went down as they were the 2nd J3 club from 2018 to be promoted along with FC Ryukyu. It’s also unfortunate because they are the first side to be promoted from J3 and relegated the very next season.
Conclusion
Despite the loss, the spirits of the traveling FC Ryukyu supporters was very high this day. In fact, I haven’t seen a crowd that lively since the Omiya match. There were definitely more supports there than I thought would actually show up and it is a testament to this club that so many people are willing to spend their hard-earned money to come see FC Ryukyu away from Okinawa.
While it is nice to reminisce about the past season, the J2 2020 season for FC Ryukyu starts now. There is less than 100 days between the closeout of the 2019 season and the opening of the 2020 season. FC Ryukyu are certainly going to lose some players this off-season and they will also be looking to strengthen the squad. I anticipate some players being released sooner, rather than later, and we should all monitor the website/twitter feed of FC Ryukyu for any new information.
Even with the busy off-season ahead of FC Ryukyu, there is still a lot of football left in the J2. There are the semi-finals of the promotion playoffs this weekend followed by the final either mid-week or the next weekend. Then there will be the remaining game between the winner of the J1 promotional playoffs and 16th placed team in the J1 table. Not bad for a neutral fan whose season has just ended.
In the coming weeks I will release some end of the year articles as well as preview all the important matches remaining on the J2 fixture list. See you soon.
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