Match Day 7 Report: (17) Ehime FC vs. (21) FC Ryukyu 7/25/20 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu traveled to Ehime on Saturday and earned only their third point of the season after a 1-1 draw. Ryukyu remain at the bottom of the J2 table and are still searching for their first win this season. The hard part of all of this is that Ryukyu had several opportunities to get that win, but when shots are just inches wide, it only compounds the growing frustration among the players and staff. In any given season there will always be narrow misses and games that slip away. But when you’re in the midst of a win less drought, desperately seeking a win, those narrow misses have far greater impacts to the squad more than they do the overall standings. Look no further than how Koya Kazama reacted after the final whistle when he brought his hand to his face, and sunk his head into his lap. The effort is there, the results are not. And it is taking a heavy toll on the team.

1. Match Recap
2. Man of the Match
3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
4. Match Day 7 Prediction
5. Match Day 7 Takeaways
6. Match Day 7 in J2
7. Top Goals from Round 7
8. Conclusion

1. Match Recap

Both teams had great opportunities to win the game, especially FC Ryukyu. The 3 near misses starting with Uesato’s FK inthe 78th minute; Uehara being caught wrong footed from an awkward bounce 8 minutes later, and Yu’s whisker wide miss deep into extra time nearly saw Ryukyu pull this one out.

2. Man of the Match

FC Ryukyu GK Dany Carvajal: The man was playing inspired last night. Possibly due to his drop to the bench for the previous two matches, and was the reason we walked away with a point on Saturday. He made save after save in the opening half that kept us in the game. The goal he did concede was not even his fault as the ball was deflected and changed directions, but he nearly got to it anyways.

3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

Exploit the Ehime “Brain Farts.” Likelihood 3: The only real “brain fart” I witnessed on Saturday was that of FC Ryukyu on a set piece. After one of our players fell down in an attempt to get the ball back inside the 18-yard box, Ehime were gifted a breakaway on net that led to their only game of the game.  

4. Match Day 7 Prediction

I thought we would have gone up there and put on a similar performance we saw the past two rounds. We did not, and it ended 1-1. I predicted 3-1 in favor of Ehime so my overall record now sits at 0-2-5.

5. Match Day 7 Takeaways

1. Shinji Ono started on Saturday but could not finish the game due to an injury to his right knee in the 5^th minute. From what I saw, it doesn’t look good as he was able to put some weight on the leg, but it didn’t look like he could get up to full speed or make any lateral cuts. I would expect a lengthy spell away from the club as he rehabs the knee, and if it is one of the Posterior, Medial, or Lateral ligaments of the knee that was damaged, we may not see Shinji for the remainder of the year. Let’s hope it is not serious.

2. I said in the preview that all I wanted to see was a better performance from the team regardless of the final outcome. And all in all, it was a better performance by Ryukyu. We expected Ehime to have a large number of shots as they are a much better attacking side this season compared to last year, and Ryukyu weathered that storm quite well. It was only the unfortunate set of circumstances on a set piece for Ryukyu that led to the Ehime goal that prevented us from earning our first win.

3. When the team is reeling, and results are waning, you always look for someone in the squad to put the team on their back and pull them up. For me, that is what Abe did on Saturday. There came a point in the match when he looked to take control of the game single handily and do it all himself. However, this is a double-edged sword since sometimes you can lose sight of the larger picture much like missing a player that is wide open on a 2 on 1 situation. But I cannot fault Abe for that as he is our most clinical finisher and he probably scores that goal 9 times out of 10. Unfortunately, we saw the 1 time that he didn’t. But make no mistake, his efforts shortly thereafter set the scene for our equalizer.

4. FC Ryukyu need a better plan for squad rotation heading forward. Uesato, Numata and Abe have played nearly every minute of every game since the restart and they are showing signs of wear and tear. Shinji Ono’s injury will pave the way for some of our younger players to get some playing time but as we’ve seen with Tanaka at RB, maybe we need to put Yamaguchi in at LB to allow Numata some down time. Plus, we need a 3^rd striker from somewhere. Hopefully when the summer transfer window opens up, Ryukyu can sign a few players on loan.

5. I tweeted out prior to the match that I thought this was one of the strongest lineups that FC Ryukyu had put out since the restart. I would’ve liked to see how the pairing of Ono and Abe played out but unfortunately the injury bug bit us and we may never see it. I was shocked to see that we opted to dress 2 defenders (Torikai & Fukui) on Saturday which meant Yamaguchi was dropped from the reserves. While Fukui may not be the greatest defender in the squad, his versatility to play all 4 positions means we could load up on young, fast, and fresh legs on the bench. In that same vein, Higuchi waited way too long to bring on Koizumi at the end; not use his 5^th substitute; and took Koya and Motegi – the pair that scored our only goal – out of the match a little too quickly. Motegi is only 24 and should have the stamina to play the full 90 and he is one of our best players in the attack.

6. Match Day 7 Around J2

In the much-anticipated match up between Nagasaki and Kyoto, it was Nagasaki getting the better of Kyoto 1-0 which maintains their 4-point lead at the top over Omiya who also won 1-0 on Saturday. Kitakyushu and Fukuoka also won which pushed them farther up the table.

7. Top Goals from Round 7

1: Akira Toshima from Omiya gets the goal but the whole buildup leading to it, with numerous one touch passes was nice. (1:14)

2: Niigata’s Shion Homma’s rocket shot from outer space (1:00)

3: Daisuke Ishizu of Fukuoka chest down the ball nicely and then delivered a missile. (3:00 mark)

8. Conclusion

We’ve picked a good year to be flailing at the bottom as there is no relegation. But there are problems that require change and a bit of good fortune. The players are pressing hard for that first win and as each defeat and draw pile up, the tension and pressure increase exponentially. It does not matter if Ryukyu win their first game and then go on another 10-game losing streak. All they need right now is the belief that they can win.