Intro
The 4-0 drubbing of Tokyo Verdy by FC Ryukyu was a bit unexpected considering Verdy were in the midst of a slight surge up the table. But the boys from Okinawa controlled every facet of this game that saw Koizumi bag a brace, Kawai slamming home a top corner bullet, and Numata bouncing one off the cross bar – and then the head of the Verdy Goalie – for his second goal of the campaign.
It was also the first time we saw FC Ryukyu sporting their #OneOkinawa Blue kit. A bit unfortunate that they didn’t have the shorts to match. In any event, FC Ryukyu ended the tough schedule of November with 4 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses, which is by far their most productive month of the season.
Match Day 37 Highlights
Man of the Match
FC Ryukyu MD Yoshio Koizumi: 2 goals, created chances everywhere, an outstanding total performance on Sunday.
Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
1. Play Mistake Free Football (or close to it): Likelihood 2. I think we would all have to agree that FC Ryukyu did exactly this on Sunday.
2. A Healthy Strike Duo of Abe and Uehara: Likelihood 2. Neither featured, but Koizumi, Kawai and Numata stepped up in their absence.
Match Day Prediction
Tipped it 2-1 for FC Ryukyu and they went above and beyond at 4-0.
Match Day 37 Takeaways
1. Koizumi put on a clinic. He bagged two goals but was far more lethal in the set-up play. It was a shame that Abe wasn’t in there as he would have scored a brace himself with the way Koizumi was playing. He nearly added an assist but Ikeda and Koya couldn’t match Koizumi’s pace on the fast break, as they both failed to get on the other end of a pass that was begging to be buried.
2. That was a shockingly good defensive performance yesterday by Ryukyu. After losing 3-0 to Iwata we should have assumed that FC Ryukyu were going to be vulnerable at the back. But no Verdy attack materialized on Sunday. Suzuki started over Fukui but Higuchi stuck with Taguchi after that brutal loss to Iwata. And well, it paid off.
3. I am not sure what is going on at GK for FC Ryukyu. We locked Dany up for at least 2 more seasons yet it seems Higuchi prefers Taguchi at the moment. Taguchi played well, made some nice saves, but none that Dany couldn’t make either. This is a strange development moving forward and I am not sure what to make of it.
4. Injuries are mounting once again. Abe and Uehara were not fit enough to make the bench so Hitomi got his shot up top and made his 2020 debut. Getting a longer look at Hitomi is good idea as both Abe and Uehara are in the twilight of their careers. But I’d still like to see Abe return to the lineup to add to his goal tally.
Koizumi also took a knock to his right foot and was seen with a visible limp after the game. It is likely he’ll be rested against Kanazawa on the short week, but hopefully he can return against Okayama the next weekend.
Match Day 37 in J2
No change at the top as all 3 of theses sides won this round. V-Varen Nagasaki briefly moved into second place with their win over Niigata on Saturday, but Delgado’s goal against his former club allowed Avispa to hold serve this round. Tokushima Vortis won 4-3 but only after allowing Zweigen Kanazawa to score 3 goals to level the match, before finally netting the winner in the 80′ minute.
Conclusion
FC Ryukyu end the month on a very positive note while also embarking on a stretch of 4 consecutive home matches. Next up is Zweigen Kanazawa. This team just took Tokushima Vortis to the brink this past weekend so it will be no easy task to beat them on Wednesday.
ryukyuarmy.com 