Intro
Wow! A bit unexpected, but what a wonderful surprise yesterday when FC Ryukyu demolished Ehime FC 6-0 at home. FC Ryukyu scored 6 goals in a match for the second time this season and also took a major chunk out of their goal differential by dropping it down to -4. There is an outside chance, if things break right for Ryukyu in the final 2 matches, that FC Ryukyu could actually finish with a positive goal differential for the first time in 2 years.
Match Highlights
Man of the Match
FC Ryukyu MF Koya Kazama: Koya scored the first hat trick for FC Ryukyu since Yuta Togashi (now at FC Gifu) back in 2017, and added 2 assists to finish with an incredible 5 points. Koya found himself in the right spot, at the just the right times and really needed a game like this to break out of that little funk he found himself in.
Review of the Keys to Victory
1. Hit Ehime with our speed. Likelihood 4. Yes. Koya’s first goal was set up by Kawai out running the Ehime defense.
2. Take Niwa out of the equation. Likelihood 2. He never really factored in this game and Ehime only registered 4 shots on net.
3. Do not switch off. Likelihood 3. FC Ryukyu definitely did not switch off as they kept their foot on the gas for the full 90 minutes.
Takeaways from Match Day 40
1. This was a match where everything clicked, and everything worked to perfection. FC Ryukyu simply dominated Ehime in every category that included a staggering 26 shots, of which 19 were on target. Ryukyu could have easily scored more on a day when it seemed that everyone in the starting 11 was getting on the score sheet.
2.Koizumi’s play was one again phenomenal, and it was his opening goal that provided the early breakthrough for this team. Not really looking forward to see where he signs this offseason, I just hope its for a J1 club in need of central playmaker.
3. There were some visible “sense of relief” moments on many of the faces of the Ryukyu players during this game. In particular, Ren Ikeda broke his 30-game scoreless drought with a thundering header and you could see an enormous weight being lifted off his shoulders in his post goal celebration. These little things near the end of the season matter so much to some players as the small boosts in confidence will carry them heading into 2021.
4. FC Ryukyu tried to get Shinji his goal, but couldn’t. It’s a bit of a shame that Ono couldn’t get on the score card in front of the largest home crowd of the season (3,246) and I really hope he can score one goal on the final home game against Machida Zelvia.
5. Felipe Tavares made his first appearance in over 9 months for the club. We also got some longer looks at Yamaguchi and Hitomi. Tanaka has been red hot as of late so its understandable why Tavares cannot crack the starting 11, but I hope we see a bit more of him before we end the year as I think he could serve a purpose with this team in 2021. Hitomi almost pushed the score line to 7-0 when his ambitious shot from range with the Ehime GK out position, but it bounced off the crossbar. It would be nice to see him get the start up top in the last two games of the year. Yamaguchi almost added an assist, and while he looked good in doing so, I think a majority of that can be attributed to how poorly the Ehime defense played.
6. I am not sure if we witnessed a player voicing his frustrations on social media for the first time here at Ryukyu, but something clearly upset Dany Carvajal before the lineups were released yesterday.
I am slightly concerned about this GK controversy that seems to be materializing in front of us.
Match Day 40 in J2
The promotion race continues and it was a thrilling weekend of action for the neutral fans who tuned into the games for the top 3 sides. (1) Tokushima Vortis were stymied by (13) JEF UTD Chiba at home. The draw allowed both (2) Avispa Fukuoka and (3) V-Varen Nagasaki to make up some ground on the leaders as both sides won 2-0 on Sunday. I said in the last review, that if the loss to Mito by Vortis was anything more than a little stumble, they could lose out on the title when they travel to Fukuoka to end the season.
Conclusion
The result, while impressive, also occurred in front of the largest crowd this season which should help boost some ticket sales for next year. More on the sharp increase on season ticket prices in the offseason, but for now, this was a great result for the club and was very enjoyable to watch.
FC Ryukyu have two games remaining in 2020 and will play their final road game when they travel to Mito Hollyhock on Wednesday evening. Now only two points off their 2019 point total, FC Ryukyu have a realistic chance to surpass that total with some positive results over their final slate of games.
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