Intro
As advertised, it was an eventful evening yesterday. FC Ryukyu held serve with Albirex Niigata by winning 2-0 at home over Tokyo Verdy. Ryukyu and Verdy were once again involved in some sort of fracas in their opening match of the season against each other, where Yuhei Sato was red carded in the first half providing a massive advantage to Ryukyu the remainder of the match. It is the second red card in three games for Verdy when playing Ryukyu and this is turning into a rivalry on par with one might see in the bigger leagues where two teams just detest each other. I like it!
- Match Highlights
- Man of the Match
- Review of the Keys to Victory
- Prediction
- Talking Points
- Round 8 in J2
- Conclusion
1. Match Highlights
2. Man of the Match
FC Ryukyu CMF Yu Tomidokoro: Yu drew both fouls that led to the Verdy Red Card and Penalty Kick. He then converted the PK for his first goal in 23 months.
3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
1. Exploit the chaos and ensuing confusion. Likelihood 4. Early on Ryukyu were able to create some chances for themselves but once Verdy had a man sent off in the first half, Verdy resorted to all out defending which limited Ryukyu’s ability to take advantage of the disarray that might otherwise have been present.
2. Cut out the Verdy short passes around the box. Likelihood 3. Verdy really weren’t doing much prior to their sending off and therefore weren’t able to play to their strength after.
4. Prediction
Tipped this one to end 3-1 in favor of Ryukyu and they did end up winning by a 2 goal margin. Season Record 5-1-2.
5. Match Day 8 Talking Points
1. Misses by both sides. There were plenty of opportunities for both Ryukyu and Verdy to jump out to an early lead but all the shots seemed to sail high and wide. With the exception of one Kiyotake shot that called the Verdy keeper into action. Abe had a couple of chances throughout the game but either miss timed his jump or was in the wrong spot to get onto the end of the ball.
2. Forget the spectacular if you cannot do the practical correctly. Up to the Verdy Red Card, Ryukyu were struggling a little bit to get the offense going. Kiyotake’s back heel to nowhere nearly set Ryukyu back and though it may have been a way to jump start the momentum, no one was expecting it leading to a turnover and counter by Verdy.
3. The Tanaka goal shows us just how good Ryukyu are at quickly changing the sides of the attack. It should also be noted, like many of the boys over at the @JTalkET state weekly, how important Abe is to this side even when he doesn’t get on the score sheet. Abe maintained possession in the Verdy end, found Numata, who picked out Kiyotake, who then laid it off to the wide-open Tanaka for Ryukyu’s first goal.
4. Maybe it’s time we try the old “Route 1” attack on net. I understand that is trendy to be hypercritical of your side, even when they are producing results, so excuse me on this one. Ryukyu are very good at sending in crosses these days. Most of their goals result from these passes, but yesterday Verdy was able to snuff out a lot of these out and Ryukyu didn’t bother to switch to the frontal assault right up the middle. As more and more tape on Ryukyu becomes available, teams will begin to figure out how to stop Ryukyu, and though they are quite adept at changing directions quickly, it would help to have the middle of the pitch attack in the locker when required.
5. Verdy’s Red Card was just dumb. I have no idea what Yuhei Sato was thinking when he went in for Yu’s family jewels but it certainly tipped the scales in favor of Ryukyu afterwards. Sato was probably complaining more about his stupidity for putting the spikes into the groin of Yu than the Red Card as he really had no business putting up any type of protest.
6. You are never awarded style points in this league. Once Verdy went down to 10 men everyone expected Ryukyu to dominate possession and the scoring. It is not as simple as in hockey with a man advantage, as the opposition can compact the defensive area and close out many of the shooting lanes while they absorb the siege from the other side. Ryukyu had a ridiculous number of corner kicks (13) and free kicks (13) yesterday but had to rely on a PK to put the game out of reach. Oh well, winning ugly is still winning and the 3 points is all that really matters in the end.
7. A slight let off by Ryukyu at the end. It is easy to get complacent when you’re up by 2 goals with a man advantage and Ryukyu were bailed out by a Verdy offside call and near miss at the end. The highlights suck for showing the offside call but I believe the shot was redirected by an offside player for Verdy though they nearly scored just a few minutes later from a set piece.
8. Getting goals from all over the place is another benchmark for a quality side. Ryukyu just find a way to get the job done. Everyone is doing their part to keep a clean sheet, score goals and see out wins. They are a really exciting squad to watch these days.
6. Round 8 in J2
Albirex Niigata are still top after a second half goal saw them through over Zweigen Kanazawa 1-0 on Saturday. Kyoto Sanga blew the doors off Kitakyushu 6-1 and have officially begun their ascent to the top of the table while V-Varen Nagasaki stumbled at home losing 3-0 to Machida Zelvia. Ehime grabbed their first win of the campaign over Omiya as the managerial change is starting to pay off for this side. Finally Matsumoto surprised everyone with their come back draw against Kofu and Blaublitz Akita continues to pile up crucial points this year.
7. Conclusion
FC Ryukyu have their first of four mid week matches this season when they travel to Machida on Wednesday night. Ryukyu face two teams in a row, Machida and Kofu, that they have never beat during their time in the J2. So you know exactly where any points earned against them will fall in the Points Over Expectation Table.
Machida are coming off a big win at Nagasaki despite missing their best two attackers in Chong Tese and Dudu. The games against Zelvia and Kofu in short succession will be a stiff test for one of the older sides in the league who are benefiting from a relaxed schedule compared to 2020 but Ryukyu have shown the ability to respond to adversity all season.
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