Intro
With each passing week the stakes get higher and higher for FC Ryukyu who are on a record setting pace. Since their loss to FC Machida Zelvia in round nine, FC Ryukyu have won three games and drawn twice. Montedio Yamagata enter the match having won three out of their last five games since changing managers and last week was the first win for Peter Cklamovski who fully took over the club prior to round 14.
Yamagata have been nearly perfect when facing Ryukyu as they’ve drawn twice (2019) and defeated Ryukyu twice (2020) with three games in which Yamagata scored three or more goals against Ryukyu. But Ryukyu have been one of the best defensive sides in J2 this year while Yamagata rank near the bottom of the league in terms of goals scored. Much like the SC Sagamihara match prior to Kyoto Sanga this year, FC Ryukyu cannot overlook their immediate opponent with such a massive game the following week and need to get the job done against a side that has been trending upwards the past few weeks.
- Weather Forecast and Match Day Information
- Previous Match Highlights
- Team Previews
- FC Ryukyu
- Montedio Yamagata
- Keys to Victory
- Prediction
- Round 15 in J2
- Conclusion
1. Weather Forecast and Match Day Information from FC Ryukyu
Montedio Yamagata may not have brought a typhoon with them to Okinawa this year but the weather forecast looks dreadful for Saturday.
No away fans for this round either while Okinawa remains under heightened priority prevention measures. We are all holding our collective breath down here to see if Okinawa enters a full blown state of emergency which would mean playing behind closed doors, but it is probably warranted in these tough times.
Click>>> Match Day 15 Info from FC Ryukyu
2. Previous Match Highlights
3. Team Previews
FC Ryukyu: Last week Ryukyu released a statement that one of their top team players tested positive for COVID-19 and then Takuma Abe was left completely off the match day roster leaving some to speculate that he was either injured from the prior week, or was possibly the CV-19 player. Well, that has all been put to bed this week as FC Ryukyu released a photo of Abe at practice which is a great sign moving forward.
Shintaro Shimizu filled in admirably during Abe’s absence last week, netting a goal and coming close on another occasion, but it will be good to get Abe back in the lineup ahead of the game with Niigata. So far Higuchi has gotten the most out of both Shimizu and Koki Kiyotake as each has already exceeded, or at least matched, their goal tally from 2020. Both are on pace to have one of their best seasons and are a big reason why FC Ryukyu have enjoyed so much success to date. But there is a player who is knocking on the door and could force his way into the starting eleven sooner rather than later.
Shunsuke Motegi has accounted for three goals in just under forty minutes played this season. He is credited with two of those goals as one was an own goal that was already headed into the net but nevertheless, Motegi is looking more and more dangerous with each passing week. Much like Koizumi’s emergence last year, Motegi is becoming someone that Higuchi cannot afford to leave out of the lineup each week. Only twenty four years old, the future is looking bright for a player whose highest ever point total is eight from 2019, which he could easily smash this year if given the opportunity.
One player who has yet to register a goal this year is Koya Kazama, last year’s leading scorer for Ryukyu, though Koya has contributed five assists this year which is only two shy of his 2020 total of seven. Koya’s time will come and it is extremely encouraging to see that Ryukyu do not rely solely on one player to carry the team every week, it seems a different player steps up each week to carry Ryukyu forward.
As Ryukyu fans we may have grown accustomed to seeing this side score very early and then see games through to shutouts, Ryukyu have only recorded three shutouts in their last seven games compared to four in their first seven. The most recent stretch of seven games has also seen Ryukyu concede more than two goals in a game twice compared to none at the start of the season. Let’s hope we see Ryukyu get back to those strong defensive performances this week like we saw against Iwata, Kofu and Kyoto.
Montedio Yamagata: Since their managerial change last month, Yamagata have looked a different side. Recently they have a penchant for scoring early in games as four of the six goals they scored in their last five games all came within the first half. During their last five games Yamagata have won three times, drawn once, and lost once. They also played three teams that sit inside the top six during that stretch and own a far better away record than at home.
Montedio jumped out to an early lead against Jubilo Iwata and then hung on at the end to win 1-0. Iwata really dominated the second half as Yamagata was nowhere to be found, and should of at least equalized had they not missed a sitter, in a performance very indicative of Ryukyu versus Iwata on match day one. They then went on to defeat Thespakusatsu Gunma 2-1 before earning a 2-2 draw against Ventforet Kofu the following week.
Yamagata once again jumped out to an early lead against Kofu before the visitors pulled two back. But Yamagata equalized in the 96′ minute from Naoki Kuriyama who struck the ball while falling backwards and it ended up finding its way around the Kofu keeper. The joy of that late draw at home to Kofu was short lived however as Yamagata conceded an early goal to Kyoto Sanga the next match and couldn’t crack the Kyoto goal despite hitting the crossbar and post. Montedio Yamagata played really well in this game, didn’t look overmatched by the strength of Kyoto, and seem to be playing up to the level of their competition these days.
Montedio got back to winning ways the following game when they defeated Ehime 1-0 thanks to yet another early goal at home in a game in which both sides didn’t look particularly strong. Yamagata’s leading scorer is Vinicius Araujo who has two goals and assist to his name but their most dangerous player is Ibuki Fujita who came over from Matsumoto Yamaga FC in the winter. Yamagata have also waffled between who to start in net this year. Eisuke Fujishima regained his starting position over Victor the past three weeks but both keepers are nearly identical in every stat category with both achieving two shutouts. The only thing I saw in Victor was it seemed he was far more generous at giving up the rebound on shots compared Fujishima.
4. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen
1. Slow down Yamagata’s fast start. Likelihood 4. Yamagata are just a different side in the first half of games compared to their play in the second half. For the year they have scored 7 first half goals compared to just 4 in the second half of games. They’ve conceded 5 goals in the opening half of fixtures but have conceded 9 second half goals this year. If Ryukyu can enter halftime level or ahead, they have a good chance at seeing out all three points.
2. Stifle Ibuki Fujita. Likelihood 3. Ibuki is by far Yamagata’s most creative player and moves well in and around the box setting up his teammates or scoring goals. He sits just behind the forwards in Yamagata’s 4-4-2 which means it comes down to Uesato and either Koki or Yu to keep track of his movements, which shouldn’t be to hard considering Ibuki has the best combover in all of J2.
3. Limit Yamagata’s set pieces in dangerous areas. Likelihood 3. Most of Yamagata’s goals stem from set pieces so Ryukyu cannot afford to be committing fouls near our box during Yamagata’s fast start. Bringing Yong Jick in the second half to add some height to the defense is probably not a bad idea either.
5. Prediction
I don’t think we are going to witness another goal scoring bonanza against a team lower than Ryukyu in the standings as Yamagata have only conceded 14 goals this season and play much better away from home. However, a 2-0 home win for Ryukyu feels right. Season Record 6-3-5.
6. Round 15 in J2
Due to some teams having to play their opening round of this years Emperors Cup, round 15 is spread across 8 days. (7) Blaublitz Akita kicked off the round with a 1-1 draw to (10) Renofa Yamaguchi thanks to a late equalizer. (20) SC Sagamihara will host (19) Ehime FC on Thursday May 27th to close out this round. But let’s be honest, there is one game on everyone’s mind this week.
The game on every neutral’s radar is the top of the table clash between (1) Albirex Niigata versus (3) Kyoto Sanga FC who are separated by only one point. Albirex are coming off their first loss of the season while Kyoto Sanga are unbeaten over their last nine games. There are two other fixtures that feature teams within the top half of the table this round as (8) FC Mito Hollyhock face (5) Ventforet Kofu, and (9) JEF United Chiba host (6) FC Machida Zelvia.
The free J-League International YouTube broadcast this round will feature (17) Tochigi SC at home to (12) Matsumoto Yamaga FC.
7. Conclusion
Montedio Yamagata are another team that FC Ryukyu have failed to defeat during their time together in the J2. This game represents more than just another step in the ladder that Ryukyu need to take to reach the summit of J2, it is another dragon they need to slay along the way. It isn’t always pretty overcoming these mental hurdles, but it is vital to their success. Simply put, Ryukyu need to win on Saturday to shift all the pressure to Albirex Niigata and Kyoto Sanga the following day.
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