Intro
FC Ryukyu are three games into the season and still in search of their first win. Things will not get any easier this week as they travel to Renofa Yamaguchi, a side that has found much success against Ryukyu at home, and perhaps without some key players. Though it isn’t quite time to hit the panic button down here in Okinawa, we are right to be somewhat concerned with how things have gone so far.
Weather Forecast & Match Day Information
Some favorable conditions for watching football tomorrow.
Click>>>> Match Day 04 Information from Renofa Yamaguchi FC
Team Previews
Renofa Yamaguchi: This side has yet to play from behind in any of their three games to date. However, they have surrendered two of their leads later in matches. After Kumamoto failed to clear their lines in the opening fixture, Renofa pounced on a loose ball in front of net. Then the game turned into a back and forth tilt up to and through Kumamoto’s equalizer. The same could be said about their match with Akita, however, Renofa scored two goals in that game to put their opponent away.
Niigata gave Renofa a golden chance in the second half when Yamaguchi took the lead but once again they gave up a late goal to allow Niigata back into the game. It is hard to tell if Renofa presses well, has a high work rate, or is completely disorganized in both the attack and defense. Each one of their past three games seemed very fast paced where both teams involved had plenty of opportunities to score.
In the six games that Renofa Yamaguchi has hosted FC Ryukyu beginning in 2014, Ryukyu have only won once at the Ishin-Me Life stadium. Renofa only failed to reach the two goal mark in one of those games, the one Ryukyu won, and have hit Ryukyu for more than four goals on three occasions. Those statistics seem similar to what Ryukyu faced on opening day at Zelvia but should provide a little boost of confidence to a Renofa side that isn’t the same whipping boy we saw closing out the 2021 season.
FC Ryukyu: Not the greatest start of a season we’ve seen from Ryukyu, but also not the worst, at least not yet. That honor resides with the 2020 campaign where FC Ryukyu went winless in their first 8 games of the season. That was also the season wrecked by CV-19 and with relegation taken off the table. We have no such luxury this year and though Kina is not technically on the ‘hot seat,’ the heater is at least turned on until Ryukyu can pull themselves out of the relegation zone.
Ryukyu have shown us three different sides in their first three games. First, they put forth such a good effort at Zelvia that gave many of us fans hope that this team could really compete against some of the stronger clubs in J2. Second, they got absolutely demolished at home to JEF which was polar opposite from the performance we saw the week prior. Finally, they looked dominant against Iwate but couldn’t find the second goal to turn the tide and paid the price at the end. What will week 4 bring us?
Katsuya Nakano looks the part and has scored our only two goals of the season. Prior to starting last week he was primarily used as a substitute for Ren Ikeda. Who, has now gone missing from the squad while dealing with a potential injury. The same has to be said about Keita Tanaka who has not featured at all this season. Okazaki made his debut at the back last week but who knows how Kina will continue to rotate the 3 CBs on the squad. One final note, youngster Kazuto Takezawa has also taken a back seat to a veteran in Yu Tomidokoro. I think we are going to see more tinkering of the lineup by Kina until he can find the right combination.
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. Clean up the garbage in front of goal: Likelihood 3. Two of Renofa’s goals this season have come when opponents fail to adequately clear their lines. We have already seen how that bit FC Ryukyu last week and we cannot afford another rendition of that performance against a side who never really gives up inside the box.
2. Remain calm when Renofa’s chaotic play takes hold: Likelihood 4. As mentioned in the team preview section, Renofa plays in a sort of frenzy on both ends of the pitch. This affords them many short counter attacks but also leaves them exposed at the back. Ryukyu need to slow the pace of the game down to force Renofa to press too much and open themselves up.
3. Do not wait for the perfect goal: Likelihood 2. It seems as if Ryukyu are only lethal from inside the 18-yard box and barely take accurate, powerful shots, from distance. I think we definitely have the talent to bag those goals but Ryukyu seems intent on trying to force things into tight, contested areas in front of goal.
J2 Round 4
Only 1 team (Yokohama FC) remains undefeated after three rounds while 6 teams (which includes FC Ryukyu) are still looking for their first win of the year. (3) FC Machida Zelvia vs (2) Fagiano Okayama jumps out as one of the games to watch if you are a neutral fan. But, there is also the free J.League International YouTube broadcast this week featuring (18) Zweigen Kanazawa and (10) JEF United Chiba.
Conclusion
Each round that ticks by without a win to open the season will make most of the Ryukyu faithful a bit nervous. It is not time to abandon all hope if they do not win on Saturday but you would like to see an improvement from one week to the next instead of the yo-yo like performances the past 3 games. Hopefully Ryukyu can put in the same type of performance they did against Zelvia to open the season this week at Renofa and grab that all important win to get the so called “monkey off their back.”
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