Intro
Super-awesome-fun-happy-time! Or not. Losing is one thing, getting flat out embarrassed by a rival at home (and broadcast to the world on YouTube) is something completely different. For about 45 minutes there was hope that Ryukyu may be turning things around. But that was not to be the case as Verdy scored a momentum shifting goal right before half time and then the flood gates opened up. Ryukyu, like they’ve done so many times this year, completely disappeared during the second half and were steamrolled by 4 second half goals resulting in a humiliating 5-2 defeat at home. Ryukyu remain winless at home, short on ideas and looking very much like the worst team in J2 this season.
Match Highlights
Review of the 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. Boot & Blast. Likelihood 2. Sort of, but not really. Ryukyu did clear some balls in dangerous areas but they seemed like half-hearted attempts that barely went past the 18-yard box.
2. Ryukyu must be clinical on limited opportunities. Likelihood 1. They were inside the first half but then there was nothing in the attack in the second half so I guess they did achieve this task?
Match Day 07 Takeaways
1. The rivalry is alive and well. For the fifth time in seven games, this matchup featured a penalty kick. It was also the second game in a row in which Verdy had two PKs in one game against Ryukyu as well as the second time they’ve reached the 5 goal plateau in Okinawa. Plenty of fouls and chicanery (like Kanai from Ryukyu trying to rub out the PK spot with his cleats) that pretty much sums up this rivalry which will only make the return leg tastier later this year.
2. Kusano and Noda are quite the tandem. These two strikers pair really well together. Kusano has excellent burst and long-distance speed that defenders must respect and do fear. I love how he can dribble his way out of trouble and he has nice touch on the ball. Noda’s hold up play was excellent last night. He was able to shield many defenders and continue attacks for Ryukyu prior to his injury. Seeing how he was gripping his left hamstring after a challenge he put in, I would expect a lengthy absence for the striker which really hurts this team. What these two can do is what we hoped Uehara and Abe could do and what we’ll have to rely on, minus Abe, for the foreseeable future.
3. Ryukyu simply melt away after halftime. Ryukyu had 9 total shots with 7 on net prior to the break. They looked really good up until the quarter hour mark of the first half and then found a bit of fortune on the Noda goal to go ahead 2-0. But then it all went downhill after Noda’s injury. Ryukyu conceded the dreaded goal before halftime when Verdy found space, and so did the cross, in between the Ryukyu defense. Then Ryukyu only managed a single shot, not even on net, in the second half at the 90-minute mark. That is truly poor and there is no excuse for teams making adjustments against us at halftime and Ryukyu failing to respond in kind. To date, Ryukyu have scored 6 of their 8 goals in the first half. The only thing that did increase in the second half was the amount of fouls they committed with Yu’s reckless challenge and Yong Jick’s handball in the box as the biggest killers.
4. Taguchi’s play maybe more to deal with stress than anything. You have to say the man’s confidence is slightly shattered. And who wouldn’t be after the barrage he suffered through last night and prior matches. A lot of his long clearances sailed out of bounds. Others were very short passes to central defenders which naturally allowed teams into a pressing mode since Ryukyu prefer to play out from the back. Then there was the own goal that was both unlucky and should never have been as he should have just booted it out of danger. But seeing how many of those types of clearances by Taguchi went out of bounds, you can see why he tried that back heel. There also seems to be a bit of hesitation and indecision in his process which could make him a liability if he were to be thrown back to the wolves this weekend. Dany needs to make another appearance on Sunday.
5. The only real hero last night was the mother of three young boys sitting behind us in the stands. Cheers to her for braving the expected terrible elements and we salute all the moms that bring their children to the grounds!
Round 07 in J2
I guess Ryukyu were a bit lucky to have Omiya suffer a similar fate last night or else they could’ve found themselves at the bottom of the table. V-Varen Nagasaki secured a nice win after surrendering a two goal lead at Gunma, Oita seems to be getting going with an impressive 3-1 win on the road at Sendai, and Kanazawa and Kumamoto traded goals in each half on their way to a 2-2 draw.
Conclusion
Things are looking pretty, pretty grim these days in Okinawa, and they won’t get any easier on Sunday when Ryukyu travel to league leaders Yokohama FC. A match in which Ryukyu will be without three of their top scorers: Abe (Injury), Noda (Injury), and Kusano (Loan Restriction). That means Ryukyu will have to dress either Takuya Hitomi or Vinicius at FWD in the reserves, or not considering we roster 7 defenders each match.
There has been an outpouring of calls for support by the fans following this recent defeat, but in all fairness to them (us), how much more can we take without change?
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