Intro
Two wins in a row on the back of two clean sheets for FC Ryukyu. Wow. Ryukyu’s 1-0 victory over Tochigi SC was their first home win this season (9 games), first win at home in eleven (11) games dating back to the 2021 season, and the first time that Ryukyu have won consecutive matches since Match Days 20 and 21 of last season. And boy did they need that win. Though the win doesn’t move them up the standings all that much, at least it has narrowed the gap between them and the teams just above them as well as those in 17th and 18th place.
Match Highlights
Takeaways from Match Day 16
1. Yuki Kusano scores for the fifth game in a row. Kusano is now up to seven (7) goals on the season, good for second place in the league, and nine (9) total points. As if there was any doubt who our best player is this year. Just a shame that we only have him on loan.
2. Ren Ikeda was nearly the man of the match. It was Ren’s sliding effort to keep the play alive that set up Yuki Kusano for his easiest goal of the season in the twelfth minute, and those two nearly linked up again in the 63rd minute when a Kusano cross found Ikeda all alone in the box. Unfortunately the header went just wide for Ren. Let us hope these two can get into a good rhythm moving forward.
3. Lee Yong Jick had a surprisingly good game at the back. Lee was winning every aerial dual that came his way and was stifling the Tochigi attack whenever he could. We will need that from him going forward as Ryohei Okazaki was carted off in the 54th minute with what looks to be a left calf strain (non-contact injury) in which Okazaki knew right away that he was done for the night. This is certainly not the first time we’ve seen Okazaki head to the trainers table for muscle pulls/tears so I’d expect another lengthy absence on his part. That means Rio Omori should slot in at CB with hopefully So Nakagawa making a return to the bench.
4. Ryukyu may have made that win a little more difficult than it needed to be, but they did just enough to grab a win for a team struggling with results and consistency. And they did it without Kina at the helm as he was considered a close contact before the match and unable to attend the game. That meant head coach, Kazuki Kuranuki was the one who earned Ryukyu’s first home win of the season (let that sink in for a moment). You could tell how much that meant to many of the players if you saw some of the Twitter posts following the match, and one of them is below.
5. Some general team information and news. As I mentioned, Okazaki will now join Abe on the injured, but never updated publicly, list for Ryukyu. Third string GK Kosuke Inose will be out about four (4) months following surgery to repair his right shoulder. Ryunosuke Noda returned to the team for the first time in eight (8) games since his injury and then there is a bit of buzz surrounding Ryukyu these days with another potential transfer into the club. FC Ryukyu have been linked (albeit, mainly through their fans) to Kelvin Mateus de Oliveira, once of FC Porto after he was spotted wearing a players pass/badge and sitting next to fellow countryman Vinicius at the most recent Ryukyu match.
No idea if this is true, if he’ll sign, or if he’ll even play for Ryukyu (you all know our track record when it comes to playing foreign players). It could represent either an injury assurance policy if Kusano, Kiyotake, or one of our elder statesmen strikers goes down for the long term. Or, it could signal that Ryukyu realize they need a massive upgrade in the goals department. I do not know much about this player, and whether he has fully recovered from a previous serious injury, but if he has anything left from his highlights on YouTube, we could be in for a real treat. All credit to @MiyagiRyukyu for breaking this bit of news on Twitter.
Round 16 in J2
The result that mattered most for Ryukyu fans this past week was the 0-0 draw between V-Varen Nagasaki and Omiya Ardija. That prevented Ryukyu from going level on points with Omiya, who, look a far better team in recent weeks with three (3) wins, two (2) draws and only one (1) loss in their past six (6) games. League Leaders Sendai made easy work of visitors Zweigen Kanazawa at home who have now lost as many games in the past four (4) matches as they had in their opening twelve (12).
Yokohama FC were able to keep pace with Sendai at the expense of fellow demoted side Tokushima Vortis with a 2-1 win at home. Albirex Niigata dropped out of the automatic promotion zone with their 2-1 loss on the road at Machida Zelvia. Mito, Kumamoto, and Akita all picked up nice wins with the latter shrouded in a bit of controversy by the home supporters of JEF, which has drawn the ire of the league and both clubs.
Conclusion
The back-to-back wins were crucial for Ryukyu, but things do not get any easier for them. Ryukyu do play two (2) of the bottom sides in the table in the next nine (9) weeks, but that also includes three (3) games against teams vying for promotion (Kofu, Yamagata and Zelvia), as well three (3) matches against teams (Vortis, Nagasaki and Okayama) that Ryukyu have struggled to beat – or even own a winning record against – and then there is the heated rivalry game with Tokyo Verdy who embarrassed Ryukyu the last time these two sides met. But, such is life at the bottom of the table.
Anyways, the conclusion section is still all about showing love to the Ryukyu supporters who make their way to the grounds around Japan, regardless of the weather conditions, and who have kept the faith this season.
ryukyuarmy.com 