Intro
FC Ryukyu suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat to Montedio Yamagata this past weekend and once again find themselves at the bottom of the table. This was the fifth time that FC Ryukyu were shutout this season (1/4 of their games), the sixth time they’ve conceded three (3) or more goals, and the second consecutive week of surrendering three (3) or more goals. Ryukyu are now two (2) points behind Iwate Grulla Morioka, who have a game in hand, and three (3) behind Omiya Ardija in the relegation race.
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. Concede fewer goals than Yamagata. Likelihood 1. I don’t think I need to add anything here.
Match Day 20 Takeaways
1. Yamagata were just better than Ryukyu in nearly every facet of the game. Yamagata’s first goal was a lovely chip over Taguchi – who may have drifted a little far off his line – after Ryukyu couldn’t capitalize from a strong start. The second goal for Yamagata was a mishandling of a shot from Taguchi but Yamagata were able to find plenty of space within the Ryukyu back line of three (3) defenders to operate on Sunday. Yamagata’s third goal seemed nearly identical to their second when another cross came into a dangerous area and was headed past Taguchi. Yamagata’s fourth and final goal was a lovely piece of work from Kunitomo Suzuki to put one past Taguchi on the near post. A bit worrisome that Yamagata had a conversion rate of 60% for their shots on net.
2. Ryukyu have conceded seven (7) goals within two games while being outscored 9-3 over their last four (4) matches. Ryukyu also managed to push their league leading (probably) goals conceded after the 75th minute total to double digits (10). Three (3) goals were conceded within a span of thirteen minutes. That was the fourth time this season where Ryukyu conceded three (3) goals within a time span of 16 minutes or less!
Round 20 in J2
A couple of upsets and heavy defeats highlight the fixtures from this past Round. Albirex Niigata moved back into the top slot following their draw on the road at Vortis and with Sendai losing on the road to JEF United Chiba. All three (3) of the top clubs remain level on points after Yokohama FC rescued a draw at home Tokyo Verdy. There was another four (4) goal defeat this round with Fagiano Okayama shipping five (5) past Zweigen Kanazawa on their way to a 5-1 victory.
Omiya Ardija lost for the first time in two (2) games but it was the shocking 1-0 win at home for Iwate over Kofu, which was also Iwate’s first home win of the season, that pulled them within one (1) point of Omiya and off the bottom of the table.
Conclusion
26% of teams (6/23), five (5) occurring in the last eight (8) seasons following the creation of the J3 league, that were at the bottom of the table after Match Day 20 ended up relegated that season.
ryukyuarmy.com 