Intro
FC Ryukyu managed to keep their undefeated streak in tact (4-games) when they drew 0-0 at Tokushima Vortis on Saturday night. It was an impressive performance from Ryukyu, Dany Carvajal in particular, as they were limited to just 30% possession with just a couple of shots on frame. But deep down I know every Ryukyu fan is feeling somewhat disappointed at the result. Especially since many other fixtures this round didn’t end favorably for FC Ryukyu. As I said in the preview this week, FC Ryukyu tying games is simply not going to get it done.
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. Don’t go to sleep on Vortis. Likelihood 3. FC Ryukyu put in a really good shift. It is just a shame they were only rewarded with a draw. The team defended well from top to bottom and were just unlucky to come away with the win.
Match Day 28 Takeaways
1. We all knew that it was going to be a tall task to net all three points at Vortis on Saturday. But there were signs and indicators that it could be done. Vortis do not score a lot of goals, neither does Ryukyu, and Vortis have a similar playing style to Ryukyu (under Kina not Nacho) by producing very little from loads of possession. It really did feel like we were watching a replay of many Ryukyu games from earlier this season when Vortis would constantly pass back and forth to their central defenders and goal keeper. Vortis struggle to break other teams down and though Ryukyu didn’t see much of the ball, and only had to worry a couple of times Saturday night, there was never a feeling of dread when Vortis was passing the ball around.
In a game where only 1 goal was needed, Ryukyu couldn’t get there. Abe had a shot from a rebound cleared off the line by a Vortis defender who just happened to be in the right spot with the shot at just the right height for him to clear. And Shinya Uehara couldn’t find the placement from a wide open spot inside the box at point blank range. Conversely, Vortis had a few good chances with their best being their last when they hit the post near the end of the game.
2. There were a few changes to the Ryukyu lineup this week. Okazaki returned to CB which forced Omori back to the bench. Hitomi took over the right mid-filed duties for Tanaka who was surprisingly absent from the roster this week. Takayuki Fukumura returned to the squad for the first time in six weeks to feature as a substitute. And Ryukyu fans got a look at their recent signing, Sadam Sulley, when he came on for Kanai in the second half. Vortis did everything they could to choke the life out of the Ryukyu attack and despite all the height in the Ryukyu lineup, they couldn’t generate a single corner kick to at least stress the Vortis defense.
3. Dany Carvajal was on fire. That is now two (2) clean sheets from his last four (4) games. Ryukyu only managed three (3) in the twenty four (24) starts for Taguchi. Dany has featured a total of five (5) times and Taguchi did have one stretch of two (2) games in a row with consecutive clean sheets but I know we are seeing the quality that Dany brings to the Ryukyu GK position. Something we missed during Kina’s time in charge.
4. Old man shouting at the sky moment. It was amazing that both teams walked away from this match without incurring any yellow, or red, cards. On paper it looks as if the referee was ‘letting these two teams play.’ But I am sure Vortis fans were just as flummoxed as Ryukyu fans when it came to some of the missed calls or blatant no calls on Saturday. One of the most egregious no calls was the foul by one of the Vortis players on I think Kanai where he came up the back of his leg so fiercely that it tore his sock. Yet the ref just simply awarded a spot kick. I don’t know, but have a strong feeling, that you either have really good, or really bad, refereeing in the J-League.
Round 28 in J2
It has been a longtime since we’ve seen multiple games in one round called off due to CV-19 outbreaks and I fear that we could see more of them being called off moving forward with this particular variant of CV-19. It is one thing to try and prepare for games when dealing with injuries but now teams will have to contend with a heightened CV-19 threat that we haven’t seen since 2020. This will have some massive impacts for every club in the entire J-League. Even more so for FC Ryukyu who have to make another eight (8) road trips this year.
Saturday Night was the night for upsets around J2 as (4) V-Varen Nagasaki and (5) Fagiano Okayama took down (3) Vegalta Sendai and (1) Albirex Niigata while playing on the road. Then there was (20) Thespakusatsu Gunma’s win over (10) Montedio Yamagata and the 0-0 draws for (18) Blaublitz Akita and (22) FC Ryukyu. The only home team to find some modicum of success on Saturday was (16) Tochigi SC who defeated (17) Renofa Yamaguchi leading to these two teams swapping positions in the table.
The losses by Sendai and Niigata allowed (1) Yokohama FC to vault into the top slot after their 1-0 win at (11) Tokyo Verdy. The other game on Sunday saw (6) Roasso Kumamoto score three (3) goals at home for the first time all season, which was 1/3 of the total goals they scored at home this year, in a crushing defeat over (13) Zweigen Kanazawa.
Conclusion
One step forward, two steps back. I may feel disappointed that it was only a draw but it was a point when Ryukyu desperately need points. But it came on a night when Gunma won and Omiya drew that actually widened the point gap between Ryukyu and the three teams above them. The only ground that Ryukyu made up was on Iwate who lost to Zelvia. Ryukyu are now four, five, and six points behind the 19th, 20th and 21st teams in the table. Have to learn and build from that result and get ready for one of the best, if not the best, road teams of J2 in Roasso Kumamoto.
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