Intro
It is pretty simple from a Ryukyu standpoint; continue the undefeated streak or risk falling further behind the pack. FC Ryukyu are currently on a five (5) game undefeated streak but travel to Kofu where they have yet to take even a single point from Ventforet in three (3) seasons while on the road. Kofu also enter the match on an undefeated run but do not seem to be the type of Kofu team that has been a lot stronger than Ryukyu in past seasons. Kofu maybe to far from the promotional playoff zone with only pride left to play for, but for Ryukyu, it is a matter of life or death.
Weather Forecast & Match Day Info
Looks like the rain is following FC Ryukyu around the country. Stay as dry as you can for those fans traveling to the match.
Click>>> Match Day 30 Information from Ventforet Kofu
Team Previews
Ventforet Kofu: Kofu enter Match Day 30 on a three (3) game unbeaten run. Their longest unbeaten run this season stands at five (5) games which were all draws with their longest winning streak at four (4) near the start of the season. Following Kofu’s draw with Ryukyu on Match Day 17 Kofu has tumbled out of the promotion playoff zone and into the bottom third of the table. So perhaps this isn’t the strongest Kofu side that Ryukyu has had to face while playing as the visitor.
Kofu had their match with JEF postponed due to CV-19 a few weeks ago but in the five (5) games played prior to the one with Ryukyu this Saturday Kofu went 1W-2D-2L. The lone win was sandwiched in between a pair of losses and then a pair of draws. Those two (2) losses came at the hands of Nagasaki and Sendai with both those teams shutting out Kofu in each of their matches. Following a 0-3 defeat to Sendai on the road Kofu responded with a 3-1 victory at home against Blaublitz Akita.
The next round saw Kofu take the lead against Mito in the first half, but they ended up surrendering that lead just nine (9) minutes after halftime kicked off. Their most recent match at Gunma ended 1-1 where Kofu fell behind early but came back to level the match near the end. Each team had a couple of chances near, and in, stoppage time to take the lead but neither could get a goal.
I am really not sure what to make of this Kofu side this season and I think they could be ripe for the picking if Ryukyu can execute the same way they have been the past few weeks. Kofu had some strong performances against Nagasaki, despite the loss, and of course Akita, but otherwise looked the part of a mid-table team. Somewhere I’d love to be at the moment.
FC Ryukyu: Ryukyu now have to contend with playing eight (8) road games; travel to those road games; and avoid the raging CV-19 virus that is infecting upwards of 40,000 people a week on Okinawa with many more on the mainland of Japan. The team may want to institute some sort of protective bubble, and possibly restrictions, on their players as they cannot afford to lose key personnel to CV-19 in such a critical part of the season. Especially now considering they are generating momentum and earning points while entrenched in the relegation battle.
Ryukyu have built this momentum brick by brick, result by result the past five (5) weeks. It started with defending, which is a solid base from which to build from, and finally reached the multiple goal plateau to safely see out a win. Last week Ryukyu were hit hard by the CV-19 bug as six (6) players were unavailable to Nacho. There is a strong possibility that we see the return of some of those players, if they are healthy, symptom free, and fit, to at least provide some options to Nacho during his roster construction. But we have seen at least two (2) players test positive this week and there is no telling if more will pop in the coming days.
Many Ryukyu fans have seen the social media posts with Kiyotake and Kusano at training but hold your horses there as we have no idea, for Kusano at least, on how these players will respond after a lengthy lay off (aka can I trust my body to do what my mind is wanting it to do?). In the meantime we should focus on the attack duo of Abe and Sulley. Both strikers seem very adept at hold up play and each compliments the other while driving the attack. We caught a glimpse of what this attack duo can do last week, now we are hungry for more.
We also must come to grips that we are seeing the future RB of FC Ryukyu in Makito Uehara. Makito, at least in the short term, has usurped Keita Tanaka at RB indicated by Nacho’s choice of Uehara there despite Tanaka being healthy at times. There is an outside chance that Nacho was tinkering with the lineup to get as much firepower into the lineup then, but I think we are witnessing a changing of the guard at RB. A perfect wet dream would be to permanently retain the services of Nakagawa and Omori at CB to pair with Makito at RB but we all know as Ryukyu fans this is a nothing more than a fantasy. A problem for the future but a nice combination that is providing immediate returns.
So what should we expect from FC Ryukyu on Saturday? Little possession and clinical in finishing? That would be nice but I feel we’ll see the slightest of shifts towards Ryukyu getting on the front foot and controlling more of the match than we’ve seen the past few weeks. How so? Well, players are responding, and executing, Nacho’s system. Which means eventually they will start controlling play as their confidence grows in line with their trust of the managers’ philosophy and forthcoming results. Ryukyu are not going to go undefeated the rest of the year so get that notion out of your minds. But they can at least achieve results to see them out of relegation once the trust, confidence, and belief returns/grows. Something they have been without for much of the season.
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. Crosses into the box. Likelihood 3. I believe this was the same thing I said last time when these two teams played to a draw in Okinawa. It seems Kofu really hasn’t figured out the defending at the back and are very susceptible to some crosses, from any distance really, into the box. The Kofu defense gets stretched when teams are out wide so that should create loads of space for Abe and Sulley to occupy. Now we just got to get them the ball in space.
Round 30 in J2
Up Top: First place (1) Yokohama FC travel to (21) Omiya Ardija and let’s hope we don’t have a repeat of last week with YFC losing to a team near Ryukyu in the standings. (2) Albirex Niigata will host (13) Tokushima Vortis with (3) Vegalta Sendai traveling to (16) Zweigen Kanazawa. (4) V-Varen Nagasaki will travel to (12) Tokyo Verdy for one of the free J-League International YouTube broadcasts this week. Click>>> Tokyo Verdy v V-Varen Nagasaki.
Down Below: (20) Thespakusatsu Gunma will welcome in (11) JEF United Chiba who are both coming off 1-1 draws the previous round. (18) Blaublitz Akita could push themselves clear of danger with a win at home over (10) FC Mito Hollyhock, coupled with some losses by the teams below them, as that would provide about a ten (10) point cushion between them and the sides currently facing relegation. Finally we have (20) Iwate Grulla Morioka hosting (5) Fagiano Okayama on the second broadcast this round for the J-League International YouTube channel. Click>>> Iwate Grulla Morioka v Fagiano Okayama.
Conclusion
OK. Onto the task at hand. We know Ryukyu has yet to earn a point on the road at Kofu. But they have also never scored a single goal there either. Let’s start with getting our first goal in Kofu and see where that leads. Come on Lads!
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