Intro
FC Ryukyu’s five (5) game unbeaten run came to a crashing halt on Saturday night at Ventforet Kofu when they were defeated 5-2 (second time in four seasons we’ve lost to Kofu by that score-line). Ryukyu were unable to earn their first ever point at Kofu but they did at least manage to score two (2) goals thus ending the goalless drought that has plagued Ryukyu while traveling to Kofu. Ryukyu found themselves in a very deep hole early on following three (3) goals by Kofu within a span of fourteen (14) minutes. Two (2) of those goals were PKs that were awarded just eight (8) minutes apart. Ryukyu fought valiantly to bring the score line to 3-2 before two (2) more Kofu goals put the game out of reach.
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. Crosses into the box. Likelihood 3. Think we saw a concerted effort by Ryukyu to get balls into the box and we know it works as evidenced by the Sulley goal. A nearly identical goal to the one he scored last week against Kumamoto when he rose and buried a header in the bottom corner. Ryukyu really need Tanaka to find that rich vein of form he was in last season when he could pick out anyone inside the box.
Match Day 30 Takeaways
1. CV-19 was once again wreaking havoc with the FC Ryukyu roster construction this past round as there were two debutants, Barrera and Hong Quan, and only two healthy center backs in the lineup. Luckily Ryukyu made it through unscathed and we can only hope we see the return of some of the first team players next round.
Last entry I put forth the notion that there may be a changing of the guard at RB with Makito the preferred starter over Keita Tanaka. Unfortunately for Makito, he had a very rough outing that saw him subbed off in the 37th minute following two unfortunate plays. First, Kofu had been trying the long ball over the top of our defense early on and finally found the break though when Makito headed one of those balls directly back to the center where a Kofu player was making a run. The second, probably stemming from the earlier play lingering in his mind, was a blatant handball inside the box when his mind told him something needed to be done about that dangerous cross, and his body reacted. Just in the wrong way.
He wasn’t the only one to get the early hook as Hitomi was also subbed off in that change for Kelvin. Kelvin looked good in his return and I am not sure if Ryukyu are better suited at starting Kelvin or having him come off the bench. Guess that all depends on his fitness level at this point.
2. This game ends differently if Abe converts that cross from Takezawa in the 8th minute. Ryukyu nearly capitalized on some early momentum but after they missed the chance to take the lead, you could sense a slight shift in momentum back to Kofu. Now, the two PKs in short order put Ryukyu in a ridiculous 3-0 hole, but they did respond in a way that was very encouraging. Saddam Sulley notched his second (2) goal in consecutive matches along with Nakano finding the score sheet in consecutive games with an assist. What we saw from Ryukyu in the 30 or so minutes following Kofu’s third goal provides a glimmer hope, but time is not on our side. Ryukyu had the players to generate some thrust, chances and goal scoring opportunities, now they need to bring it all together for another stretch run. I would also note that, what we thought was the equalizer near the 60th minute mark, turned out to be offside. Kind of deflating and it was at that point when I felt the game was a bit out of reach based on the prior bad luck Ryukyu had already experienced in this game.
3. Old man yelling at the sky again. Thought there was some “home cooking” refereeing going this game. Granted, the ball did touch Omori’s arm in the box, perhaps he shouldn’t have left his feet, and perhaps it is at the discretion of the referee to award the PK, which he did. Ryukyu may have gotten a bit lucky on some no calls but for the most part it felt as if Ryukyu were playing against twelve men with the referee favoring Kofu. Hell, as @FLManinJP pointed out, it took a damn car crash of a challenge on a Ryukyu player to finally draw out a call from the referee. Following the game some Ryukyu fans were posting that this particular referee somehow provides about a %20 increase in winning percentage to home teams in the games he oversees. Hope he is there for our final home game against Oita.
Round 30 in J2
Up Top: (1) Yokohama FC is doing all they can to derail Ryukyu’s rise out of the gutter by once again surrendering three (3) goals in a loss to one of the bottom four sides. This time it was (20) Omiya Ardija’s turn to earn an unexpected three points against the top side. Knowing Ryukyu’s luck, YFC is likely to find their form when we play them in 8 weeks time. (2) Albirex Niigata were able to cling to their one point advantage over (3) Vegalta Sendai thanks to two (2) late goals against (14) Tokushima Vortis. Vortis now have eighteen (18) draws this season, and though I do not know the record for the most amount of draws in a single J2 season, they look primed to take the title.
Promotion Zone: (3) Vegalta Sendai and (4) Fagiano Okayama both saw out comfortable wins. (6) Roasso Kumamoto once again received the post-Ryukyu-loss bounce, that at least Iwate and Tochigi got to experience, when they defeated (15) Tochigi SC. The only side to lose this round was (5) V-Varen Nagasaki. Four/five points separate this pack from 7th place with Sendai just one (1) point off of second place.
Down Below: We already mentioned Omiya’s win and Iwate’s loss in the previous sections so that just leaves (21) Thespakusatsu Gunma, who lost 0-3 at home to (10) JEF United Chiba. (18) Renofa Yamaguchi, who lost at home to (8) Montedio Yamagata, find themselves in the bottom five following (17) Blaublitz Akita’s 1-1 draw with (12) Mito Hollyhock. 19th-21st place could see some consistent shifting in the standings the next few weeks with (22) FC Ryukyu four (4) points adrift from safety. The window to make up some ground for Ryukyu is quickly shutting.
Conclusion
Putting this one in the rearview mirror and moving onto the next game at V-Varen Nagasaki. There were some encouraging signs this match despite the lopsided score line which needs to be built upon heading into a tough run of fixtures. Ryukyu’s ‘make-or-break’ part of the season is shaping up to be the games between Rounds 34-38 where they have a couple of games against teams in the bottom five (5) of the standings as well as some just outside of 18th place.
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