Intro
FC Ryukyu fell 0-1 to Yokohama FC on Saturday night putting them on the brink of relegation. Ryukyu didn’t play bad on Saturday considering they did not conceded a goal from open play, but Ryukyu were really short on attacking players to push anything on net with Sadam Sulley, Yuki Kusano and pretty much every other striker we roster absent this weekend. The goal Ryukyu did conceded came from a PK following a ‘rather soft’ PK call from the referee and there was really only a couple of chances from Ryukyu (Ren Ikeda) to possibly level the match.
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. A fast start with multiple goals. Likelihood 0. Not sure anything needs to be said.
Match Day 39 Takeaways
1. It seems there is no real point in doing this portion of the blog as things really don’t matter knowing that many of the players, and possibly coaches, will not be returning next season and outside of a few strong performances by individual players, there isn’t anything positive to carry over into next year. Ryukyu could be officially relegated before they kickoff next Sunday if Omiya Ardija win this Wednesday and Gunma wins on Saturday. Even if Omiya were to lose in the midweek they still get another crack at it on Sunday when they host Renofa Yamaguchi. The only chance for Ryukyu is to win every remaining match (hard to do when you ain’t scoring goals), and hope to finish higher than Iwate while having Iwaki win the J3 but denied a J2 license. In other words, it is over.
2. Kaz Uesato returned to the lineup for the first time in three months and made what could be his final appearance in a Ryukyu uniform. The fact that many of the players who would normally feature for Ryukyu were not on the lineup card, for whatever reasons, sends a signal to me at least; that it is over, and we might as well get a look at some of the players who rarely featured this season heading into the offseason.
3. Dany Carvajal and Ren Ikeda both had strong performances. Not sure there was much Dany could do on a PK where it looked as if Ogawa stopped his momentum and wrong footed Dany but if the referee was going to award a PK in the first place, it was unlikely he’d call something like that on Ogawa. Outside of that Dany was making save after save to keep Ryukyu in the match. Ren was doing well to unlock parts of the YFC defense and his run in the 71st minute to get into a position to score was quality. A chip instead of a low shot probably would’ve been the preferred method but there is always a chance that a YFC player could’ve cleared the chip if it was moving to slow.
4. Seven games in a row without scoring a goal. Ryukyu do that in their remaining three fixtures and that would almost have to be some sort of record for consecutive goal-less games in the J2. 10-games without a goal would equate to nearly 1/4 of the season and while that may not be so bad across the span of 42 games, it is something totally different when it is in consecutive games to close out a season while in a battle to avoid relegation. If Ryukyu do not score in the last three games it would bring their season total to 18 games in which they failed to score which would be nearly 50% of the season. A far cry form the ‘attacking style of football’ that was Ryukyu the past few years.
Round 39 in J2
Up Top: (1) Albirex Niigata’s 1-1 draw with (7) Montedio Yamagata has all but assured Niigata automatic promotion barring a 14 goal swing between them and Okayama over the last three games. (2) Yokohama FC just needs one more point to guarantee their promotion.
Promotion Playoff Zone: (3) Fagiano Okayama has booked their ticket to the playoffs with (4) Roasso Kumamoto and (5) Oita Trinita each needing just a couple of points the next round(s) to book theirs. (6) Vegalta Sendai have to fend off (7) Yamagata, (8) Vortis, (9) JEF, and (10) Nagasaki for at least another two weeks before they can be assured of a slot in the playoffs.
Down Below: (21) Iwate Grulla Morioka, who I have said the past few weeks still has a lot of fight in them, earned a last second draw with (15) Renofa Yamaguchi and are at least in a position to possibly catch (20) Omiya Ardija and (19) Thespakusatsu Gunma. Iwate’s game against Gunma is likely the relegation decider for both of those teams. Omiya could be dragged back in as they probably have the hardest remaining fixtures of either of these three sides.
Conclusion
Just three games remaining for Ryukyu before we drop the curtain on the 2022 season. At this point I am just hoping to see Ryukyu break this ridiculous goal-less streak, grab one more win, hopefully at home on the final gameday of the year, and then head off into the offseason. It certainly won’t be easy with their next three opponents but hopefully by Match Day 42 Oita has locked themselves into a playoff spot and will rest a few players that could potentially lead to a Ryukyu win. See you in a few days.
ryukyuarmy.com 