Intro
FC Ryukyu take on a familiar foe with a history that stretches back to 2014 this week as they host Iwate Grulla Morioka. If you recall Morioka were demoted alongside FC Ryukyu last year with both games against Iwate last season proving costly for Ryukyu. Ryukyu lost early in the year to Iwate at home and the late season victory by Ryukyu in Iwate cost us Koki Kiyotake for an extended period of time due a to facial fracture. All of which significantly contributed to Ryukyu’s demotion. Both teams started the 2023 season with wins last week but it was Iwate’s 5-1 win over Ehime on the road last round that caught many by surprise. We now have a reverse of the situation last season with Iwate the clear cut favorite in this game. A game which should provide Ryukyu an early measuring stick as to where they stand in this league.
Team Previews
FC Ryukyu: The first three games of the season represent an interesting test for Ryukyu. First, we wanted to see how Ryukyu would play under Kuranuki, with many new players, and with expectations set pretty high. Ryukyu did win, which is the most important thing, but didn’t look all that spectacular in the process. That is fine for the moment as I’d rather Ryukyu gain a little confidence while easing some of the early season pressure on the squad. Second, Ryukyu face an old rival who is brimming with confidence following their massive road victory last week. Ryukyu responded to the early pressure from Hachinohe, achieved a breakthrough before halftime, played well to start the second half, but sort of faded down the stretch (aka what we saw a lot of last year). Let’s see how Ryukyu respond against a team that looked very strong throughout the entirety of game last week. And finally, looking ahead to next week, Ryukyu will play their first match on the road this year against FC Imabari who are one of the favorites for promotion this season. These games could reveal a lot about how Ryukyu will fare in J3 this year.
Last week we got our first look at the Ryukyu lineup for the 2023 season. While me may feel secure in assuming that FC Ryukyu will deploy a 4-4-2 formation under Kuranuki, I wouldn’t be so confident in assuming that exact set of players from last week will feature all season for Ryukyu. Not just due to injuries that some could pick up throughout the campaign. It came as a bit of a shock to see the absences of both Kiyotake and Noda, which included 18-year old Jitsuki Tsuha on the team sheet, in the lineup last Saturday. It was only revealed in a fan event pre-match that Noda is currently dealing with some lower extremity issue that may keep him out of the lineup and one must wonder, how many players are actually match fit for Ryukyu right now?. Noda’s, and possibly Kiyotake’s, injuries couldn’t come at worse time for Ryukyu with Abe and Sulley already missing, and now with Mu Kanazaki suspended for this match following his Red Card last week.
That means Ryukyu are down to just two healthy forwards, Hitomi and Kelvin, entering this game with Iwate. Perhaps we see the return of one of our forwards this week as both Kiyotake and Noda were spotted at training, but if we don’t, that puts a little extra pressure on Hitomi and Kelvin to get Ryukyu on the scoreboard early and often this Saturday.
Speaking of Kelvin, what a goal last week! He took some exquisite touches to round a few defenders before slotting the shot in the lower corner. But that is kind of where the Ryukyu offense started and stopped against Hachinohe. A lot of this could be contributed to what could’ve been a makeshift lineup based on recent injuries picked up in training, but if Ryukyu wish to walk away with a win this week, they will need to fix the disjointed passing that killed off so many offensive drives last match.
Aside from the bright start to the season from a rejuvenated Kelvin was the defending by Ryukyu. The CB pairing of Muta and Mori did well in dealing with the limited attack from Hachinohe, and though we thought the same thing about our defense after the opening fixture last year (we know where that led) I am again encouraged by a good defensive performance to open the season, but we’ll reserve judgement on that topic for a later date. I am slightly concerned about the health of Muta who was seen taking a boot to the face to end the match (thanks to @Shukyu_Complex for capturing that screen shot) and we all know how secretive clubs can be when releasing injury updates. On the other hand Muta didn’t look any worse for wear and was seen post match giving the ref the business, more like a healthy ration of shit, for missing that foul. Let’s hope that both Muta and Mori are out there on Saturday as Ryukyu will definitely be up against it this week with a far more aggressive attacking team.
Iwate Grulla Morioka: The return of Lee Yong Jick! No, that isn’t the major headline this week though plenty of dismissive wanking gestures are probably in store for Saturday. Neither is seeing two sides who were relegated from J2 last year as a potential clash of two strong teams who are undefeated, both favored for promotion, and sit near the top of the table. The headline is Iwate enter this game full of confidence having demolished Ehime FC last week, doing all their damage before Ehime could even register a goal, and who will look to continue their strong start against a Ryukyu side that is still trying to find their way in this league.
Iwate had three players with at least two points last week: Tsuyoshi Miyaichi (2 goals), Kaili Shimbo (1 goal and 3 assists), and Sota Kiri (1 goal and 1 assist). Four of the five goals Iwate scored came from set pieces where Miyaichi looks very dangerous as both his goals were of the headed variety. Ehime did not seem to offer much resistance in this match as Iwate looked in complete control in almost every area of the pitch. Heck, the score line could’ve been even higher had not two of Douglas’s shots require a good save by the keeper and the luck of the post.
I think the type of performance Iwate put in versus Ehime was what we as Ryukyu fans were hoping to see out of Ryukyu against Hachinohe. Free flowing attacks, excellent movement of the ball, pinpoint accuracy on set pieces and lethal finishing. Needless to say the Ryukyu back line will have their work cut out for them this week in trying to keep Iwate off the scoresheet.
Round 2 in J3
Round one may have showed us that the teams many expected to win, did in fact win, and that some of the teams that were expected to struggle, did in fact struggle. The J3 debutants, FC Osaka and Nara Club, each lost to two of the favorites for promotion in Kagoshima and Matsumoto. Imabari won 1-0 at home like FC Ryukyu, albeit against what some would consider a stronger opponent in Fukushima, with both Nagano and Toyama also earning victories. A couple of sides dropped an early 6-pointer with Numazu losing to Sanuki and Sagamihara falling at home to Tottori. Perhaps the snap shot of the table at this very moment won’t move all that much throughout the season?
Round two sees a slew of fixtures pitting teams at the top of the table against one another as well as teams at the bottom of the table squaring off. On Saturday we have (1) Iwate v (7) FC Ryukyu but another early season test for two contenders for promotion will be (5) Kagoshima United FC hosting (7) FC Imabari. On Sunday (2) Matsumoto Yamaga FC and (2) AC Nagano Parceiro both face teams in (10) FC Gifu and (20) Ehime FC who are looking to rebound from their results last week. And we could also see (4) Gainare Tottori and (5) Kataller Toyama stay near the top of the table as they face (13) Y.S.C.C. and (15) Azul Claro Numazu.
Continuing the trend of some important early season 6-point matchups there is (18) Tegevajaro Miyazaki hosting (13) FC Osaka, (18) Nara Club hosting (15) Vanraure Hachinohe, and (12) SC Sagamihara at home to (15) Fukushima United on Sunday.
Conclusion
Facing a confident opponent, dealing with some injuries to key players, and lacking a bit of offense at the moment, Ryukyu are in for a very tough match against Iwate. But this is what we should expect this season as Ryukyu cannot be considered favorites in many matches just because they dropped down a tier. This isn’t the same type of thing we see when J1 sides drop down to J2, this isn’t the same Ryukyu side from 2022, and this Ryukyu side in J3 still has a lot to prove. “Nothing to it but to do it” as they say. Let’s go boys!
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