Intro
FC Ryukyu moved into second place in the standings following a come from behind 2-1 victory over Iwate on Saturday night. It was a complete reversal from the last time these two teams played in Okinawa, almost exactly one year ago, with Iwate drawing first blood in the 25th minute followed by two second half goals from Ryukyu. Both Takezawa (48th minute) and Noda (81st minute) attempted to rip the stitching out of the net with both shots from close range finding their way into the top of the goal. This was a good, if not important, win for Ryukyu despite the season having just started as it marks the first time this season that Ryukyu have won back to back games, a feat they only managed to achieve once last year.
Highlights
Talking Points
1. Another plot twist for the Ryukyu lineup. We knew we were going to be without Mu Kaznazki due to suspension but Kelvin was surprisingly dropped from the team altogether. Noda returned from injury to make the bench and possibly due to the lack of forwards, Kuranuki shifted from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1. That seemed to work well for Ryukyu as there were not as many wayward passes and turnovers that plagued their first match with Hachinohe with the central defensive midfield pairing of Morita and Kagiyama really standing out. Two of our collegiate signings also made their debuts with Ryota Araki taking over for Nakano at Right Midfield and Shusei Yamauchi coming on for a brief substitute appearance. Araki also notched his first point of the season with an assist on the Takezawa goal.
2. Ryukyu dressed a lot of defensive players this match and is that because Kuranuki had a certain game plan in mind to blunt the Iwate attack or are we dealing with more injuries than we previously thought? I do not know but if Kuranuki wasn’t forced into shifting the lineup due to injury and more of a concerted effort, that is the type of progress you love to see. It is still to early to tell about Kuranuki, and since we’ll probably not get many injury updates anytime soon, let’s just assume it is a mix of both.
3. Are Ryukyu that good? Is Hachinohe better than expected? Is Ehime really that bad? I have no idea. Iwate looked like a different side in this game compared to their performance at Ehime. Same goes for Ryukyu after their opening match. Iwate didn’t dictate the run of play as they did against Ehime, Ryukyu did, and though my fear of Iwate pounding us on set pieces – which was confirmed while watching Iwate train the day prior in Okinawa – that never really came to fruition. Iwate had four corner kicks and a few free kicks but Ryukyu were able to snuff those out. The lone goal from Iwate came from open play and it looked like Taguchi was sitting a little to far back to deal with the shot. A shot that Dany saves every time.
Round 2 in J3
The much anticipated match between Kagoshima and Imabari ended in a draw following a flurry activity late that also included an own goal by Imabari on the very last play of the game. Continuing the trend of some late game drama was the match between Ehime and Nagano with Ehime equalizing late on after a series of rebounds and deflections. Tottori dispatched Y.S.C.C. after falling behind early and have moved into the pole position in the table while Toyama drops out of the top having lost to Numazu. Nara club notched their first point of the season while FC Osaka took all three points from Miyazaki on the road.
Conclusion
It felt really good to see Ryukyu win back to back home games for the first time since match days 18 and 20 of 2021. We are only two games into the season with a massive test next week at Imabari, but another fast start by this club (in an odd number year) would really set Ryukyu up for success. Especially considering the amount of players that haven’t featured this year, and who we think, will have an even greater impact in this league.
ryukyuarmy.com 