Intro
You have to go back to the 2021 season to find a point where FC Ryukyu won three consecutive home games in a row. Make no mistake, that is what we’re aiming for this week as Ryukyu must secure a win as anything less is simply not good enough. Fukushima enter the game having suffered three consecutive losses while being shutout in two of them. Fukushima will look to stop their slide to the bottom at the expense of a Ryukyu team who has plenty of questions regarding the health of some of their marquee players, and the ability of the offense to provide a little relief to the besieged back line.
Team Previews
FC Ryukyu: Two steps forward with just a half step back last week. That is what I felt when the ref blew his whistle at full time in Imabari. I think many of us would’ve been happy to take a point on the road against Imabari at the start of the match, but the pain of knowing that all 3-points were lost at the very last second has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the fans and FC Ryukyu. While Ryukyu have maintained their perfect record through three games it was the way the game ended for FC Ryukyu that gave a quick reminder of the pain we suffered last season, and that the club isn’t quite “there” yet. Ryukyu’s performance last week was indicative of the problems that plagued this team in 2022: unable to achieve a two goal lead; under pressure to defend for long spells of the match; succumbing to a bit of bad luck; and conceding at the end of the games to drop points.
While it is going take time for Ryukyu fans to shrug off those feelings from last season there is no better place for the team to start than this weekend against Fukushima. Granted, Ryukyu have strung together some good results to open the season but now must make a point by convincingly defeating what should be viewed as a weaker opponent at home. What I am really saying is FC Ryukyu need to go out there and win by at least two goals to show everyone that last week was merely a wobble along the path to promotion, lessons have been learned, mistakes corrected, and they will build from their experiences at Imabari.
FC Ryukyu may have to do what I ask a bit shorthanded as they are likely without the services of Hitomi, along with Sulley, Kiyotake, and Kelvin. Hitomi suffered a non-contact injury to his right leg in the second half last week, and while there has been no news, I would expect to see the player out for the foreseeable future. I just hope it isn’t season ending (aka Ligament Tear). No telling when Sulley, or Kelvin, will return so that means FC Ryukyu will have to employ a 4-2-3-1 with a combination of Noda, Kanzaki and Abe – who returned last week – at forward. That’s over 100 years of footballing experience up top for FC Ryukyu these days. The real issue is who will FC Ryukyu dress/start in MF with Hitomi’s injury?
I think Ryukyu have about three (3), maybe four (4), healthy midfielders right now? Kuranuki has been dressing a lot of defenders to fill out the formation, to include some youngsters, which I am not sure is due in part out of necessity or financial incentive awarded by the J-League for dressing 18-year old players. Either way it isn’t a great situation. We may also witness a shakeup at RB as Takahiro Yanagi has likely become acclimated with the side and a switch at RB is probably warranted at this point. Makito Uehara may not be the player we all hoped he could be. He can make some plays from time to time, his participation in two FC Ryukyu goals in consecutive weeks speaks to this, but his defending has become a liability. Then again, Kuranuki may just move Yanagi into a RMF position for this game and leave Makito back there but the clock is ticking and Yanagi should push Makito out of the RB position sooner rather than later.
Another player who needs to put better performances under his belt is Junto Taguchi. Taguchi was not really tested during the Hachinohe match and now we’ve seen him make some bad mistakes in consecutive games that puts FC Ryukyu into early deficits. Playing deep on his line, taking a bad first step, putting a rebound back out in the worst spot possible all maybe forgotten thanks to how Taguchi ended the Imabari match but he is putting the defense, and team, under unnecessary pressure right now. Taguchi needs a large injection of confidence as this is not what you expect to see out of your starting goal keeper, especially one that supposedly (?) beat out Dany Carvajal in the offseason for the starting gig. I hope the decision to start Taguchi over Dany was based on performance and not just because Taguchi speaks the local dialect or some other form of cronyism and nepotism that we witnessed last season at the club.
Fukushima United: Fukushima own a pretty good overall winning record against FC Ryukyu. Despite the fact that FC Ryukyu never beat Fukushima in the J3 until the 2017 season, Ryukyu have defeated Fukushima the last two times these teams played in Okinawa. But all of that was five years ago. Right now Fukushima are struggling for goals and struggling for results and find themselves neck and neck with Y.S.C.C. at the foot of the table with only goal difference separating the two teams.
Fukushima have yet to play with a lead all season. Hopefully a trend that continues this week. All four (4) goals that Fukushima United have conceded this season occurred in the latter stages of matches: Imabari (76′), SC Sagamihara (74′ & 89′), and Miyazaki (74′). Maybe Fukushima are adept at defending but don’t create enough chances to make them competitive in games. Fukushima’s lone goal this season occurred deep into stoppage time against SC Sagamihara and to be honest Fukushima don’t really threaten many clubs. But we’ve also never seen Fukushima play with an early deficit, or lead, this year which could bring out a different side of the club. Until then Ryukyu need to be the first club to score on Fukushima inside the first half, something Ryukyu haven’t done this year, nor something Fukushima has allowed another team to do this year, and then back that up with some strong play in the second half when Fukushima seem most vulnerable.
Round 4 in J3
(3) Iwate Grulla Morioka vs (16) Azul Claro Numazu is the lone fixture in J3 on Saturday with Iwate looking to keep pace, or surpass, the two leaders. (1) Matsumoto Yamaga welcomes in (17) Tegevajaro Miyazaki on Sunday who are fresh off their first win of the season. (4) Gainare Tottori host (6) Kamatamare Sanuki as the first of two matches with teams in the top half of the table squaring off. The second being (9) Giravanz Kitakyushu vs (7) FC Imabari.
Conclusion
The number three is the most important number this week for us as fans and FC Ryukyu. We want to see three goals scored, three points awarded, and three consecutive victories at home for FC Ryukyu. Get it done boys!
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