Intro
FC Gifu extended their winning streak to five games in a row over FC Ryukyu with a resounding 3-1 victory at home this past weekend. It took Gifu just eight minutes to open the scoring before adding two more goals near the end in which two Gifu players reached multiple points on the day. FC Ryukyu added a consolation goal in stoppage time and while it was a very nice goal by Nakano, it was wasted in another lackluster performance by FC Ryukyu. This is the second loss in a row for FC Ryukyu this season but more concerning is that Ryukyu nearly made it five consecutive halves of football without scoring a goal before Nakano bailed them out when the game was already out of reach.
Match Highlights
Talking Points
The Lineup: We finally saw the change at GK that most were expecting with Dany Carvajal getting the nod over Junto Taguchi this match. However, Kuranuki opted – or had no choice due to injury – to drop the starting CB duo in Muta and Mori. Kuranuki gave the start to Yamauchi and Makito Uehara in the CB role instead. A move I had feared all offseason that finally came to fruition. I am not sure we can hide Makito in a different spot in the lineup and it seems apparent that he may need to be dropped to the bench altogether. Speaking of drops, Kagiyama was dropped to the bench for this game and Takahiro Yanagi made his debut for the club with a substitute appearance.
There was still no sign, or word, for Kelvin, Hitomi and Mu Kanazaki. When this lineup was released a few hours in front of the match I instantly had the feeling that we were going to witness something similar to what we saw last year at Oita, almost exactly 1 year to date and on the same match day. It was there that Kina finally made a switch at GK only to throw Dany to the wolves during that 1-4 pasting at Oita. It seems Kina’s understudy did the same exact thing this week with a makeshift backline in front of Dany. If you recall, after a similar outcome last year when a switch was made at GK, we didn’t see the resurgence of Dany until there was a change in the manager.
The Match: The opening twenty minutes of this game really speaks to where FC Ryukyu are as a team these days. Missed opportunities early on when passing went awry, a good save from Dany to keep the team in the match, and then punished for not converting their early chances when bad defending down the right side resulted in a wide open headed goal. Later on we saw some shots right at the Gifu goalie, most notably Fukumura’s wide open run where he didn’t bother to look up and see a slew of Ryukyu attackers in the box and instead opted to go for glory.
Things could’ve been a lot worse for Ryukyu had the referee awarded a PK for what looked like a clear foul on Kubota in the box but instead we were treated to a long stretch where FC Ryukyu needed a goal, and couldn’t find it, before the floodgates opened up on them. Gifu’s second goal was the result of yet another successfull press by our opponents, followed by a turnover with two Gifu players closing down the Ryukyu pass. Gifu were able to find space all day within the Ryukyu back line and though the second goal took a deflection off of Makito, the Gifu player had all day to pick his spot. Not much different for the the third Gifu goal as it was a nice run and finish by the attacker through the heart of the Ryukyu defense.
Abe put in a good shift as it was his hard work that provided the assist on the Nakano goal and workman rate that nearly got Ryukyu on the board near the very end when a header hit the crossbar. It is just the same script for Ryukyu these days: missed opportunities, right idea but wrong execution, not really testing the opposing keeper, turnovers and breaking down in defense.
Repeating the same mistakes: One could make a very strong argument that the 2023 version of FC Ryukyu is a carbon copy of the 2022 version that never lived up to the talent it possessed on the roster. That was because the manager, Kina, was not up to task and the club waited a long time to make a change. How could anyone think any different after another internal appointment at manager by the leadership of the club has once again put this team on shaky ground as evidenced by the lack of offense/goals, poor defending, conceding late goals, and the list goes on and on. I also understand that Ryukyu are only five games into the season and perhaps Kuranuki should be afforded more time, but I cannot say that Ryukyu have been good so much as just lucky this season under his control.
It starts and ends with the manager as it is his system, his choices, that set this club up for success each week. How many successes compared to failures do you think Kuranuki has had this season? It is so easy for teams to press Ryukyu high up the pitch and force turnovers in the middle of the field. It is disappointing watching our defenders not mark their men or make runs into the wrong spots. It is painful watching Ryukyu go on the attack knowing not much will come of it. What is Kuranuki drilling into this team at training each week?
The exact same things that doomed this team last season are very visible at this point in the season. And no amount of encouragement from the front office in the coming weeks will change the reality of the situation. Fans were promised attacking football, it has been anything but that so far. The team vowed to make it back to J2 in one season, that is looking less and less likely at the moment. The fans have little patience following last season and simply want results. How will Ryukyu get those results?
Round 5 in J3
Truth be told I didn’t have the motivation to watch any fixtures this round following FC Ryukyu’s loss. Iwate moved into the pole position, Sanuki is still grinding out results and Y.S.C.C. is still winless. Yamaga and Tottori played to a spirited 0-0 draw while Kagoshima continue to struggle.
Conclusion
FC Ryukyu’s shot at promotion is slowly slipping away and now they will welcome in a confident Nara club who are undefeated in their last four games. A win by Ryukyu is required but in doing so it may just temporarily paper over the Grand Canyon size cracks that exist within the club.
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