Intro
Okinawa SV were able to maintain their early-season unbeaten run when they drew 2-2 with FC Maruyasu Okazaki this past Saturday. The weather, and pitch for that matter, didn’t favor either side as the game was marred by turnovers from both clubs.
Recap
Maruyasu controlled the opening 15 minutes of this match with their high press on OSV that resulted in some early chances thanks in large part to OSV being unable to gain, or maintain possession. One player that stood out in all of this was central defender, Shota Fujisaki, who seemed to be clearing every ball that entered the OSV box.
OSV weathered the early Maruyasu attack, as well as the rain and pitch, and were able to generate a few attacks of their own resulting in the opening goal of the game at the 27′ minute mark. Shuga Arai scored his second goal this season following a lovely cross into the box from Nobuki Iketaka (43:15). Arai’s goal puts him level on goals scored with Iketaka this year but there is little doubt that Iketaka is one of the most important players for OSV this season. He currently sits on two (2) goals and one (1) assist which almost equals his highest ever point total in any season.
Unfortunately for OSV the lead didn’t last long as a deflected shot from Komei Kikuchi found its way past Chikara Hanada (57:28). OSV managed to grab the lead back after Daisuke Matsushita turned in a rebound following some hectic moments inside the Maruyasu 18-yard box (1:30:35). OSV nearly doubled their lead but a shot following a deflection was cleared off the the line by Maruyasu defender sitting on the goal line.
OSV once again surrendered the lead 17 minutes later when Jin Shioya put a lovely header past Hanada (1:47:25). It would be to harsh to say that Fujisaka, who was having a great game, could’ve done more to not let up on Shioya who got to the header. In the end it was a fine play and one you felt was coming after some sustained pressure from Maruyasu to close out the match.
MD 2: Okinawa SV 1-0 Briobecca Urayasu
I wasn’t able to see this game and the lone highlight comes at the 2:15:30 mark of the video when Shuri Arita slammed home a ball that fell to his feet inside the box at the 90′ mark of the match. Most concerning was the turnout of just 424 fans (transfermarkt) for OSV’s opening home game. That leaves a lot of ground for OSV to make up in their next 14 home fixtures and one in which we need to improve.
MD 1: Cricao Shinjuku 0-4 Okinawa SV
Full credit to Cricao Shinjuku YouTube channel as they actually had highlights, with commentary, for this match. I wasn’t expecting that and we may see a case where not all of the JFL matches each week will be broadcast on the JFL YouTube channel. Guess we’ll see.
Cricao seemed to have a single chance in this match before the OSV onslaught. OSV started the scoring after Shuga Arai scored from a stopped penalty shot. Then Nobuki Iketaka scored his first goal of the season just three minutes later. Iketaka doubled his tally in the 72′ minute before Rai Ijuin added the fourth OSV goal that day.
MD 4 Preview: (4) Veertien Mie vs (2) Okinawa SV
OSV will head back out on the road for their third away game this season. This one should be a much stiffer test for OSV as Mie sit just below OSV in the table on six (6) points; and have similar score-line wins to that of OSV against Cricao (4-0) and Briobecca (1-0). Mie’s lone loss this season came against Kochi United on Match Day 1 who currently sit atop the JFL table and who have yet to concede a goal. I hope this game is on the JFL broadcast as it should be a good one. It will actually be broadcast on veertien Mie YouTube channel. The link is below.
Conclusion
One may look at the early results for OSV this year and think, “well, they’ve played the two teams at the bottom of the table, that haven’t scored a single goal all season, and drew with a mid-table team.” While that is not wrong, you can only play the teams in front of you each week. The recent match versus Maruyasu was good for OSV as they faced some adversity, and while they didn’t win, they looked competitive throughout the game. Most importantly, Okinawa SV are scoring goals.
If you recall, it took Okinawa SV the opening nine (9) games of the 2023 season to equal the point total they sit at (7) currently. And even more shocking, it took Okinawa SV the first eighteen (18) games of 2023 to match the amount of goals they’ve already scored this season (7). OSV seem better suited for the JFL after a rough first campaign last year and all you hope for is for them to learn from any mistakes, and make the improvements where they can.
OSV Website: https://okinawasv.com
OSV X: https://twitter.com/okinawasv151225
JFL YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JFLOfficialChannel
Veertien Mie YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@VEERTIEN14/featured
ryukyuarmy.com 