Intro

And still we wait. Ryukyu were gifted a PK, and then a man advantage, and yet still managed to exit match day 12 with only a single point. Truth be told, we were lucky Kanazawa didn’t win it at the end thanks in large part to the man of the match Taguchi. Who also had a fine performance throughout the night with multiple double saves. Though the man advantage was only about fifteen minutes in total, Ryukyu really needed a bit of luck to snap what ever funk they are in right now. But it just wasn’t meant to be last night.

Match Highlights

Takeaways from Match Day 12

1. Sure, no one expected much, but then again Ryukyu’s strong starts seem to always lure us into a false sense of security. After about 8 minutes that wet dream was over. And of course, right on cue, Ryukyu conceded. That was followed up by 40 minutes of Taguchi having to bail out the defense with a few Ryukyu chances mixed in. Nothing from Ryukyu really made the highlights after the Kusano PK goal. Then, out of nowhere, a Kanazawa player did the unthinkable, and earned himself a second yellow card and sending off. We repaid that kindness by attempting 1, maybe 2, chances at net before Taguchi had to be recalled into service for a double save to prevent an absolute catastrophe at home. Ryukyu played better in the second half but ultimately couldn’t find the breakthrough.

2. Seven home games, zero wins. Not sure where the disconnect is but no Ryukyu fan is loving those results. We get another crack at it on Saturday but Ryukyu are starting to flirt with some dangerous historic numbers and outcomes when it comes to their low point total. See below.

3. Three (3) games down and only a single point earned so far, though the losing streak has stopped at two. Any change would be a welcome sight while Ryukyu continue to pile drive their way back to the J3. 926 fans attending a match speaks volumes (I got it, terrible weather and mid week game). The fans ain’t there because the results ain’t there.

Round 12 in J2

Omiya, JEF, Kofu and Niigata all grabbed some nice wins with Omiya slowly inching towards Morioka in the standings. Leaders Yokohama FC drew with Zelvia which allowed Machida to go level on points, but one place higher in the standings, with Tokyo Verdy due to their loss at Kofu. Seems about 2/3 of the table is still within striking distance of the promotion playoff zone with about four teams currently looking the part of the relegation battle.

Conclusion (Fan section)

Intro

I am not overly disappointed with the recent Ryukyu loss as I think most Ryukyu fans expected this result. Ryukyu played well enough in the opening 45 minutes to keep them in the game before a pair of costly defensive turnovers led to two Sendai goals. I do not need historical data to tell me that teams who have started as poorly as Ryukyu have this year usually end up relegated. The 5/6 point gap between Ryukyu and safety might as well be 1,000,000 points with the way things are going. Two straight losses following a draw with possibly another two consecutive losses on the horizon this week.

Match Highlights

Match Day 11 Takeaways

1. Ryukyu played far better in the first half. Goes without saying when you conceded two goals in the second half and register just a single shot – off target of course – at goal. Ryukyu were under serious amounts of pressure within the opening few minutes of this match and it looked as if they would conceded a goal very early. I know we are not built to withstand that type of constant pressure so it was slightly encouraging to see them survive that barrage. But our chances were few and far between making the second half a painful watch.

2. Ryukyu went with a 3-4-2-1 again. Makito Uehara got his first start of the season and he did alright considering the situation. No doubt he is still a raw player that probably should have gone out on loan this season to get some valuable playing time, but he flashed a few times to give us a glimpse of what he could be as a player. I’ve said all along that he has a very nice first step, burst, and long distance speed which we witnessed in the first half. I truly don’t believe he should be playing a fullback role as he seems better suited as CDM and lacks the type of touch we see from Tanaka, and sometimes Numata. He took some pretty rough angles when defending, made a costly turnover inside the box that led to a goal, but has the exact temperament and drive you want in a player during a brutal campaign that doesn’t have much else going right. Hopefully we see more of him or at the very least, see him depart on loan in the summer as he needs some time develop.

3. Ryukyu were a bit of a turnover machine on Saturday. Turnovers are inevitable, two were deadly, but there were plenty of careless turnovers by Ryukyu in the midfield that made for some seriously tense moments. No player, other than Tanaka maybe, was safe from turning the ball over and Ryukyu were rightfully punished for their mistakes. I am not sure if Ryukyu will ever break the habit of playing it out from the back, and to be honest, we probably lack the quality players in the back line to successfully execute this style of passing.

Round 11 in J2

Two of the more exciting games this week were Mito Hollyhock versus Renofa Yamaguchi in which there were a couple of lead changes by each side before Mito scored the winner in stoppage time. Then there was the Nagasaki vs Niigata match in which all three (goals) in that game came within a span of eight (8) minutes.

Conclusion

The losses continue to pile up for Ryukyu and now they must face Zweigen Kanazawa and Albirex Niigata on a short week. I doubt very much that we will see the first home victory of the season for Ryukyu this week and heck, we may not see one until deep into July. Despair, disbelief, and discontent among some of the Ryukyu supporters these days. But, that doesn’t stop them from supporting Ryukyu everywhere. With that, I’ll start dedicating the conclusion portion of the match day report to the loyal fans of Ryukyu.

Intro

There just isn’t a lot to be excited about these days. Ryukyu lost their fifth home game of the season 0-1 to Thespakusatsu Gunma on Saturday evening and are now last in the standings. Ryukyu have only earned a single point in six (6) home games this year and have lost five (5) of their last six (6) games. They own the worst record, the worst goal differential, have conceded the most goals and there seems to be no end in sight to the suffering.

Match Highlights

Takeaways from Match Day 10

1. Possession stats mean almost nothing for Ryukyu. People only notice the possession, and shots taken, statistics when they are a bit lopsided and the dominant team loses. Several sites reported different shot totals for Ryukyu but out of the eleven (11) total shots, from nearly 70% possession, I truly believe that only two (2) made it on net. I have stated in the past that teams can happily afford Ryukyu all the possession they want as they do very little with it. Playing it out from the back, moving the ball between the defenders and goalie doesn’t necessarily equate to controlling a game for Ryukyu. Teams who have far less possession than Ryukyu just create better chances, and score, on fewer touches.

2. Some fans believe the team lacked passion this round. If that is true, then it would seem Kina has lost the locker room. There was no real response from Ryukyu following the early goal from Gunma outside of a Kusano header that went just wide in the 75th minute despite the aforementioned possession. The system deployed and the tactics inside of it are simply not working. Changing the formation hasn’t worked; rotating players hasn’t worked; so what else can be done? I think we all know what the answer is.

Round 10 in J2

Yokohama FC won the big match this round with a 2-1 win over Sendai to remain top of the table. Zelvia leapfrogged Verdy thanks to a draw and loss by Verdy at Renofa Yamaguchi. The biggest news was Omiya grabbing their first win of the season to edge slightly ahead of Ryukyu, yet still remain three (3) points back of 20th place.

Conclusion

On to the next game I suppose. Ryukyu are four (4) points back from the team just above the drop zone and have a murderous run of fixtures ahead of them. The gap will continue to widen as we struggle for answers in both the attack and defense.

Intro

It’s a good change! It’s a good change. Well, they didn’t lose, but FC Ryukyu once again surrendered a two (2) goal lead at home and then salvaged a 3-3 draw vs Fagiano this past Saturday night. Ryukyu are now off to their wort start to a season since, and I haven’t checked, their time in the J3. We know it isn’t going to be pretty trying to climb out of the cellar, but this side cannot afford to continue to drop points, especially at home.

Match Highlights

Takeaways from the Match

1. No lead is safe with Ryukyu. For the second consecutive home game Ryukyu managed to squander a two goal lead. I am sure there were some at the club, including all of the fans in attendance, that thought there is no way we can have a repeat of events the last time we had a two goal lead. And yet, there we go. 15 goals conceded in 4 games. The point gap widening is one thing, we now face the risk of losing a relegation battle between other teams based on goal differential. The defense needs to be fixed somehow, someway, and soon.
2. We have our moments, but they are fleeting. We could do damage. We could be good. But we are not at the moment. We score off turnovers, yet commit the same mental errors to allow our opponents to score. I still don’t know how you suffer the same fate at home by giving up the momentum killing goal just before halftime. Each goal conceded seems to really rock Ryukyu these days.
3. Enjoyed the Uesato FK goal. Straight out of the top drawer and into the top corner.
4. The losing streak has come to an end. Now we need to round into some sort of form as Ryukyu have six (6) matches in their next twenty three (23) days. If we cannot start winning, it becomes extremely difficult to believe Kina makes it out of the month of May as manager of FC Ryukyu.

Round 09 in J2

Roasso Kumamoto handed Tokyo Verdy their first loss of the season and Yamaguchi couldn’t pull off the comeback against 10-men Sendai. Omiya’s pains continue with both them and Ryukyu squarely entrenched in the relegation zone. No change at the top of the table as both Verdy and Zelvia lost but Yokohama FC also didn’t win as they lost the early lead with a very late goal at JEF to finish in a draw.

Conclusion

The late goal scored by Ryukyu should at least provide a boost of confidence heading into this weekends matchup. I also thought the same thing right after the Renofa Yamaguchi match where we then proceeded to lose four games in a row. We are very much a first half team this season with some of our fast starts that somehow seems to fade in games when it matters most. Sometimes we can pull off some moments of brilliance at the end of games but that has been the rare occasion more than the norm this year. Hard to believe we are at the point where games are becoming ‘must wins’ for Ryukyu, however, I think that is where we are at right now.

Intro

Not an unexpected result. Unless you felt, and rightly so, that we’d lose by more than 2 goals. Yokohama FC busted out to an early 3-0 lead before Ryukyu sprung to life. Some fans are encouraged about how Ryukyu finished the match. That is up for debate as Yokohama FC had already administered the knockout blow by the 20th minute of the game and needed to do little else. It was great to see the return of Keita Tanaka to lineup and hopefully that can spark some future results.

Match Highlights

Match Day 08 Takeaways

1. I was a little concerned for how Kiyotake would perform after watching his pre-match warm ups. You could tell by the expressions on his face, as well as wearing the full baclava during warm ups, that Kiyotake was not digging the weather in Yokohama. I thought that he would be mentally checked out for this game, but to his credit, he put in the best performance of any of the Ryukyu players on Sunday. The same can be said about Keita Tanaka who made his return to the lineup after a lengthy 7-month rehab from a multitude of injuries suffered in late 2021. His crosses were crisp and well placed into dangerous areas. We just didn’t have anyone to run onto them.
2. 3 goals inside of 15 minutes. Prior to Ryukyu’s only goal of the match, they had conceded a total of 8 goals in succession stemming from the last match. Some of the bounces were a bit lucky for Yokohama, but they did what needed to be done and put those shots away. The first goal was probably a massive blow to the psyche of Ryukyu which directly contributed to the following face shot and ultimate knock our blow at the 20-minute mark. Ryukyu were completely dusted down their left side as Yokohama were able to easily move past the Ryukyu defense and into positions to put passes and shots on net. I think Ryukyu will wear every goal in the subsequent matches extremely hard until they can get a win to break this 4-game losing streak.
3. I truly don’t think it is a matter of effort on the part of the players, just the system in place is not working. Perhaps we have a bunch of players better suited for a 4-2-3-1 formation than the 4-4-2 we’ve rolled out the first 8-matches. It cannot hurt to try something new at this point.

Round 8 in J2

Akita stormed out of the gates to a 2-0 lead before surrendering a goal to Iwate. But an early goal in the second half secured the 3-1 victory for Akita. Kumamoto also grabbed the early lead against Niigata before the visitors equalized, and then won, thanks to a Koji Suzuki goal in stoppage time. Okayama and Montedio will replay their match following an overturning of the results stemming from a controversial sending off for the Montedio GK. Zweigen made it easy on themselves this week by scoring a goal in each half and shutting out Tochigi SC in their own stadium.

Gunma rescued all three points following a PK that tied the game against Mito. Zelvia finally edged out in front of JEF UTD Chiba but the visitors leveled the match just 3 minutes later. Kofu couldn’t complete the comeback at home to Sendai and fell 2-3. It took Renofa 71 minutes to get out in front of Omiya, who like Ryukyu, are struggling mightily for results. Verdy scored the winner just before halftime to keep all three, loosely based, Tokyo teams at the top of the table.

Conclusion

Intro

Super-awesome-fun-happy-time! Or not. Losing is one thing, getting flat out embarrassed by a rival at home (and broadcast to the world on YouTube) is something completely different. For about 45 minutes there was hope that Ryukyu may be turning things around. But that was not to be the case as Verdy scored a momentum shifting goal right before half time and then the flood gates opened up. Ryukyu, like they’ve done so many times this year, completely disappeared during the second half and were steamrolled by 4 second half goals resulting in a humiliating 5-2 defeat at home. Ryukyu remain winless at home, short on ideas and looking very much like the worst team in J2 this season.

Match Highlights

Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

1. Boot & Blast. Likelihood 2. Sort of, but not really. Ryukyu did clear some balls in dangerous areas but they seemed like half-hearted attempts that barely went past the 18-yard box.

2. Ryukyu must be clinical on limited opportunities. Likelihood 1. They were inside the first half but then there was nothing in the attack in the second half so I guess they did achieve this task?

Match Day 07 Takeaways

1. The rivalry is alive and well. For the fifth time in seven games, this matchup featured a penalty kick. It was also the second game in a row in which Verdy had two PKs in one game against Ryukyu as well as the second time they’ve reached the 5 goal plateau in Okinawa. Plenty of fouls and chicanery (like Kanai from Ryukyu trying to rub out the PK spot with his cleats) that pretty much sums up this rivalry which will only make the return leg tastier later this year.

2. Kusano and Noda are quite the tandem. These two strikers pair really well together. Kusano has excellent burst and long-distance speed that defenders must respect and do fear. I love how he can dribble his way out of trouble and he has nice touch on the ball. Noda’s hold up play was excellent last night. He was able to shield many defenders and continue attacks for Ryukyu prior to his injury. Seeing how he was gripping his left hamstring after a challenge he put in, I would expect a lengthy absence for the striker which really hurts this team. What these two can do is what we hoped Uehara and Abe could do and what we’ll have to rely on, minus Abe, for the foreseeable future.

3. Ryukyu simply melt away after halftime. Ryukyu had 9 total shots with 7 on net prior to the break. They looked really good up until the quarter hour mark of the first half and then found a bit of fortune on the Noda goal to go ahead 2-0. But then it all went downhill after Noda’s injury. Ryukyu conceded the dreaded goal before halftime when Verdy found space, and so did the cross, in between the Ryukyu defense. Then Ryukyu only managed a single shot, not even on net, in the second half at the 90-minute mark. That is truly poor and there is no excuse for teams making adjustments against us at halftime and Ryukyu failing to respond in kind. To date, Ryukyu have scored 6 of their 8 goals in the first half. The only thing that did increase in the second half was the amount of fouls they committed with Yu’s reckless challenge and Yong Jick’s handball in the box as the biggest killers.

4. Taguchi’s play maybe more to deal with stress than anything. You have to say the man’s confidence is slightly shattered. And who wouldn’t be after the barrage he suffered through last night and prior matches. A lot of his long clearances sailed out of bounds. Others were very short passes to central defenders which naturally allowed teams into a pressing mode since Ryukyu prefer to play out from the back. Then there was the own goal that was both unlucky and should never have been as he should have just booted it out of danger. But seeing how many of those types of clearances by Taguchi went out of bounds, you can see why he tried that back heel. There also seems to be a bit of hesitation and indecision in his process which could make him a liability if he were to be thrown back to the wolves this weekend. Dany needs to make another appearance on Sunday.

5. The only real hero last night was the mother of three young boys sitting behind us in the stands. Cheers to her for braving the expected terrible elements and we salute all the moms that bring their children to the grounds!

Round 07 in J2

I guess Ryukyu were a bit lucky to have Omiya suffer a similar fate last night or else they could’ve found themselves at the bottom of the table. V-Varen Nagasaki secured a nice win after surrendering a two goal lead at Gunma, Oita seems to be getting going with an impressive 3-1 win on the road at Sendai, and Kanazawa and Kumamoto traded goals in each half on their way to a 2-2 draw.

Conclusion

Things are looking pretty, pretty grim these days in Okinawa, and they won’t get any easier on Sunday when Ryukyu travel to league leaders Yokohama FC. A match in which Ryukyu will be without three of their top scorers: Abe (Injury), Noda (Injury), and Kusano (Loan Restriction). That means Ryukyu will have to dress either Takuya Hitomi or Vinicius at FWD in the reserves, or not considering we roster 7 defenders each match.

There has been an outpouring of calls for support by the fans following this recent defeat, but in all fairness to them (us), how much more can we take without change?

Intro

Not exactly the type of response we were hoping for out of FC Ryukyu this week when they got tuned up 4-1 away from home after a deflating 2-1 defeat at home just a few days ago. The loss has prompted the owner/chairman of the club, Keishiro Kurabayashi, to issue a statement on Twitter following the match asking for patience with the club as it is a long season, not to worry as results will come, and to direct any opinions or criticism directly to him.

J2は、本当に長丁場です。
まだまだまだまだ大丈夫です。

選手、監督、スタッフ陣、強化部。
間違いなく結果を出してくれるメンバーが揃っています。
ご心配なく。
ご意見・ご批判は私までにして下さい☺️

寒い中、遠くまでお越し頂いた熱いサポーター皆様、有難うございました！#FC琉球 #琉球一心 pic.twitter.com/jsaV1mV8cE

— 倉林啓士郎 (@KEISHIRO_K) March 23, 2022

I am not exactly sure how to take that message as on one hand I agree that it is a long season and results will come, but there hasn’t been any encouraging signs that things will improve. On the other, it seems odd to be issuing a statement like this as someone in the management department has clearly identified that there is a problem which may require some drastic changes. Changes that the club rarely executes mid season.

Match Highlights

Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

The Scale: 5- An almost certainty it will occur 4-Fairly-Certain it will happen 3-Somewhat Certain it could happen 2-Very Unlikely that it happens 1- Requires a Miracle for it to happen

1. Just run at em. Likelihood 1. This certainly wasn’t the case as Ryukyu only had about 10 minutes of run of play inside the first half where they looked threatening

Match Day 06 Takeaways

1. Changes: We finally got some changes within the lineup, most notably Dany Carvajal back in net, but the results were the same. Woeful defending, turnovers, failure to maintain possession and offering nothing in the attack. Seems like a recipe for disaster. Perhaps a switch back to a 4-2-3-1 will unlock some of the players as Ren Ikeda is far better in the center of attack than out wide.

2. The backline and defending: OOOFFF! That was hard to watch.

3. Abe’s injury: Subbed on and limped off with what looks like a hamstring injury. Expect no news and a lengthy absence for Abe.

Conclusion

There are still 36 games to go in this season and we should probably start treating each individual game as their own individual season moving forward. If things are going to change, they will change through fits and spurts of good play. Get a good result, try to keep the momentum going. Take a set back, review what went wrong, attempt to make the changes during training, and put the result out of your mind.

Ryukyu have a full week off before playing at home midweek versus a somewhat rival in Tokyo Verdy. They should take some timeout during the week to reflect on what has transpired and try to change just a single aspect of their play that they can execute well during their next game.

Intro

FC Ryukyu failed to win at home for the third time this season and did so by the now all-too-familiar score line of 1-2. Things are not great at the moment and thankfully, or regrettably, FC Ryukyu have another game in quick succession to put this one out of their memory. Luckily for Ryukyu that game is on the road where they seem to be acquiring all their points these days.

Match Highlights

Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Weather the early Mito storm. Likelihood 2. Mito were right on schedule with this one and hit their opening goal right at the 15 minute mark. Unbelievable that we knew this was coming and allowed Mito to dictate all of the early play. This is more infuriating than regrettable.

2. Harass Mito inside the box. Likelihood 3. The lone Ryukyu goal came within the box but they failed to follow that up with any sustained pressure.

Takeaways from MD 05

1. Despite owning a majority of the possession, it really didn’t feel like Ryukyu controlled the game from our view in the stands. Mito had ten corner kicks, of which it felt like 5-6 of those occurred within the opening 20 minutes of the first half and Ryukyu once more succumbed to the constant pressure from an opponent. On that note, opponents are probably content with allowing Ryukyu loads of possession as they cannot seem to do much with it other than pass it between the center backs and full backs.

2. Game was nearly over at the 18-minute mark. Mito scored a lovely goal in the 15^th minute following a corner kick, which to his credit, Yong Jick defended as best he could. The problem was the rebound fell directly to a wide-open Mito player that sent a phenomenal shot into the top corner. Mito then had another corner kick just two minutes later that bounced off the crossbar and into a dangerous area inside the Ryukyu 6-yard box that was somehow cleared off the line.

3. Ryukyu cannot put teams away. While they were able to claw their way to victory last week, Ryukyu were not able to put Mito away with a second goal despite some good chances at the start of the second half. Failing to score the go-ahead goal led to a costly turnover inside the Ryukyu half and the eventual Mito winner. We saw something similar to this a few weeks ago against Iwate and out of the 450 or so minutes played this season, Ryukyu have led for just 69 total minutes.

4. Whole sale changes are probably warranted. Ryukyu need to find a spark somewhere and more importantly, sustain that momentum during games. Taguchi’s confidence is getting rocked by the constant turn style defending in front of him and perhaps he needs a break. The Ryukyu attack just isn’t producing the goals and I am not sure where they turn to find the answer. Perhaps the introduction of some players who rarely feature is a start but the one player we would’ve liked to see up top, Sittichok Paso, has left for international duty during our goal scoring drought.

5. Kina’s seat is officially getting hotter. Kina has been in charge of Ryukyu for 13 matches dating back to 2021 and owns a 4-5-4 record with a 16:17 goals scored/conceded ratio. His record last season was far better after inheriting Higuchi’s squad but that was at a time when Ryukyu had no fear of relegation or promotion. We all wanted to see what Kina could do when given an entire offseason, and ability to bring some of the players he wanted, and so far the results are not good. Maybe the management gives Kina another 5-6 games to see if he can get the club moving in the right direction but that includes games against 5 teams that currently sit inside the top 6 positions of the table. What can we really expect from Ryukyu, and Kina, during these games?  

Round 05 in J2

Albirex Niigata earned their first win of the year; Kanazawa surrendered a two goal lead before pulling out the victory on the road at Akita; and the much ballyhooed games between Okayama/Yokohama and Verdy/Zelvia ended in a 1-1 draw and 2-1 win for Verdy. As mentioned by @JTalkETJon from the JTET Pod Cast, it is still too early to tell what will shake out for the promotion, and relegation battles, but we should be seeing the signs of who are the real contenders and pretenders this season.

Conclusion

Ryukyu struggled mightily on the road during the 2019 season and it seems those fortunes have been reversed this year with Ryukyu struggling for points at home. Attendance has been on a steady decline the past two games and will probably not pick back up until Ryukyu start stringing together some better results at home. It sort of feels like we are adrift at sea with little idea of how to turn things around.

Intro

Well it certainly feels good to get the fist win out of the way. It was by no means easy, but FC Ryukyu finally notched their first win on Saturday with a 3-2 road win over Renofa Yamaguchi FC. Ryukyu had to overcome deficit twice in this game but the win has propelled them out of the relegation zone with many more questions still needing to be answered.

Match Recap

Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Clean up the garbage in front of goal: Likelihood 3. Umm, Renofa’s second goal was just that. So no!

2. Remain calm when Renofa’s chaotic play takes hold: Likelihood 4. I feel as if we got sucked into this a bit throughout the match.

3. Do not wait for the perfect goal: Likelihood 2. 50/50. We scored from a very nicely worked set piece. a Kiyotake header, and a turnover but couldn’t quite get things going.

Match Day 4 Takeaways

The Cavalier Kiyotake: Sure, he scored and assisted on another goal but his turnovers nearly cost us and honestly, up until that goal, he looked a better sub than starter. That pass across the front of our box that Renofa capitalized on was inexcusable and luckily Taguchi got to the shot.

Numata is done: Nothing there to indicate he has anything to offer in the attack or defense. Replacing Numata at LB means shifting Fukumura from CM to LB and could cost us but is probably the better move at this time.

Unsettled at the back: Nakagawa could’ve (should’ve) done a better job handling some of the runs by Renofa but I am willing to deal with these growing pains. Omori’s absence is also a bit concerning considering Yong Jick made the reserves. We need to tighten up back there to give any GK a chance or else we run the risk of easily worked goals from the opposition.

A set Piece Goal? My heart be still but it looks like Ryukyu have worked on these plays this season. Abe’s take was spectacular.

3 points is 3 points: Take them in any form. That wasn’t pretty but it was effective. If Ryukyu struggle like this every week then it will be a long season, but they did right the ship on a pitch were they’ve had little, to no, success, so ley’s take it.

J2 Round 4 Review

Zelvia put Okayama to the sword but it was Yokohama FC’s comeback that stole the headlines this round. Table is very much unsettled so lets not jump to conclusions.

Conclusion

Ryukyu desperately needed that win and hopefully winning becomes a habit around here. If we have to struggle each week for wins like this than this will be a very long season. I do not think that many, despite the early saber rattling, expect Ryukyu to get promoted to J1. Instead, we’d rather see and a consistent improvement from one season to the next. I am not sure we’ve seen that yet.