Tag: Fukouka

Match Day 2 Report: (17) FC Ryukyu vs. (4) Avispa Fukuoka 6/28/2020 #FC琉球

Intro

It was a pretty wild, and at times wacky, re-opening of the J-League this weekend that pretty much had it all. There were great goals, great saves, great celebrations, come from behind victories and even an exposed backside. I think we all expected something like this to occur the first week back – maybe not the nudity- and we may see more of this when the fixtures start to pile up in August and more reserve players are featured each game.

FC Ryukyu were able to earn their first point of the 2020 season last night when they drew 1-1 with Avispa Fukuoka. Though a win would have been nice, it is encouraging to see FC Ryukyu match up well with a tough opponent.

On that note, I think I’ll take the match day reports in a different direction as anyone can watch the highlights online and instead i’ll focus on aspects of the game that may not be captured in the highlight reel. I will still keep the Man of the Match, Keys to Victory, Predictions and around the league parts of the report. And I will now throw in a “Goal of the Week” section in hopes of being able to nominate a goal of the year at the end of 2020.

  1. Game Recap
  2. Man of the Match
  3. Review of my Match Day Prediction
  4. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
  5. Match Day 2 Takeaways
  6. Match Day 2 in J2
  7. Best goals from Round 2
  8. Conclusion

Game Recap

The weather was perfect to kickoff the home campaign for FC Ryukyu last night, despite the fact that none of us were allowed to attend and enjoy it. There were some notable changes to the FC Ryukyu lineup this week beginning with the replacement of Daisei Suzuki at CB by Ryoji Fukui. I am not sure what spurred the sudden change as Suzuki was on the bench to start, but later came on to replace Fukui in the second half.

Felipe Tavares was dropped completely out of the lineup with a healthy Yuya Torikai returning to his RB position. Kazuki Yamaguchi made his FC Ryukyu debut when he slotted in at the CAM role, replacing Ren Ikeda, who also dropped out of the lineup and reserves. Koya Kazama came in to start for the injured Shuto Kawai at LM with Dany Carvajal making his return to the lineup for the first time this year.

The most infuriating part of the lineup selection each week is that we never know what is going on at the club. We have no clue on the minor injuries of players, drops in form or preferred selections based on the managers assessments of the opponent and game plans for the week. I do not think anyone has asked the manager in a post-game presser about lineup selections, players form or the game plan they tried to execute. Maybe they have but since I do not speak Japanese, I cannot say that it has or hasn’t occurred at some point.

The reason I bring this up is we saw Suzuki replace Fukui at the back and in my mind, Fukui is a versatile defender that can play either position across the back 4 and is better suited as a reserve asset. I would have left Fukui on the bench as a reserve defender, started Suzuki -unless he was not 100% match fit- and then brought Shinji Ono as the 5th sub near the end of the game when we needed the go-ahead goal.

Takuma Abe opened his scoring account at FC Ryukyu with a very impressive solo effort in the first half. The fact that he went 70 yards on his own, starting in the FC Ryukyu end just above the 18-yard box; then had enough gas in the tank to create a sudden burst of speed past a Fukuoka defender to get into position to take a shot at Avispa’s 18-yard box; and then send a bullet past a diving Serantes into the top corner was simply amazing. More of that please!

FC Ryukyu conceded early in the second half when Delgado overpowered Fukui and found himself alone on goal and sent his own missile shot into the top left corner. But once again, FC Ryukyu really limited their opponents as far as possession and shots on net for the remainder of the match. Dany made some timely saves throughout the game as well, none more than the one against Delgado in the first half that would have dramatically changed the trajectory of this match.

Man of the Match

Avispa Fukuoka GK: Serantes. The man was simply awesome to watch last night. His save on the Motegi free-kick in the first half was a thing of beauty and he even got a hand to Abe’s goal which almost sent the shot wide.

Match Day Prediction

I said 2-1 to the visitors and @NavyBlueWasp correctly predicted the 1-1 outcome. Kudos to you sir and that leaves me at 0-1-1 with my predictions on the year.

Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Match the physicality of Fukuoka. Likelihood 4. The Delgado goal indicates that we didn’t do this the whole game but once Fukui was replaced by Suzuki, I think the FC Ryukyu defense played much better.

2. Make quick passes across the pitch to stretch the back 4 of Fukuoka and open some shooting lanes for our LM & RM. Likelihood 3. Our lone goal came from a brilliant solo effort on the part of Abe but FC Ryukyu preferred attacking down the left for a majority of the match. I did not recall seeing any quick passes to change direction on the part of FC Ryukyu last night.

Match Day 2 Takeaways

  1. Early season mishaps. We pretty much expected this heading into the game so hopefully these mistakes will be reduced in time. These included some misguided passes, players expecting players to be in a certain area when they were not and even a minor drop by Dany on a shot with a Fukuoka player bearing down on him.
  2. The momentum in the game was constantly shifting back and forth between each side last night. FC Ryukyu enjoyed the first 3 goal scoring opportunities with Abe converting the 3rd chance. Then Fukuoka had several chances of their own before Delgado converted. There were few chances for both sides after Fukuoka scored and the game sort of ground to a halt.
  3. Missed opportunities for FC Ryukyu. FC Ryukyu had plenty of dead-ball kicks that they could’ve converted. I think it is somewhere around 25-30 chances between the two games this season and we have yet to convert one. Numata came close twice with one header striking the crossbar and another waived off due to a foul on Serantes. And we cannot complain about the spectacular save from Serantes on Motegi’s early free-kick as that may have gone in against lesser goal keepers. Hopefully these chances will continue and hopefully some will start crossing the goal line or else we could find ourselves at the bottom of the table very soon.
  4. I am not sure of Yu’s role going forward as he wasn’t asked to take any of the FKs after he entered the match. Motegi took almost all of the FKs while we used a combination of Uesato, Motegi and Koizumi on CKs. I hope this changes as dead-ball kicks are Yu’s strength.
  5. A fair amount of our corner kicks failed to make it over the first line of Fukuoka defenders last night. That is not great considering we have height in there in the form of Uehara and Yong Jick. We need to get the big boys more involved on set pieces.
  6. We saw all 5 substitutes being used last night. Unfortunately, Shinji Ono wasn’t one of them. A more settled back 4 will allow more attacking players to come on when needed, or more defenders when needed as well.

Match Day 2 Around J2

The Wild: Ehime came back from 3 goals down to beat Vortis 4-3 when former FC Ryukyu defender, Nishioka, scored in the 96th minute. Kofu also tied their match with Niigata with a late (94th minute) equalizer. Finally, even though Kanazawa and Matsumoto ended 0-0, they must have hit the post at least 6 times that game and I cannot recall seeing so many shots ring the woodwork in any one match.

The Whacky: Watching one of the Mito players – who was just subbed off- not even care that his team just scored their second goal as he was standing directly behind the net and did not even bother to acknowledge that a goal was scored was kind of refreshing. Also, my son and daughter while watching the FC Ryukyu game pointed out the fact that a player’s butt was being shown on TV from the Avispa locker room last night. Whoops!

The Wonderful: Kyoto Sanga beat Jubilo Iwata 2-0 in a game featuring two of the sides tipped to earn promotion in 2020. But that wasn’t the best part. It was the post goal celebrations, especially the bowling pin routine by Kyoto, that made the match.

The Best Goals of Round 2

#1. Takuma Abe of FC Ryukyu for his solo effort and shot.

#2. Luan of V-Varen Nagasaki with his 65th minute goal. Like Abe, he collected the ball in how own end, made a darting solo run forward, executed a nice little give-and-go with Ibarbo -who then sent a back-heel pass back to Luan, who calmly slotted the shot past Nagai of Kitakyushu. Might’ve been top had he not botched the post goal celebration.

#3. Taiki Hirato from FC Machida Zelvia sent a beautiful curler past the Verdy keeper from the top of the 18-yard box.

Some honorbale mentions have to be Delgado’s goal against FC Ryukyu as well as Watanabe’s (Yamagata) goal against Tochigi SC. What do you guys think?

Conclusion

It was a great re-opening weekend for football here in Japan. Maybe we haven’t fully appreciated the game in the past as we’ve been able to watch and enjoy football whenever we wanted. I think the break in action from CV-19 has allowed us to enjoy things, such as sport, a little more since we now realize that it can be taken away from us at any moment.

I was also glad to see the boys from Oki in action as it was 232 days since we last saw FC Ryukyu host a match and that is just way too long. For now, FC Ryukyu have registered their first point and first goal of 2020 and look to notch their first win when they travel to 20th place Giravanz Kitakyushu on Saturday July 4th.  

“Flying High Again” Match Day 2 Preview: (15) FC Ryukyu vs. (6) Avispa Fukuoka 6/28/20 #FC琉球

Introduction

It is good to be back right! Over 4 months of inactivity and now we are a mere 24 hours away from kicking off the 2020 season (again). The second round of J2 pits promotion candidates, Avispa Fukuoka, against our beloved FC Ryukyu. My how the winds of change have favored Avispa since the 2019 season ended compared to that of FC Ryukyu. A new manager and new signings have reinvigorated a Fukuoka side that was adrift for much of 2019 while FC Ryukyu still have plenty of questions to answer heading (back) into 2020. Also, this is the first co-authored preview of 2020 as @NavyBlueWasp has written the Avispa Fukuoka team preview for this week’s match-up.

1. Weather Forecast

The irony of there being a decent weather forecast for Sunday is that there will be no fans there to enjoy it. I think we had rain at the Tapista, or at least it was forecast to rain, in 15 of the 21 home games last year. To make matters worse, there was one match with a 0% chance of rain but it rained for about 10 minutes prior to kickoff.

2. Match Day 1 Recap: Giravanz Kitakyushu (0) vs (1) Avispa Fukuoka 2/23/2020

Giravanz came out firing and nearly scored on two early opportunities. Unfortunately for Kitakyushu, the two shots that hit the side netting and post, would be their best chances to score all day.

Fukuoka took control of this game around the 25’ mark and never looked back. To be honest, the score line could have been higher had Fukumitsu scored on a breakaway if not for a nice save by the Giravanz keeper. Nevertheless, Avispa grabbed their first win of the season.

3. Match Day 1 Recap: JEF UTD Chiba (1) vs (0) FC Ryukyu 2/23/2020

FC Ryukyu surrendered the first, and only, goal of this match within 40 seconds of the opening whistle. Then FC Ryukyu proceeded to out possess (%65 to %35) and out-shoot (19/5) JEF for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately, none of that mattered as FC Ryukyu failed to score resulting in their first loss of 2020.

4. Team Previews

We are lucky enough to have @NavyBlueWasp provide the team preview this week for Avispa Fukuoka.

Avispa Fukuoka: “I think Manager Shigetoshi Hasebe has been our biggest signing this season. What he achieved with Mito Hollyhock last season (7th place, just missed the playoffs by a few goals) was quite remarkable. He brought his favorite player with him, Hiroyuki Mae, and straight away named him captain of the team. Mae was one of the leading players at Mito last season and is adept at directing the game plan of Hasebe.”

“Up front, we signed Juanma Delgado and Daiya Tono to bolster the attack that only scored 39 goals last season. Juanma scored 13 goals for Omiya last season and uses his physical advantage over the thinly framed defenders of J2 quite well. Naturally, you could feed Delgado with crosses, but he’s also quite skilled with his feet. Daiya Tono was recently signed from Honda FC by Kawasaki Frontale and then loaned to us prior to the start of the season. I see him as a big talent, and big improvement for us up front, as he scored nine goals to go along with seven assists in the JFL as one of the key players in Honda’s great Emperor’s Cup campaign. He also added four goals in that competition. Tono has already showed off his talents in this year’s season-opener against Kitakyushu where he scored the winner with many considering him the “Man of the Match” due to his high working-rate and persistence.”

“Beside the aforementioned Mae, we also signed Takuya Shigeyoshi from Kyoto Sanga FC. He formed a nice partnership with Mae in our central MF in the first game and I expect that duo to be our starting CMF for most of the season. Shigeyoshi is the more attacking player of the two, and he too has a high work-rate. He often can be found in both boxes of the field during any given match. In the attacking midfield, we’ve signed Daisuke Kikuchi on loan from Kashiwa Reysol and Takaki Fukumitsu, on loan from Cerezo Osaka, also formerly of Mito where he played under Hasebe. I rate Kikuchi highly and the J2 could be the right stage for him to shine again. Fukumitsu made a successful debut in the first league game and provides another attacking element up front.”

“A signing, which I was highly doubtful about, was the loaning of Emil Salomonsson from Sanfrecce Hiroshima. I was worried he would be to slow on the right wing, but he proved me wrong and made an impressive debut versus Kitakyushu. What he lacks in skills, he compensates with a high working-rate and a very unselfish team first mentality. While not a signing, it is important to note that starting goalkeeper, Jon Ander Serantes, opted to stay instead of leaving for the J1 or Europe (again). As you know, Serantes had some super performances last year and I was very worried that he would depart after our horrible season. And recently he turned down an offer from La Liga-side Atletico Bilbao.”

“I think these players are major signings that could see Avispa Fukuoka fight for promotion to the J1. The corona-crisis has complicated things a bit with such a long break in the schedule and then the cramming in of the remaining fixtures. But if everything works out right, and with a bit of luck, I think we can finish inside the top 2 in 2020 for one of the two automatic promotion-spots.”

“In closing, I mentioned our win against Kitakyushu as being quite entertaining and the team really showed what they can do any given week. Sure, not everything worked 100% of the time as this was the first time that eight of the eleven players in the starting lineup were playing together. Some could say it was just Kitakyushu, but the work-rates of Tono and Salomonsson, plus the way Mae organized the attack, provides a lot of optimism moving forward for Avispa.”

Avispa Fukuoka Injuries/Suspensions: Avispa has only 1 injury to contend with and that is to CB Carlos Gutierrez who picked up a crucial ligament injury in his knee prior to the opening fixture. He is likely out for the remainder of the campaign.

FC Ryukyu: While Avispa are dealing with 8 out of 11 new starters, FC Ryukyu are right there with them with 7 out of 11 new starters of their own. FC Ryukyu has a completely new back 4 and has replaced 3 out of the 4-attacking front men.

FC Ryukyu failed to fire in their opening round but came close on several occasions. What is worrisome is that none of those chances came from our lone striker in Highuchi’s 4-2-3-1 formation. In fact, more chances were created by our newly signed RB Tavares than Abe up front. Since relegation is of no issue for 2020, maybe this won’t matter. But we cannot rely on our midfielders to do all the heavy lifting moving forward.

We will see the return of several injured players and possibly this reinvigorates this squad but that is anyone’s guess. I for one will be eagerly awaiting the return to action to better size up the squad for 2020 and see what the new signings offer. Regardless, I think the roster is too thin to sustain the upcoming campaign (injuries and suspensions) and we will need loan reinforcements to fill out starting lineups each week as well as provide a break to the incumbent starters (Maybe a blessing in disguise as we can see what we have in our younger talent this year compared to seasons past, as they will be pressed into service). If you recall last year, we went long spells without Dany, Yu, Keita, Uehara, Torikai, Nishioka, Shinji, Tokumoto, Masutani and Ochi. We never even knew what was wrong with some of them and we saw how Highuchi favored a core group of players. We may not have that luxury this year and there is nothing wrong with a little experimentation in the lineup.

I hope that we see Koya take up the starting LM role with the injury to Shuto Kawai, but it is highly likely we see all 5 substitutes feature on Sunday. Some for player maintenance and some for tactical purposes. As I stated many times since the break began, we have a razor thin roster that cannot afford multiple simultaneous injuries, suspensions or time away for COVID-19.

FC Ryukyu Injuries/Suspensions: FC Ryukyu should see the return of all the players who were injured prior to their first match:  GK Dany Carvajal, CB Ryohei Okazaki, LM Yu Tomidokoro and MF Kazuki Yamaguchi. FC Ryukyu will be without the services of 3rd choice GK Kosuke Inose, who is expected back in August from shoulder surgery, and FWD Takuya Hitomi who is out until Mid-November after suffering an injury to his knee. The most devastating injury that FC Ryukyu most contend with is that of starting LM, Shuto Kawai, who will be sidelined for 4 weeks due to an ankle ligament injury he picked up in practice last week.

Avispa Fukuoka Team Profile Page on Transfermarkt: https://www.transfermarkt.com/avispa-fukuoka/startseite/verein/9597

FC Ryukyu Team Profile Page on Transfermarkt: https://www.transfermarkt.com/fc-ryukyu/startseite/verein/23569

5. FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory for Match Day 2

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

1. Match the physicality of Fukuoka. Likelihood 4. I think FC Ryukyu matches up well against the physical front-line of Fukuoka. We saw Delgado bully some of our defenders last season when he was with Omiya and I think the pairing of Suzuki and Yong Jick at the back are better suited to handle those duties this year. I also think that FC Ryukyu could have the advantage on set pieces, especially corner kicks, with their height advantage over Avispa.

2. Make quick passes across the pitch to stretch the back 4 of Fukuoka and open some shooting lanes for our LM & RM. Likelihood 3. They key to beating the 4-4-2, right? Need to make those long, cross pitch, passes into the open channels where one of our players is left unmarked. I did not see FC Ryukyu do this that much last year and I worry that our attack will narrow with the absence of Kawai’s speed down the left side.

6. Match Day Prediction

@OkinawaOzzy: This certainly isn’t the same Avispa squad from last year and I fear that we may see the true power of this Fukuoka side on Sunday evening. 2-1 in favor of our guests.

@NavyBlueWasp: I hate predictions, but I’ll go with 1-1. I don’t trust your boys lol!

7. Match Day 2 Fixtures of Note around J2

JEF UTD Chiba hosting Omiya in a battle of two possible promotion teams for 2020 gets the new campaign started right. Behind them is the reinforced Fagiano Okayama vs Renofa Yamaguchi on Saturday that also looks pretty tasty.

Maybe the biggest match of the re-opening weekend, as mentioned by @sushi_football & @J2KantoBites on the J-Talk Extra Time pod this week, will be Kyoto Sanga FC vs Jubilo Iwata on Sunday. This match will officially open the new Sanga Stadium for J2 with two of the top promotion favorites for 2020 locking horns.

8. Around the J-League Blogs, Twitter Accounts and Pod Casts

J-Talk Pod: Episode 321 J.League Ultimate XIs Draft  http://jtalkpod.podbean.com/

J-Talk Extra Time Pod: Back with a (silent) Bang! https://jtalkpod.podbean.com/

@V_Varen_EN: (V-Varen Nagasaki Preview) https://nagasakiblueorange.wordpress.com/

@OrangeBlue882(Albirex Niigata)https://orangeblue.blog.ss-blog.jp/

@tsc_intl (Tochigi SC) https://tochigisc-intl.blogspot.com/

@Verdy_eng (Tokyo Verdy) https://verdyunofficialenglish.wordpress.com/

@J_League_En: The J-League will broadcast two games this weekend for those located internationally (not located in Japan) JUN 27 Tokyo Verdy v Machida Zelvia 1800 JST & JUN 28 Kyoto Sanga FC vs Jubilo Iwata 1800 JST. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmQp6ZaAejJKKkXc_Y_lh1A

9. Conclusion

FC Ryukyu once again host Avispa Fukuoka for their first home game of the season. Last year FC Ryukyu defeated Avispa twice, 3-1 & 1-0. But I do not think we will catch them sleeping on us like they may have in opening fixture last year, nor do I think we are facing the same opponent that provided FC Ryukyu their first road win in over 7 months late last season.

The one advantage that both sides share is that this is their first competitive match in over 100 days and they both recently came back to training. All the miscommunication leading to missed passes and misfires on net are sure to pop up this weekend. This is such a strange restart to a season that already completed an off-season, pre-season, and opening fixture so anything could happen on Sunday.

In any event, time to get it going again and with that, Ozzy Osbourne will close this preview.

Come on FC RYUKYU!!!!!!

FC Ryukyu Mid Season Review: Part 3

We have made it to the last installment of the Mid-Season Review. This has been a great experience as a fan to look back and reflect on the half season while keeping an eye on the future.  I wanted to provide a brief summation of the players who have featured for FC Ryukyu but please keep in mind, I am never privy to the strategy the manager employs each week or how the players perform while executing that strategy. I merely observe what I can see from the stands and from my TV screen. So, let’s close out the mid-season review with a bang.

Goal Keeper

#1 Dany Carvajal: Yeah, he’s pretty much been awesome. Don’t think for one minute that because FC Ryukyu have only kept 3 clean sheets that it is an indictment of Dany’s performances. See the MVP section below.

#23 Ryo Ishii: He was asked to step up and fill in when Dany was hurt during a tough stretch of matches for FCR. He played really well against Kanazwa and Kyoto and while those efforts may be overshadowed by Dany’s performances to date, Ishii did his part to help this club.

Defender

FB #5 Tokumoto: Another young emerging player I fear FC Ryukyu may lose this transfer window. It’s hard to assess any FC Ryukyu FB as they are asked to play more like a WB than a FB this season. Tokumoto has provided 3 nice assists and is developing into a one of the better LBs in the J2. Currently recovering from an ankle and subsequent MCL injury.

#4 Okazaki: Started almost every match this year and is a nice compliment to Masutani. Truth be told, I only key on defenders when they make a mess of things, and in the case of Okazaki, he has only had that happen once. Some of his mistakes may be covered up due to FCR scoring numerous goals or winning games so I will need more time to assess this player. In the interim, we need Okazaki to be a rock back there on defense.

#2 Masutani: A CB in the mold of Gary Medel from Chile. I’ve been overly critical of this guy at times and that was just rash on my part as Masutani brings a lot of aggressiveness to the FCR squad. He is good in attack with 1 goal to his name this season and can handle some of the larger, more powerful strikers in the J2. I will say this, when he had to fill in for Nishioka at RB due to injury, the FCR attack looked better. Consider that it was simultaneous with the Nakagawa departure and though I think he may be better suited at FB, I am a fan and not the Manager.

#3 Nishioka: 2 goals and 2 assists. Nishioka has missed some time due to an MCL injury (not sure what caused him to miss upwards of 8 weeks) and struggles at times with defending. Always seems to be in the right spot at the right time for his goals. Displays toughness as evidence by playing through a head injury but his game needs some fine tuning. Needs to have more confidence in the attack, take on the opposition’s defenders near the 18-yard box – much like when he was brimming with confidence against Yamaguchi with his step overs – and feed Koji Suzuki quality crosses.

#33 Ryoji Fukui: The Swiss Army Knife for FCR. Versatile in that he can play all 4 positions in defense and could possibly fill in at CDMF as well. At times Fukui makes really well timed challenges but he also makes some questionable decisions in defense. For example, he can turn his back to an attacker, so as to invite a shot, which often leaves Dany or Ishii to deal with the danger alone (Tokyo Verdy’s goal). Maybe the GKs have asked the defenders to vacate the shooting lanes to better see the shots from distance but I will never know for sure. Has decent speed to make up ground on attackers or get to contested balls first. Have a sneaky suspicion that one of his challenges will be rewarded with a Red Card some day and put FC Ryukyu up against it in a match. Time will tell.

#16 Jumper Arai: Not enough game footage for an accurate assessment.

Mid Field

#20 Uesato: Local lad, experienced player, 2 highlight reel goals and team captain. Often lines up for FKs where, truth be told, I think Tomidokoro could benefit from the added reps to get into a groove. It seems Uesato prefers to shoot more than cross and maybe that’s due to the angle or distance from which he’s taking the FKs. Scored in spectacular fashion against Verdy and Gifu and is aiding with the development of the younger generation of FCR players.

#8 Komatsu: Was in the starting lineup early and then has faded. Possibly getting surpassed by talented players emerging.

#6 Kazama: Has a nice touch on FKs and CKs from his Central Mid Field role. His performances have improved as of late and I hope that translates into favorable results for FCR.

#19 Ochi: 2 goals from the man who is now Higuchi’s choice at CAM. At least until someone is ready to take the job over.

#11 Keita Tanaka: Keita has been part of the fabric of this team for so long. Tanaka is lethal finisher from the right, but much like Yu, he needs to get some repetitions and get into a scoring groove. He’s scored only once since rejoining the side but has had 3 other opportunities that either required a nice save by GK or were just off the mark. FCR need to get this man firing again as it will increase the potency of the FCR attack and open up more space of Suzuki down the middle.

#10 Yu Tomidokoro: FC Ryukyu’s FK specialist. Yu has found some tough sledding this season when it comes to FKs as he has netted only once. He does have 2 goals and 3 assists and the FK goals will come with time and reps. Needs to be given more opportunities on FKs. Remember, at his height, defenses never knew when Yu was going to cross or shoot from the FK spot and that is what made him so successful.

#28 Koizumi: The man featured in 6 games within a month before doing a Houdini. He never scored but he flashed some real talent.  His limited performance against Verdy was something of an eye opener as he made some nice passes, hit the post and displayed a bit of pace. He could very well be the 3rd piece to a formidable FC Ryukyu MF with Uejo and Kawai in the near future. WHERE IS HE?

#7 Nakagawa: HAHAHA wouldn’t do it to you, too painful. Next!

#13 Kawai: Has one goal and 2 assists this season. Is turning into a real playmaker for FC Ryukyu. Has another gear he can use to get past defenders and is fine tuning his game with each performance, specifically, his body & ball control while making cuts or getting up to speed. Maybe replacing Nakagawa can’t be done with just one player but rather a combination of players. If that is the case than Kawai’s introduction to the side is starting to fill that void. Kawai’s speed really opens up the attack for FCR and he has rightfully earned his spot in the starting 11.

Forwards

#14 Uejo: See Below, but seriously, I do not know why he doesn’t start. Is it due to fitness, immaturity, health concerns or the manager?

#21 Uehara: Has height, scored an important goal for FCR to beat Niigata. Didn’t see much from him prior to his goal and less so after. What happened? Injury?

#15 Wada: Played really well as a substitute versus Nagasaki but hard pressed for playing time with the leading J2 goal scorer ahead of you on the roster. His time will come.

#22 Gibo. I saw one appearance where Gibo displayed a lot of hustle. Subbed into an attacking MF position but then was moved to a FB position in the same game. He needs more playing time and I missed the Emperors Cup match for FCR to see how he performed and what are his strengths and weaknesses.

#9 Koji Suzuki: SEE BELOW.

Mid-Season MVPs

1A. Koji Suzuki. The man’s stats speak for themselves but if you peel back the curtain a little more, you see that he has scored crucial goals at very crucial times of matches for FCR. Yamagata, Yamagauchi, Kanazawa, Omiya and Mito all come to mind. He is also one of the most unselfish strikers I’ve ever seen. He puts in a shift every match. He does the hard work of hold up plays, winning contested balls and drawing fouls from the opposition while never complaining and rarely displays any outward frustration at his teammates. I have no idea what compelled Zelvia to let him go but I do not care at this point. He has proven to be an absolute steal in the transfer market.

1B. Dany Carvajal. Strong at the back and lethal up front is what makes any team great. Yes, of course, strong through the middle is another essential part but having the best striker and one of the best goal keepers in the league on your squad is pretty good as well. Dany has been a revelation for this side. He always seems to be in the right position, at the right time, to make the right type of save. And let me tell you, there have been some spectacular ones; against Omiya there were 2 to seal the win, the PK save against Verdy, resisting the Reysol bombardment, Vortis, Yamaguchi, Mito and list goes on and on. The FC Ryukyu front office did really well by signing Dany this offseason.

2. Satoki Uejo. This man has come out of nowhere and turned into quite the player. He has scored 6 times this season and is improving every time he steps out onto the pitch. He has some signatures goals to his name; Reysol, Vortis, Ehime, Nagasaki and Renofa (Emperor’s Cup). He also looks like he has packed on some muscle the past few months in order to fight off larger defenders. He needs to be out there every week for this side.

Looking Ahead

FC Ryukyu will play 10 games at home and 11 games on the road in the second half of the season. Within those 11 road games they will play 3 series of two consecutive road matches starting next week with Mito and Niigata. The next series is at the end of September with Machida and Fukuoka and finally to end the season against Ehime and Kofu. They also have 3 series at home where they will play consecutive home matches. The first wraps up this week with Okayama (started with Tochigi last week), the second is in August with Nagasaki and Yokohama and the third is at the end of August/early September with FC Gifu and Kagoshima. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the second half fixtures, make some predictions and then review the remaining fixtures for the bottom 4 clubs in J2.

Red denotes MUST WIN games for FCR.

It would be nice to see FCR earn wins against Tochigi and Ehime on the road as those 6 points could go a long way to helping secure J2 football for FCR in 2020. None of us know how the results will shake out considering we cannot predict the transfers in/out of clubs, injuries, managerial changes and plain old luck (good or bad). FC Ryukyu’s make or break month will be October with favorable matches against Avispa, Tochigi and Verdy. They need to be well clear of the relegation zone after that point because November could prove fatal if the road performances by FCR don’t improve. They face a surging Renofa side on the road, host a promotion seeking Kyoto side at home and wrap up the season with 2 road trips with a possible relegation battle against Ehime and potential promotion seeking side in Kofu. Even though I am targeting Ehime as a must win game for FCR, that will depend largely on FCR showing that they can win on the road when needed in the second half of the season.

With this in mind, lets look at teams who are currently sit 18-22 in the J2 table and examine their crucial months and critical match-ups in the second part of the 2019 J2 season.

#18 JEF Chiba United. JEF have a tough October where they face 3 sides who are likely going to be in the top 7. Depending on how those results play out, JEF could be dragged into the relegation battle. Their final match against Tochigi is huge for both sides.

#19 Kagoshima. The October and November schedule are not kind to Kagoshima. 3 road matches in October followed by a run of Kofu, Okayama, Reysol and Mito. They end on the road versus Fukuoka in another final match day matchup that could determine who gets relegated.

#20 Tochigi. The outcomes of their September fixtures will most likely determine their fate. They face FC Gifu, Fukuoka, Kagoshima and Ehime all in a row. That is a total of 4, 6-point match-ups in a row that could really doom any of those sides. As mentioned earlier, Tochigi end with JEF Chiba in what could be a win or go down to J3 match.

#21 Fukuoka. October and November are also not kind to Fukuoka. They are hoping that some of the sides around them perform poorly the rest of the year so as to give Fukuoka a chance at the end. Avispa end versus Kagoshima in a game we already mentioned that has massive relegation implications.

#22 FC Gifu. The schedule is kinder to FC Gifu in so much as there isn’t any one month remaining where they face multiple top sides in quick succession. The end of July/beginning of August will be rough on them but there are winnable games. But like Fukuoka, FC Gifu are hoping that things go terribly wrong for the few sides just above them in the table. Will it be the Vortis or Kofu match that ultimately dooms this side, or will it happen much sooner?

At the end of the day, FC Ryukyu need to go out there and handle their business without concerning themselves too much about the rest of the table. It is simple math for FCR: Beat the teams below you in the table especially those at the bottom, Get points off of teams just above you in the table, and win some games on the road. If they can do that, then they are going to be alright. I’d estimate that another 18 points are needed and FCR could achieve that any number of ways in the second half of the season.

I know I did not focus on which team may win the J2 title and which sides are likely to be promoted to the J1 in 2019 so I’ll save that for a later date.

Well folks, that is going to do it for the final installment of the FCR Mid-Season Review. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. I’ll be adding two more entries this week with the Second Transfer Special of the year coming out on Thursday and the normal Match Day Preview coming out on Friday.