2019

Intro

Fresh off their second consecutive road win, FC Ryukyu welcome 4^th placed Omiya Ardija to town on Sunday. Omiya, after having bested Verdy, Nagasaki and Mito, were shocked at home by Tokushima Vortis this past weekend. These two sides first met back on match day 2 where FC Ryukyu defeated Omiya 4-3. My how the fortunes of both sides have changed since then. FC Ryukyu would go on to win 2 more in a row, in addition to drawing 2 in a row, before they began their downward slide in the J2 table. Omiya on the other hand, weathered a slow start to the season and eventually rose into the promotion zone and are flirting with automatic promotion to the J1. I seriously doubt that FC Ryukyu will once again catch Omiya off-guard and this is will be another tough test against a formidable opponent at home for FC Ryukyu.

Weather Forecast

Cool temperatures with overcast skies and slight chance of rain. It will be a little windy so I’d bring the sunblock to prevent any windburn to your face if your sitting up high in the stands.

Recap of Match Day 2: 03/02/2019 Omiya Ardija 3-4 FC Ryukyu

On a cool, crisp, March afternoon in Saitama, FC Ryukyu had one of their most convincing wins and signature matches all season. A beautifully taken shot from Tanaka, a Koji Suzuki brace capped with Satoki Uejo opening his scoring account for the 2019 season gave FC Ryukyu 4 goals. Dany made some spectacular saves, especially late on, and Kazaki Nakagawa was the true star with 3 assists.

The scoring began with the Tanaka opener, followed by the equalizer from Omiya after Delgado redirected a shot over Carvajal. Then FC Ryukyu busted out for 3 straight goals in the opening 16 minutes of the second half to jump out to a 4-1 lead. Omiya were awarded a very late PK and then scored on quick counter in the first minute of stoppage time to bring the game to a 4-3. Dany made a great diving save to parry a shot away from danger later on and FC Ryukyu would hold on to win. A win that nobody saw coming.

There are many bittersweet memories from this match. First, it was a testament to Nakagawa’s skill and those 3 assists saw him as the top assist provider in J2 well after he departed for Yokohama F Marinos 2 weeks later. Second, Koji was happy and scoring at will and third, Uejo’s emergence was bubbling to the surface. Finally, it would ultimately take FC Ryukyu 16 more matches before they would win again on the road this season. For Omiya, they would respond with a win the following week, wobble slightly against Yamagata the next and then go on a run of 16 unbeaten that has since propelled them into the promotion battle. Oh, what could’ve been for this Ryukyu side. A side that since this Omiya match has seen no less than 6 changes to the starting lineup. Whereas Omiya has seen less than half of that total. It was one of the best footballing experiences I’ve had all season.

Omiya Ardija

Pace, Power and Height pretty much sum up Omiya at the moment. Omiya displayed a penchant for hitting teams on the counter over their last 5 games and they can quickly break out of their own end and into the opponent’s end with just a few passes. They can send long balls over the top that allow the attacking 3 to run underneath them bringing them past the oppositions defense and free on goal. Omiya were also lethal from set pieces, corner kicks in particular, where their height and power prove to be too much for opposing defenders. They can also press teams that attempt to play it out form the back if they feel this is a weakness of the opposition. They pressed Nagasaki in this manner and it resulted in a goal after a cheap giveaway in the Nagasaki end.

Even though Mito jumped out to an early 2-0 lead over Omiya, Ardija was able to fight back and score 3 goals against a team that doesn’t conceded many goals to begin with. They had some slight trouble against Verdy before converting 2 corner kicks to win 2-0 and they really made Nagasaki look like an average side in a convincing 3-0 victory. They were nearly beaten at the end by Yokohama FC when Yokohama hit the crossbar, but walked away with an important point on the road against a promotion seeking side. The only outlier in the past 5 games was the recent loss to Tokushima Vortis.

It was a back and forth contest between the 2 sides with Vortis opening the scoring from a play that seemed to catch Omiya flat footed. Omiya responded with a counter attack goal before Vortis once scored from a busted play after Omiya failed to clear. Omiya responded with a headed goal on a set piece but Vortis got the best of them at the end with a 3^rd goal.

All in all, Omiya represent a difficult challenge for FC Ryukyu this Sunday. Omiya surely want to continue their promotion push, and they may have revenge on the mind, after FC Ryukyu walked into their home ground and put 4 past them in convincing fashion earlier this year.

FC Ryukyu

FC Ryukyu responded really well after losing 5-1 to Tokyo Verdy at home by defeating Tochigi SC on the road 2-0. Two really well taken goals by Uejo, one with his left foot and one with his right foot, has put FC Ryukyu on 43 points, which is roughly 13 points clear of the drop zone. Though FC Ryukyu started the Tochigi match sluggish, they really turned it on in the last 25 minutes and Tochigi had no response. FC Ryukyu have now won 2 in a row on the road and are undefeated in their last 4 road matches. Quite a turnaround from a few months ago when FC Ryukyu were struggling mightily on the road and losing at home.

There was some shifting of the FC Ryukyu lineup this past week with Shinji Ono and Yu Tomidokoro being dropped for Shuto Kawai and Koki Kazama. However, FC Ryukyu face a real selection crisis this week as they will be without both their Right Backs, Torikai and Nishioka, who have both succumbed to injuries. Torikai picked up his ankle injury early in the first half against Tochigi, requiring Uehara to fill in at RB, and the injury will see him miss the remainder of the 2019 season. And possibly the start of the 2020 season as he rehabs a dislocated ligament. Nishioka suffered an ankle injury in training and he is scheduled to miss at least the next 3 matches. Which begs the question, who will FC Ryukyu start this Sunday at RB?

Though Uehara filled in admirably, he is certainly not the solution over the next 3 matches. Outside of Tokumoto, Okazaki and Fukui, FC Ryukyu have only 2 defenders with any match day experience this season. One of those, Arai, only featured for a few minutes on the very first match of the season. There has been no word on whether or not Shogo Nishikawa, the only other FC Ryukyu defender to feature in a match this year, has suffered an injury or is healthy enough to start. In either event, we will need both of them to be healthy and in the lineup on Sunday. That is, unless newly acquired Daniel Sanches is finally ready to make his debut? It’s really anybody’s guess at this point as to what Higuchi will do to fill the void at RB in Ryukyu the lineup.

Player Injuries

FC Ryukyu: Will be without both starting RBs in Torikai and Nishioka.

Omiya Ardija: No one significant to the starting 11. Two defenders who were hurt earlier in the season is all that is reported.

Keys to FC Ryukyu Victory

1. Start fast and build a multiple goal lead. This worked the last time these two sides met and almost worked for Mito a few weeks ago. Granted Mito ended up losing and this a far different lineup for FC Ryukyu. Ryukyu really do not lineup well against Omiya with their speed up top, height at the back and ability to score from counters and set pieces. There will be goals tomorrow for sure, just hope we have more than Omiya do at the end.

2. Do not concede many set pieces. This is especially true of corner kicks where Omiya’s tree trunks; Delgado and Simovic, will certainly overpower their man marking.

3. Pick your poison. If we play out from the back, I expect heavy pressing by Omiya that forces Ryukyu into making mistakes and costly turnovers. If we attempt to play high up the pitch, we risk over exposing the makeshift back 4 of Ryukyu to the speed of the Omiya counter attack. No easy choice.

4. Win the battle down our defensive right side and we may win the game. I’d expect a heavy dose of crosses and attacks emanating from our right side, the Omiya left, against whoever is asked to fill in at RB on Sunday for Ryukyu. We will need some defensive help over the top from one of the Mid Fielders for the Ryukyu RB and this could mean large stretches of little possession for Ryukyu on Sunday.

5. Clean up the garbage in the box on both ends. Don’t allow needless shots on our goal from shots that are blocked or saved. On the flip side, Omiya has a hard time cleaning up the garbage in front of their own goal and conceded a couple of goals from this spot. Somehow Omiya concedes goals, loses matches and has small defensive lapses. This is the smallest of cracks in their armor but an exploitable one.

The Contrarian Approach: Start Kawai, Koizumi and Ramon and attack Omiya with speed early and often. Start Daniel Sanches and Okazaki at CB and have Fukui slide out wide to the Right.

Match Day 38 Prediction

The numbers indicate that Omiya is on a tear with 10 to 5 goals scored/conceded ratio over the course of their last 5 matches. Ryukyu haven’t scored nearly as many but they have kept a clean sheet in 3 of those matches. 2-1 Omiya would be considered a respectable score line on Sunday.

Link to Match Day Info on FC Ryukyu Website: http://fcryukyu.com/news/21400/

Plenty of useful info and the page can be translated into English. There are maps for free parking with shuttles to the match and a schedule of events for the match day.

Important Fixtures on Match Day 38

Conclusion

It looks as if the club is expecting a larger than usual traveling contingent of fans for this one and has adjusted the seating accordingly. This maybe due to the pre-match festivities where Bando will conduct one of his retirement ceremonies and the popular MONGOL800 band will perform just before kickoff. With that said, its probably best to get there early if you want a seat in the covered section. The club’s president, Mr. Subaru Mikami, tweeted that he’d like for the overall attendance numbers to hit 100,000 for the season and I think there will be a strong showing on Sunday somewhere in the vicinity of 7,000 to get us close to the mark.

But I am not there for the pre-match pomp and circumstance. I am there to watch my team one last time at home before I depart for a lengthy spell away from Okinawa. I will still be able to see the boys close out the season at Kofu but I want to enjoy all that has been at home this season. The drama, the thrills, the let downs, the come-backs and of course enjoying matches with all of my fellow FC Ryukyu fans and the players. With safety all but guaranteed for next season, I want to see the boys play loose, relaxed and carefree on Sunday. Omiya has more at stake than FC Ryukyu since we no longer need to hunt for results to ensure safety. FC Ryukyu are simply playing for pride, playing the role of spoiler against sides seeking promotion, but most importantly, playing for Okinawa and all the fans of this club.

So join me on the walk down the Bengara Boulevard and into Fortress Ryukyu one last time this season. Give em hell boys and make us proud. You always do!

“Wet, Wild & WADA-full” Match Day 27 Report: FC Ryukyu 3 – 2 V-Varen Nagasaki 8/10/2019

Intro

FC Ryukyu pulled off a come from behind victory this past Saturday night where they clawed back from one goal deficits twice to ultimately secure all 3 points. Despite the brutal weather, the fans spirits and more importantly, that of the team, were lifted with the crucial win at home. It’s no secret that FC Ryukyu have been struggling for points of late in the midst of a losing streak so let’s hope this result turns the corner for the team and they can begin stringing together some positive results.

Match Recap

I am not exaggerating when I say the weather was brutal. There was intermittent rain followed by gusts of wind and then heavier amounts of rain. This cycle continued up to the mid-way point of the second half. FC Ryukyu were controlling a vast majority of possession early on but it was Nagasaki who were getting the better chances. Nagasaki had far more opportunities this match compared to their previous 5 games when it looked like they were willing to sit back and hit teams on the counter. Nagasaki adopted a different approach against Ryukyu and it paid off straight away.

FC Ryukyu conceded a goal from a Nagasaki CK in which the perfectly placed cross made it over the top of the initial wall of FC Ryukyu defenders and allowed Goya to slot home his 14^th goal of the season. I was worried that like previous matches for FC Ryukyu, when an opponent scored, there were more goals to follow. To FC Ryukyu’s credit, they responded well by answering the Nagasaki goal with one of their own only 5 minutes later.

The goal came from one of the new FC Ryukyu signings, Koya Kazama. On the goal, Koji passed to Koya who was at the right side of the box. Instead of continuing his run down the right, Koya ran back across the top of the box which really opened up the Nagasaki defense. Koji called for the ball back, and was wide open on net had he received the pass, but Koya opted to shoot with so much of the goal to aim at. His left footed shot ended up in the bottom left corner and FC Ryukyu were on the board.

It was not until the 75^th minute when Goya bagged his second goal of the game from a Nagasaki counter that caught the FC Ryukyu defense off guard. Kamekawa of Nagasaki rounded Fukui, on what was some suspect defending, and found acres of space to work a cross into the 6-yard box. Kamekawa sent a perfectly placed, perfectly weighted cross to a wide open of Goya who proceeded to give Nagasaki the 2-1 lead.

FC Ryukyu responded once more with another highlight reel goal from Uejo. This man has had several of these types of goals this season and it is only a matter of time before we see him whisked away to a top-level club. Wada found a streaking Uejo down the right and Uejo sent an absolute rocket past the keeper and into the top left corner. FC Ryukyu were tied with about 5 minutes and stoppage time remaining. Then something miraculously happened, FC Ryukyu scored a third goal.

I say miraculously because FC Ryukyu had only scored a total of 2 goals combined in their 5 previous matches. The goal occurred deep into stoppage time when a 97^th minute corner kick from Uesato found its way over the heads of the Nagasaki defenders where Wada was waiting at the back the corner. Wada was guarded but the ball took a fortuitous deflection of the Nagasaki defender who had his back turned to goal and Wada was able to send the shot past the rushing defenders and keeper for the 3-2 lead.

The goal was massive and the home crowd responded in kind. It was great seeing the players celebrate the goal as it proved vital for FC Ryukyu’s standings when so many teams below them produced favorable results as well this weekend.

Man of the Match

Well it would be just plain rude to not award Wada the man of the match since I titled the article based on his massive goal. However, he also provided an assist on the Uejo goal, earned the corner kick that he scored from and therefore is more than deserving of this award. Well done.

Review of the FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

1. FC Ryukyu to have large amounts of possession. PUSH. They did early on but so did Nagasaki, Nagasaki did hit FC Ryukyu on the counter but FC Ryukyu were able to light up the scoreboard, it was often, just not early as I’d suggested.

2. Take some shots/chances from distance as the Nagasaki goal keeper struggles with these types of shots. PASS, OH MY GOODNESS PASS! Koya’s shot from the top of the box and Uejo’s from just inside the box froze the Nagasaki goal keeper. Yu had a shot from distance that nearly put FC Ryukyu up 2-1 shortly after the Koya goal and Uesato sent a tricky shot from distance where the Nagasaki goal keeper strangely decided to stop it with his knees, despite the distance and time he had to judge the shot. But the icing on the cake, the cherry on top as they say, was the Wada goal from the Uesato cross. The Nagasaki GK made an attempt at clearing the ball and this allowed Wada the time to settle the cross and send the shot home. Had the GK not jumped, he may have been able to get back across the goal mouth and save the Wada shot.

3. FC Ryukyu to score more than 2 goals. PASS. Nothing more to add.

Match Day 27 Takeaways

1. It must be mentioned that the FC Ryukyu victory came at a heavy cost. First, Okazaki was subbed off at half time and we cannot assume it was due to poor performance. This is bad as FC Ryukyu have recently sent Masutani out on loan which means Fukui and Nishikawa are likely starting next week at CB. Nishikawa reminds me a lot of David Luiz in the limited time I’ve seen him play so we’ll reserve judgement for a later time.

Second, Koya Kazama went off injured in the 63^rd minute. This is a shame as he was performing really well and the team looked better with him in the lineup. He seemed to injure himself attempting a tackle but did walk off under his own power. He was seen receiving treatment to one of his lower extremities and this could be anything from a rolled ankle, torn ligament or pulled muscle. We will have to wait and see any news of his injury.

Third, Tokumoto’s injury looked the worst when he was rolled up on by a falling Ibarbo early in stoppage time. He immediately clutched his left ankle and looked in obvious pain. He was stretched off and didn’t return. His ankle was caught underneath Ibarbo and turned outward so this could be any level of sprain that could sideline Tokumoto for 3-8 weeks. Hopefully nothing is torn or broken. Plus, we’ll now need a suitable replacement at LB if Fukui indeed needs to switch to CB.

Finally, and most regrettably, FC Ryukyu have sold Koji Suzuki to Cerezo Osaka on a full transfer. 15 goals and 2 assists along with tremendous hold play and total class are gone from the lineup. How will that be replaced?

Conclusion

We will do a transfer wrap up sometime next week after the Yokohama FC match. FC Ryukyu secured a vital win at a huge cost and the remainder of the season will be a very bumpy ride for the team, their fans and this island. Here’s hoping to continued success.

Photos are from FC Ryukyu and J.League websites.

“Burn it all down, then build it back up” Match Day 26 Report: Kashiwa Reysol 5-1 FC Ryukyu 8/4/2019

Intro

FC Ryukyu hit rock bottom on Sunday night when they were rocked 5-1 by J2 League leaders, Kashiwa Reysol, at the Sankyo Frontier Stadium. FC Ryukyu have now lost 5 in a row and 8 out of their last 9 matches in all competitions. The recent run of form continues to pile the pressure on this team and it’s manager and one has to ask,”have we finally reached the point where changes to personnel and the system are required?” I for one, would answer yes. There is a need to change the formation, change the players in that formation and change the manager to generate some sort of positive momentum and energy before this club finds itself at the foot of the table.

Match Recap

FC Ryukyu started out strongly in this match and there were was a brief moment when I felt that something might break FCR’s way and we could sneak outta there with a nice result. It was a fleeting thought since the Yu goal was overturned for off-sides and Koji Suzuki’s 15th goal this season was all but wiped out in a matter of minutes.

It only took Reysol 8 minutes after the opening Koji goal to equalize and then only 3 more additional minutes to take the 2-1 lead for which FC Ryukyu never recovered. There may have been some confusion between Dany and his defenders on the first goal but the second was a perfect example of excellent preparation on the training ground paying dividends during a match.

If anyone has studied tape of FC Ryukyu they would notice that we surrender a lot of goals during the ensuing chaos following the stop/semi clearance of the original shot/cross from a set piece. Cristiano made a run up that simulated he would take a shot but instead passed it length wise across the top of the box. The FC Ryukyu defenders immediately came out to close down the Reysol player but in doing so left several Reysol players wide open and on-sides inside the box. All it took was a quick pass to one of them who turned and shot from point blank range right past the diving Dany Carvajal.

FC Ryukyu were then ripped open at the back for the next 2 Reysol goals in the second half from a nice run by Olunga and deft little flick by Cristiano where Fukui may have accidentally played him on sides. It was yet another case of 2 quick goals in short succession by Reysol separated by only 4 minutes. FC Ryukyu’s best chance the remainder of the game came in the 74th minute when Nishioka had a wide open shot on net that he ended up sending into the side netting. To add insult to injury, or showing the ultimate respect by not letting up all match, Reysol added a 5th goal in the 90th minute when a diving Dany got down to hard shot but couldn’t parry it away from danger and it ended up in the bottom corner.

Man of the Match

Cristiano played a part in 3 of Reysol’s goals on Sunday evening. He initiated the opening goal from his throw in that caused the confusion in the Ryukyu defense, he was part of the previously mentioned set piece that pushed the score line to 2-1 and added a goal of his own to make it 3-1. The man was on fire on Sunday.

Review of FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

There were none in the preview so none therefore there are none to review. I predicted a 4-0 win for Reysol and I got the margin of victory correct.

Match Day 26 Takeaways

Higuchi tried to spark something, I guess, with his lineup choices of Komatsu, Song Sun and Fukui in place of Kazama, Tanaka and Masutani. Before we proceed further I have no idea what happened to Masutani or Kawai to know if they’re dealing with injuries or Higuchi has lost faith in them. Komatsu looked fine, Fukui was his normal self and Song Sun was largely invisible for most of the match.

When you’ve lost 8 of 9 and 5 in a row everything is magnified and criticized. Turnovers, poor passing/crosses, organization and game plan all played their part on Sunday night. For the year, FC Ryukyu have scored 2 goals from free kicks and only 4 from crosses by our Full Backs; 2 from Tokuomoto, 1 from Nishioka and 1 from Fukui. Why employ a 4-2-3-1? Our FBs are not providing the quality of service that Highuchi seems to feel is the remedy to the FC Ryukyu attacking woes. Instead, play a 3-4-3 and get the firepower out there and reduce the weak links one by one and generate some offense.

I will say that Tokumoto looked great in his first game back and was causing a lot of trouble out there but FCR put a lot of their attacking down the right side (something like 62% down the right compared to a 38% split between the middle and left side?).

In the days leading up to the Reysol match, and then early this week, it was announced that FC Ryukyu have signed 3 players. 2 on loan and 1 permanent signing. All 3 are attacking players, one is a young untested Brazilian with some knee problems, a 40 year old icon of the game and creative MF from FC Gifu who happens to be the younger brother of Kazama. While I’ll save my comments for the end of the transfer window, and reserve judgement for the end of the season, I think FC Ryukyu missed the mark with the signings.

First, two are loans and will/could possibly leave in January and one of them cannot play against their parent club, FC Gifu, which is a must win game for FCR. Second, I hope the player that is older than me can offer something besides a Public Relations move by the club. We need goals, creativity and maturity out there and if this pays off then maybe signing this player indicates a possible move to a player/manager role for FCR, which seems to be on the risethese days, ans is a way that also pushes Highuchi out this season.

Third, there is roughly 1 week remaining in this transfer window and FCR have yet to sign a defensive player. While it is true the attacking had dropped off after the Nakagawa departure, it was coming back but has since stalled. Offense was never really the issue for FCR, it was defense, and stopping the bleeding at the back.

Finally, I hope the FC Ryukyu faithful do not place all their hopes at staving off relegation on the shoulders of the newly acquired players. It is not fair to them and they are not miracle workers. They will all need time to adjust to the club, players and Okinawa before being integrated into the lineup and making any notable contributions.

Unfortunately, FC Ryukyu do not have the luxury of time. We have 4 home games between Nagasaki, Yokohama and then the 2 big “must wins” of FC Gifu and Kagoshima in a row in the coming 5 weeks. FC Gifu and Kagoshima are playing much better than the last time FCR played them, and they both beat us last time.

It should also be noted that Dany signed an extension through (to?) 2021 and that has been the best news this transfer window.

Looking Ahead

Nagasaki comes to town this Saturday and is largely being overlooked by most FCR fans as they anticipate the arrival of Ono from Sapporo the following week. The bottom line is FC Ryukyu need points, by hook or by crook, and it doesn’t really matter how they acquire them anymore.