2019

Intro

FC Ryukyu tasted defeat at home for the fist time in 643 days. The loss was a bitter pill to swallow and made worse by the fact that FC Ryukyu were up 2-0 at one point during the match. The loss does more than end the impressive 30 game home unbeaten run by FC Ryukyu, it indicates that FC Ryukyu have serious issues that need to be addressed quickly before FC Ryukyu falls into the relegation zone

First Half

FC Ryukyu played a magnificent first half that saw them dominate Kofu in every facet of the match. FC Ryukyu had 67% possession, out shot Kofu 9/1 with a 6/1 ratio of shots on target. FC Ryukyu maintained great shape when they controlled possession with wide open passing and running lane open in the attack. Kawai, who stated in place of the suspended Tanaka, was causing all sorts of problems for the Kofu defense with his speed. FC Ryukyu dominated so much of the game in the first 20 minutes that it felt like a goal was coming with all signs pointing towards an FC Ryukyu victory.

In the 22^nd minute, Ryukyu were awarded a free kick from about 40m out, which promptly turned into another free kick from about 28m when the Kofu defender committed a handball from the original Uesato shot. Kazama stepped up for the 2^nd FK and delivered and absolute top draw shot. Kofu’s keeper couldn’t get to the curling shot into the top corner and it gave FC Ryukyu the early 1-0 lead.

Kofo’s first chance in the match didn’t occur until the 27^th minute but even then, they never really threatened the Ryukyu net for much of the first half. 10 minutes later, Kawai took a pass just inside his own half and made a darting run at the Kofu goal. Kawai’s speed proved too much for the Kofu defender who allowed Kawai to get past him and find a wide-open Ochi who slotted home a goal past the Kofu GK. FC Ryukyu were absolutely cruising at the 38 minute mark up 2-0 and I thought the side had finally turned a corner in their development, but I was soon mistaken.

I mentioned in the match day recap last week how a goal near the very end of halftime can really turn the fortunes of a football team. It inflates hopes of the scoring team while deflating the hopes of the team who was just scored upon simultaneously. This proved to be the case for FC Ryukyu because they surrendered a goal to Kofu near half time. Mind you, Kofu had no chances on net for nearly 44 minutes of the first half. There were no less than 3 errors committed by FC Ryukyu on the Kofu goal as surmised below. First, Masutani was caught way out of position and then took a bad angle in his tracking back to defend the attacking Kofu player. Second, Ishii was way too timid on his “attempted save of the cross” and this allowed the ball to sneak past him, Utaka, and a diving Okazaki that ultimately found the Kofu attacker at the far corner. Fukui offered nothing in defense as the Kofu attacker was well passed him at that point. This late first half goal proved to be the catalyst that would propel Kofu past FC Ryukyu.

Second Half

Kofu needed exactly 2 minutes to tie the match when their strategy for attacking the Ryukyu defense finally paid dividends. Kofu’s long ball approach was evident very early on and even an amateur manager could’ve seen what Kofu were trying to do and make the necessary adjustment. Instead, the 3^rd attempted long ball by Kofu found a wide open Yokatani while Fukui, who was desperate for an offsides call to bail him out of trouble, was caught out. The linesman was correct in that there was no offsides and rightly allowed the play to continue. While Ishii did well to get a hand to the shot, the shot itself was too powerful for Ishii to handle and the deflection curled into the back of the net for a 2-2 score line.

Ryukyu dodged a bullet in the 49^th minute when Utaka was able to get past Masutani and then round Ishii for a free look on net in the 6-yard box. Luckily for Ryukyu, Uesato was scurrying back to aide in defense and he was able to dispossess Utaka right at the moment of truth. It ended up turning out that Uesato’s defending was just delaying the inevitable as Kofu went ahead in the 53^rd minute from a busted CK.

The CK was earned after the prior CK was defended by Ryukyu but Masutani was caught out of position and allowed for a Kofu attacker to make a penetrating run into the box that required another Uesato clearance. The second corner was defended again but the clearance landed at the feet of a Kofu attacker who sent a great cross into the box where Utaka delivered a bullet header, low and hard, that Ishii probably could’ve done better at defending. Regardless, Kofu were up 3-2 at this point and Ryukyu were reeling.

Kofu were able to put the match out of reach 3 minutes later when Masutani was pulled out of position by being forced to make an attempted heading clearance due to a cheap Nishioka giveaway near mid field. In this instance, Utaka was able to find a streaking Mori and deliver a nice pass that saw him slot a shot past the diving Ishii who was forced to come off his line in order to cut down the angle. Kofu were up 4-2 and they were cruising.

The remainder of the 2^nd half for FC Ryukyu was marred by bad passing and missed opportunities. Uejo came on for Ochi in the 62^nd minute but his contributions flashed high and wide. Kofu was then able to add a 5^th goal in the 6^th minute of stoppage time, as a very nice “up yours,” to push the score line to 5-2. More importantly, it put Ryukyu’s total goal difference for the year at 0 as they have now scored and conceded 27 goals. This is a huge deal for a side seeking to stay in the J2 next season as goal difference is the second determining factor for standings in the table. Final score, Kofu 5-2 over FC Ryukyu.

FC Ryukyu dominated every facet of the match except for the most important one, the goal tally. Kofu also converted 5/6 shots on net.

Man of the Match

Peter Utaka was a strong consideration since he netted once as well as provided an assist, but the man who put in the best shift yesterday was Shuto Kawai from FC Ryukyu. Kawai created all sorts of problems for the Kofu defense and he committed very little of the normal “Kawai errors” such as dribbling out of bounds or losing possession due to lack of bodily control.

For the day, Kawai created a total of 6 goal scoring opportunities for Ryukyu. There were at least two instances where a Kofu defender should’ve been shown a card, and on one in instance, a red card. On that particular play, Kawai won the positional battle and was streaking past the last Kofu defender when the Kofu defender put an arm out, grabbed Kawai and then brought him down needlessly. This type of
“professional foul” is soon going to be awarded as a penalty kick in the English Premier League and should’ve been a straight red card for the Kofu player. That could’ve swung the momentum to Ryukyu by putting Kofu down to 10 men but instead it only resulted in a free kick that Ryukyu couldn’t convert.

So even though he didn’t score, Kawai created 6 goal scoring opportunities, is credited with one assist, and was a difference maker for Ryukyu. Kawai has more than earned his spot in the starting 11 of Ryukyu and it will be interesting to see who he forces out of the lineup.

Review of the FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

I understand the irony with the section title but we need to see what, if anything, Ryukyu did right or wrong each match.

1. Press the Kofu back line into making mistakes. FAIL. Ryukyu do not press back lines. Instead, they opt to send defenders into the attack and leave themselves exposed to counter attacks.

2. Know where all the Kofu attackers are at, at all times. SPLIT Decision. One could argue that the Ryukyu defenders did know where the Kofu attackers where at all times. They were either marked, early on, or they were way past the defense or in better positions later in the match. More on this later.

3. Attack the Kofu back line with quality crosses and passes. FAIL and not even close. We cannot truly fault Fukui for his attempts as he seems a better fit at CB, but Nishiokoa’s attempts should be considered as borderline pathetic. Suzukui got absolutely zero service until the 82^nd minute and that is inexcusable.

4. Mark Sato. PASS. Only because he didn’t do anything of note outside of earning a yellow card.

Match Day 19 Takeaways

1. There is no excuse for surrendering 5, unanswered, goals to a weakened Kofu side at home. Ryukyu defenders seem to be tired, lacking pace to deal with the opposing attack and seem to be consumed with attacking more than defending. Committing our Full Backs to the attack only weakens the already fragile Ryukyu defense. FC Ryukyu’s season J2 hopes both lives and dies with our defense and goal keeping.

2. Nishioka had plenty of opportunities to make plays but missed far too often. Nishioka had no less than 6 instances of poor crosses or bad plays. His crossing to Suzuki was way off and this was on a day when the Kofu defenders allowed Nishioka space and time to make plays. He made poor decisions in the attack and seemed to have no idea what to do when he was alone down the right side. Some may argue that was because no other Ryukyu player was making any runs and if that truly was the case, then he should have attempted to crash the box and draw a foul or at the very least, a corner kick. The 2 turnovers by Nishioka sprung the Kofu attack loose and led directly to a goal by Kofu.

3. Masutani was caught out of position on a couple of occasions and some of those instances could be directly tied to Nishioka’s careless turnovers. Masutani has played every minute of every match this year and I truly don’t think Central Back is Masutani’s best position. I think he is better suited out wide as a full back as he is better at starting, and finishing plays, vice trying to defend them. In any case, the man needs some rest.

3. The passing that plagued Ryukyu versus Kyoto emerged once again against Kofu. Unfortunately, it came at the worse time when Ryukyu were struggling to get back in the match. Careless turnovers and needless passes ultimately doomed the Ryukyu attack. This problem may exist all season.

4. The reserve players. Uejo came on and offered some semblance of hope for the Ryukyu attack but I am unsure on how to judge Wada or Gibo. Gibo maybe an interesting prospect but he was shifted to RB later on in the match and I couldn’t get an accurate read on his skill set.

Conclusion

The streak is over and now it is time to move on. FC Ryukyu sit roughly 20 points from relative safety and will need to do all they can to avoid relegation. Home wins and draws will be key until this Ryukyu squad can muster a victory on the road. So let’s all spend a little time reflecting on the massive achievement for FC Ryukyu, as I intend to spend more time studying football in order to understand all the phenomena, but never forget, the near-term goal for FC Ryukyu is staying in the J2 for 2020.

Results from Around J2

“Purple Rain” Match Day 18 Recap: Kyoto Sanga F.C. 2-2 FC Ryukyu 6/15/2019

I don’t think I could’ve come up with a more befitting title for this match based on the following: 1. Kyoto’s kits are purple, 2. it was raining the whole match and 3. it is the birth month of Prince, who wrote this song. I am not a huge fan of Prince but things lined up perfectly for this catchy title for this particular blog entry.

FC Ryukyu earned a hard-fought point on Saturday night at the Kyoto Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium where they battled back twice from 1 goal deficits to tie the match. While the draw has ultimately dropped FC Ryukyu down to 10^th in the standings, the precious point is all that really matters at the end of the day.

Each team’s lineup remained unchanged from their previous matches with one exception. Kyoto put their best attacking players up front, Ishimi, Koyamatsu and Sento, to form more of a 3-4-3 formation. The move signaled to me that the manager, Ichizo Nakata, knows his side well and since this Kyoto side always starts matches very fast, he wanted to do everything he could to grab the early lead with hopes of piling on the goals later.

First Half

In the preview article I espoused that if FC Ryukyu wished to walk away with any points, they needed to keep Kyoto off the score sheet in the first half. Kyoto had 100% success rate (wins and draws) when they are the first team to score in a match and that score occurs in the first half. Within 55 seconds Kyoto already had a shot on net and their second came 1 minute and 40 seconds later. Not the start that FC Ryukyu needed by any means. FC Ryukyu were lucky to escape the early deficit when Isihimi’s shot hit the post in the 6^th minute. Things than began to get worse for Ryukyu when in the 7^th minute, Fukui had to come on place of the injured Tokumoto for what looks to be a non-contact injury to his lower left leg. It is possible he’ll miss some time depending on the severity of the injury and it couldn’t come at a worse time with Ryukyu having 8 matches over the next 6 weeks.

Kyoto had a ridiculous 77% possession rate compared to Ryukyu’s 23% around the quarter mark of the match and Kyoto were dictating the pace of play as well as creating all the chances on net. Ryukyu simply didn’t have an answer to stop the Kyoto onslaught or enough possession to slow the match down. Ryukyu’s best chance came in the 20^th minute when a ball fell to Tanaka in the 18-yard box and unfortunately, he struck it with his left foot and the shot went just wide of the net. Ryukyu then survived another scare in the 25^th minute when a long through ball found a streaking Kyoto player but luckily, Ishii and Okazaki were able to break up the cross. At the 30-minute mark, Kyoto were still enjoying a 75% possession rate and were leading in the shot category, 5 to 1 over Ryukyu.

Near the end of the first half, a long pass by Okazaki to Komatsu was quickly corralled by Sanga and they immediately sprung into a counter attack. Masutani offered a half-hearted challenge on the on-rushing Kyoto player and when Uesato was rushing back to aid in the defense, he actually stopped the pass from Kyoto that was screeching across the top of our box towards the right side. Unfortunately, Uesato’s deflection landed right at the feet of Koyamatsu, who struck a nice shot past a diving Ishii for a 1-0 Kyoto lead. I personally thought this goal was coming for a long time with the amount of possession and opportunities Kyoto enjoyed up to this point but I also thought that FC Ryukyu was going to hold Kyoto goalless heading into half time.

Kyoto had another two chances to double their lead in the 41^st and 44^th minute as they were finding it very easy to round our defenders and send crosses/shots into the box. Just when I thought all hope was lost with Ryukyu on pace for their 5^th consecutive road loss, Ryukyu caught a break. Ryukyu earned a free kick at the very end of the extra time in the first half and the initial shot by Okazaki was deflected and it found an unmarked Koji Suzuki alone at the edge of the goal. Suzuki delivered a header into the net that seemed to surprise, and disappoint, the Kyoto team. In only one instance, versus Mito, had Kyoto gone on to not win the match after scoring first in the first half and allowing the opponents to score in the first half as well. It was a massive shift in the probability projections for Ryukyu to earn a draw on the day. Basically, FC Ryukyu went from around 0.05% to 25% with that Suzuki goal. While that cannot be understated, it is more important to state what a goal means for both sides when it occurs at the very end of the first half. It was a confidence booster for Ryukyu while simultaneously letting the “wind out of the sails” for Kyoto. This was a massive goal for Ryukyu as well as Koji as it moved him into the top position in J2 with 12 goals scored this season.

Second Half

Ryukyu started the second half slowly after already conceding 68% of the possession to Kyoto in the first half. Right away in the 46^th minute, Kyoto were awarded the FK after Masutani fell to the ground from an attempted clearance. Now, Masutani was able to make the clearance, but the resulting fall took him into the path of the Kyoto player who was adjusting his run for the deflection. The Kyoto player ran into Masutani, and actually gave him a nasty knock to the head, and the ref awarded the FK. To be honest, Masutani had no idea where the Kyoto player was, didn’t stick out an arm or attempt to interfere the player, it was just the natural progression of the fall/slide that took him into the Kyoto players path. Yet the referee’s vantage point was from behind and he couldn’t see all this play out and deemed it to be an infraction and award a free kick.

An errant pass by Uesato lead to another Kyoto opportunity in the 52^nd minute but Ishii did a tremendous job in stopping the shot by Ishimi. Tanaka picked up a yellow card just prior to that play and was ultimately subbed off for Kawai. Tanaka will miss the next match due to suspension from his accumulation of yellow cards. Ryukyu’s defense was then ripped apart in the 55^th minute and luckily the clearance by Ryukyu, that hit a Kyoto player in the box, bounced off the side netting and didn’t make its way into the back of the net. Kawai’s presence could already be felt stating in the 57^th minute as his runs seemed to surprise the Kyoto side as they were fast, and straight at them and this was something Ryukyu were not doing up to this point. I don’t think Kyoto were expecting this at all from Ryukyu and they seemed more than willing to cede some acreage for Kawai to run into. At the 64-minute mark, Ryukyu had ceded 3 more chances to Kyoto and they were only able to muster one real chance but the game was about to be flipped on its head.

Another errant pass led to another Kyoto counter attack that ultimately resulted in a PK. Uesato’s challenge looked as if he got to the ball before he brought the player down but there was one small problem, he did so by going through the player legs from behind and that will always be called as a foul anywhere on the pitch. Ishimi stepped up and delivered a nice strike underneath the diving Ishii, who guessed correctly, but the shot had placement and power and would be hard for most goalkeepers to stop.

In the 74^th minute Kawai drew a foul near the edge of the 18-yard box but the resulting Tomidokoro strike sailed just a little high over the bar. However, it would be the pace and tenacity of Kawai that allowed FC Ryukyu to get back in the match when he slotted home a goal in the 80^th minute.

Kawai made a great run down the left and found a streaking Tomidokoro who executed a very nice back heel pass to the on-rushing Kawai. The back-heel pass by Yu seemed to tee the ball up perfectly for Kawai and Kawai’s strike went past the diving keeper of Kyoto and into the bottom right corner of the goal.

Finally, Ryukyu sprung to life in the 80^th minute of the match. A corner kick from Ryukyu found a wide open Uesato who struck home a one timed volley but he was ruled offside. It was a harsh call in my mind (obviously as a Ryukyu supporter) but that’s because the replay, and more importantly the camera angle, couldn’t really show Uesato in an offside position. That would’ve been a huge goal but nonetheless, Ryukyu really began to trouble the Kyoto defense.

Ryukyu tried to see out the remainder of the match with some controlled possession but the accurate passing just wasn’t there today. This is most likely due to the little amount of possession they enjoyed. The last few seconds of the match were very frantic in that Ryukyu earned a corner; Uesato nearly scored from a header, had it been low it may have gone in, and the resulting Kyoto last surge counter was luckily thwarted by the scrambling Ryukyu defenders to earn the 1-1 draw.

Man of the Match

#30 DF Yosuke Ishibitsu, Kyoto Sanga F.C.

It was hard not to award the MOM to Kawai from FC Ryukyu for his contributions, but Ishibitsu’s efforts really stood out and the man put in a phenomenal shift for Kyoto. The veteran made life difficult for Tomidokoro in the first half, so much so that Yu shifted from the left side to the right side in the second half so as to completely avoid Ishibitsu. Ishibitsu won some free kicks and delivered them with quality when called upon. I am jealous that this man can play at such a high level at 35 years of age and would love to see him in the Ryukyu back line even if it’s only for one season. I think one of the best examples for why he deserves MOM was his ability to close down Tomidokoro in the 39^th minute when Yu received a beautiful through pass that put him alone on net. The veteran Ishibitsu had enough pace in him to recover and force Yu to change direction which ultimately saw Yu lose possession and the Ryukyu attack fizzle out. My tally on the day had Ishibitsu besting the Ryukyu attack and players 6-1. The man simply couldn’t be beaten in defense and he offered so much in the attack for Kyoto. Well done sir.

Keys to Victory Review

A quick review of the key points I put forth in the match day preview.

1. Prevent Kyoto from scoring in the first half. Ultimately a failing mark as Kyoto did end up scoring in the first half, but Ryukyu put up a good fight and recovered for a point.

2. Harass the Kyoto back line. Pass. Kawai’s substitution proved the difference maker for Ryukyu and in all reality, it wasn’t until the 80^th minute that Ryukyu truly threatened the back line of Kyoto.

3. Score multiple goals and do not waste them in a loss. Passed with flying colors. This match was only the second time in 12 weeks that FC Ryukyu scored multiple goals in a match and the timing couldn’t have been better. This attack needs to get going as we all miss the free scoring side that can score 4, concede 3 and still end up on top. Patience is a virtue, I guess.

Takeaways from Match Day 18

1. The Referee. Spoiler Alert, plenty of bias to follow. The refereeing on Saturday was suspect. There were at least 3 bookable offenses by Kyoto that were not carded and each of them either stopped a FC Ryukyu counter attack or ended it altogether. That makes all of them bookable offenses in my mind. If an unwritten rule in football exists about how many warnings a player can receive before a booking, then I failed to see it yesterday. I say that because Tanaka was carded for his first challenge, and rightly so, but his offense was no different from the Kyoto players, yet none of the Sanga players were carded until deep into stoppage time. The refereeing in J2, in my humble opinion at least, is suspect at best; and to be honest, across Asia it isn’t that great either. Many refs fall into that “Home Cooking” philosophy whereas they just want to be liked by the home team’s supporters and get back to their vehicle safely after a match.

2. While the possession disparity between both sides is enough to make you wonder as a Ryukyu fan if they were actually playing a J1 side like Kawasaki, FC Ryukyu did nothing to help themselves on Saturday with so many errant passes. As stated earlier, this is probably attributed to how little of the ball FC Ryukyu saw throughout the match as Kyoto had a 65% to 35% possession advantage but this will occur from time to time and FC Ryukyu need to be more clinical in possession. The misguided passes sent Kyoto on their way multiple times and lead to both of their goals. If FC Ryukyu passing was better on Saturday then maybe they could’ve won the match, but as a whole, the Ryukyu passing was deplorable. There are more of these types of matches ahead of Ryukyu this year and while the “bend, but don’t break” mentality on defense works from time to time, it requires the team to be precise and lethal in limited possession.

Conclusion

Well FC Ryukyu earned their first positive result in a road match since the late equalizer by Uesato back in match day 9 against Tokyo Verdy. This means that Ryukyu broke a 4-game losing streak on the road and it also meant that Kyoto will remain winless in games started after 1800. FC Ryukyu return home next week to face a very strong, recently defeated, 4^th placed Ventforet Kofu side.

I hope the Okinawa faithful show up in full force for this match as it is another tough test for the Bengara boys to keep the home undefeated record intact as well some much-needed revenue before the transfer window opens up in July. Make no mistake, FC Ryukyu needs revenue – at least 8,000 fans per home match – as well as reinforcements. We don’t want to see Ryukyu become “sellers” in the transfer market next month. We want FC Ryukyu to be “buyers” because if not, this team may end up back in the J3. I know I always harp on the fact that FC Ryukyu haven’t earned, or possibly done, anything of note yet. Well, that is because it is so likely that recently promoted clubs are the ones relegated each season and I don’t want Ryukyu to be the first J3 side to achieve this dubious award. Staying power equals revenue and a chance at J1 football, that, is the mid and long-term goal for this club.

Nice view of the Koji header to equalize in the first half. PHOTO CREDIT: @john_level_O

Match Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBZZ08x6QkA&feature=onebox

“Everything is going to be O.K.” Match Day 17 Recap: FC Ryukyu 1-1 Zweigen Kanazawa 6/08/2019

On a day when the weather conditions were less than ideal, FC Ryukyu managed to keep their unbeaten streak alive and earn a valuable point that should keep them in the top half of the table at the weeks end. The real story of the night belongs to Ryo Ishii who filled in admirably for the injured Danny Carvajal. Ishii’s presence in goal was a real concern of mine heading into a very tough stretch of games and I must admit, I was wrong to judge him so quickly. Ishii’s efforts were the main reason FC Ryukyu earned 1 point on the day and prevented the unbeaten streak from being broken.

First Half

The first half started out very quickly for Kanazawa and they broke through early because of some rather poor defending on the part of FC Ryukyu. In the 6^th minute, Uesato was attempting to play the ball out from the back and though his pass found Komatsu, Komatsu took an errant touch and turned the ball over. The turnover really caught the FC Ryukyu defense in bad positioning as they were in the middle of transitioning into the attack. The worst part of the goal was Okazaki’s attempt at defending the on-rushing Kanazawa player. It seems as if Okazaki couldn’t decide how he wanted to attempt his clearance of the ball, and this probably led to some confusion on his part, which ultimately resulted in him bumbling over the ball -though he never really tracked the ball and was fixated on the Kanazawa attacker strangely enough, and this allowed the Kanazawa player a free shot on net. Taiki Kato slotted the opening goal past a diving Ishii and Masutani to put Kanazawa up 1-0.

Not exactly sure what Okazaki is attempting to do here , but the result was catastrophic.

In the 17^th minute, Kazama had a very nice attempt on net that was sent just wide by the outstretched arms of the Zweigen goal keeper. Shortly thereafter, Ishii was called into action once more as the Ryukyu defense broke down and Kanazawa had yet another free look on net. Ishii chested the shot down and quickly scooped up the rebound thus ending the Zweigen opportunity. Tanka had an absolute gifted chance in the 22^nd minute that was saved by the Kanazawa keeper to keep Ryukyu off the scoreboard. I hope these “near misses” that Ryukyu are currently experiencing at the moment will turn into goals. We are going to need some of these to start finding the back of the net the next 2 months. Ryukyu nearly tied the game heading into half time when a shot from Okazaki off a corner kick landed directly at the feet of Suzuki. The resulting shot from Suzuki was saved and the rebound fell right to Masutani who unfortunately sent the third shot high over the bar. Ryukyu would be kept off the score sheet at the half despite several good chances.

Second Half

Zweigen started the second half quickly and had two chances to increase their lead in the 49^th and 55^th minute. Each attempt saw a break down in defending by Ryukyu that left Ishii extremely exposed. FC Ryukyu were lucky that Kanazawa sent the shots wide or things would’ve ended very differently that night for Ryukyu. Finally, in the 69^th minute, Suzuki would level the match and put Ryukyu on the front foot for the first time all game.

Suzuki was able to slip past his marker and found some wide-open territory between the Zweigen defenders and then sent his shot around the Zweigen goalie for his J2 league leading 11^th goal of the season. It was a very nice take from the seasoned veteran and it is a shame that FC Ryukyu doesn’t have someone who can provide Suzukui the constant service a top-class striker deserves. Ryukyu’s only other chance of note came in the 77^th minute went Uejo sent a shot just over the crossbar. The game would end 1-1 and the unbeaten streak would be pushed to 30.

Suzuki slipping past his marker, taking a touch and then rounding the keeper with a nicely placed shot.

FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory Review

I put forth 3 keys to victory for FC Ryukyu in the preview article so let us review: 1. Do not allow Zweigen Kanazawa to expose Ishii at the back, 2. Do not allow Zweigen to gain any momentum and finally, 3. Exploit Zweigen’s defense on set pieces.

1. FC Ryukyu absolutely exposed Ishii at the back on multiple occasions and Ryukyu were extremely lucky to earn a draw. The defending on the part of Ryukyu that night was woeful. Zweigen were constantly getting through the middle of our defense and they were also able overpower and round Tokumoto and Nishioka. Hopefully Okazaki just had one of those “brain farts” when he allowed the Zweigen player in on net and this doesn’t become a trend. However, what is a trend is the poor defending by Ryukyu this season. It just goes to show you how good Danny Carvajal, and now Ishii, are at the back as well as how vital these 2 keepers are to the Ryukyu season. The defending issues need to be addressed both on the training ground and in the transfer window this summer. Ryukyu cannot expect to play on the razors edge all year and come out on top. Result: Fail

2. Zweigen began to generate momentum early in both halves but Ryukyu did well to slow them down and prevent them from grabbing a larger lead. Granted, Zweigen had not scored in 3 games leading up to this match but we fully expected them to score against Ryukyu. That statement could be tied directly to the first point I made in this section. Ryukyu wobbled for a bit early in the second half but it wasn’t to the extent we’ve seen them lose concentration in the past. Luckily Zweigen missed those opportunities and Ryukyu recovered nicely. Result: Pass

3. Ryukyu had a golden opportunity near the end of the match to take the lead on a corner kick but unfortunately, Ryukyu’s Uehara was not match fit and therefore we couldn’t get the advantage over Zweigen. I mentioned in the preview that Zweigen would be without their starting LCB and it was crucial for Ryukyu to exploit the new defensive pairing for Zweigen. They did, but it took them until the 69^th minute when the Zweigen defender came out too far and the resulting turnover to Ryukyu found Suzuki onside and alone at the top of the box. Result: Pass

Man of the Match

Ryo Ishii. It couldn’t be anyone else on the day despite the lovely goal by Suzukui. Ishii was an unknown commodity heading into this important match up and he really rose to the occasion. He made an absolute stunning save on a set piece that made it over the top of the wall and on net. Some could argue that it was the perfect height for the keeper to save but Ishii still did well to get to the shot and push it away from danger.

Ishii diving and stopping a nice FK by Zweigen.

I mentioned earlier that he also kept Ryukyu in the match when they were down 1-0 when Zweigen had their second free look on net and Ishii did well to stop the original shot and collect the resulting rebound. There are some aspects of his game that I am sure will tighten up with time and experience and I am not going to nitpick a tremendous performance by Ishii that directly led to the favorable outcome for Ryukyu.

Looking Ahead

FC Ryukyu are on the road next week to take on 5^th place Kyoto Sanga. Kyoto are coming off a 3-1 loss to Omiya on the road and are returning home after spending the last two weeks on the road. The games are going to get a lot tougher for FC Ryukyu the remainder of this month and therefore any points earned on the road should be considered a blessing.

“Familiar Foe” Match Day 17 Preview: FC Ryukyu vs. Zweigen Kanazawa 6/08/2019

Match Day 17 Information: (H) FC Ryukyu versus Zweigen Kanazawa (A) at the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium 06/08/2019, Kickoff 19:30

Weather Forecast: Wet and Windy. This game will be played in less than ideal conditions with rain starting earlier in the day and continuing through the match. Bring rain jackets, towels to wipe the seats and an umbrella.

Match Day 17 sees FC Ryukyu attempting to push their unbeaten streak at home to 30 while taking on 8^th placed Zweigen Kanazawa. The last time these two faced each other was during the inaugural J3 season in 2014 when Zweigen won the league and was the first ever J3 side to be promoted to the J2. Ryukyu enters this match fresh off a 2-1 loss on the road to Yokohama FC that saw them lose Danny Carvajal to a sprained foot that will sideline the Costa Rican goalkeeper for at least a month. Kanazawa drew 0-0 against Tokushima Vortis at home and are looking very eager to end the Ryukyu run of unbeaten games this Saturday. One bit of good news for FC Ryukyu is that this match should see the return of Okazaki at Center Back and provide some leadership and skill to cover the new FC Ryukyu goal keeper, Ishii.

Zweigen Kanazawa

The 4 matches I reviewed for this preview for Kanazawa included tilts against FC Gifu, Nagasaki, Yamagata and Tokushima. Against Gifu Kanazawa were able to grab a late winner after Gifu clawed back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match. Kanazawa then went scoreless against their next three opponents and ended up losing one of those matches at home to Nagasaki to round out the 4 games with one win, two draws and a loss. Despite the fact that Kanazawa have scored 21 goals so far this season, 12 of those goals occurred within 3 matches and they have also been held scoreless 5 times. 3 of their scoreless games have occurred during the past 3 weeks leading up to this match versus FC Ryukyu and may very likely come to an end with the change at GK for Ryukyu and the overall approach to defending by FC Ryukyu.

Likely lineup & formation for Kanazawa. Note: # 2 will be out on suspension.

Kanazawa Players to Watch

Kanazawa have 4 players that have scored 3 goals so far this season with a majority of their goals coming from the strikers. There was not many highlights to watch in the 4 games so I am forced to make judgments on what players to watch based on the stat sheet.

#13 FW Ryuhei Oshi. 3 goals and 1 assist this season. Against Gifu he made a very nice play on a ball that was heading out of bounds and sent a dangerous cross into the box that nearly was directed into the back of the net. Likely that Oshi plays on the Left side behind the two strikers in the 4-4-2 formation.

#11 MF Kyohei Sugiura. 3 goals and 2 assists. Despite being listed as a MF on the JLEAGUE website, he plays up front in a forward position for Kanazawa.

#22 FW Giovanni Clunie. 3 goals and 2 assists. The Costa Rican striker has not featured in a match since week 12 against Fukuoka and is strangely not listed on the Japanese website I use to track injuries. He is a tall 6’3” (193cm) striker that would most likely give Okazaki, Masutani and Fukui fits at the back so I hope he doesn’t feature for Kanazawa this weekend as it looks like the goal less drought by Kanazawa has coincided with Clunie’s absence from the lineup.

FC Ryukyu

Likely lineup & formation. FCR will be without Danny Carvajal at GK.

FC Ryukyu face a stiff test this week as they look to increase their unbeaten run at home to 30. They will need to do so without the services of one of the team’s MVPs this season, Danny Carvajal. This means that FC Ryukyu will turn to Ryo Ishii to man the net during Danny’s absence and that means that FC Ryukyu really need to tighten up defensively at the back. Ryukyu failed to do this in the last 25 minutes of the Yokohama match and allowed Yokohama to take advantage of our misfortune by grabbing two quick goals shortly after Danny’s substitution. It was a shame too as Suzukii added an absolute top-notch strike to put Ryukyu out in front and it looked as if Ryukyu were going to grab a second before the injury. Regardless, FC Ryukyu are going to need to do all they can to grab maximum points at home with their current road form.

FC Ryukyu have 13 home matches left this season and need approximately 20-23 points to reach relative safety outside of the relegation zone. With a total of 39 points up for grab at home, that means FCR can only afford to drop points in 6 of those matches, or about half the games remaining. 4 of these home matches will be against teams in the top 6 with some of the other matches against teams that have already beat FCR this season.

FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

1.) Do not allow Zweigen Kanazawa to exploit Ishii at the back. FCR needs to adopt the mentality of “total team defending” for this match. I agree that it goes against the team’s current ethos of attack, attack, attack, but the FCR attack has gone limp for some time now and we are most likely going to need to grind out some low scoring matches. Total team defending will mean our attacking players, Tanaka and Tomidokoro, must commit more to helping out in defense by providing top cover to Tokumoto and Nishioka. Tokumoto and Nishoka must also track back quickly when there are changes in possession to clog the channels and reduce the amount of space that Zweigen attackers can run into and occupy. Finally, we will need to be able to get the ball back and quickly turn to the counter attack led by Suzuki and Kazama as they’ll be the only two who can push forward if the attacking mid fielders in Yu and Keita are helping out on defense.

2.) Do not allow Zweigen to gain any momentum. They either score goals in bunches or simply cannot score.

3.) Exploit Zweigen’s defense on set pieces. One trend that emerged in the game film the past 4 matches for Kanazawa was the fact they concede a fair amount of opportunities and goals from set pieces, particularly corner kicks. While corner kicks are not the strong suit of the FC Ryukyu game, if FCR are able to earn enough of these set pieces, it is likely that FCR will score. It should also be noted that Kanazawa will be without the services of their starting LCB, #2 Yamamoto, who is out with a suspension. FCR should do all they can to exploit the new defensive pairing at the back for Kanazawa.

Match Prediction

2-2 Draw. FCR surrender goals too often and with a new goal keeper it is likely that the defense exposes Ishii and he concedes. I also believe FCR will score twice this week with the second goal leveling the match and keeping the streak intact.

Conclusion

Ishii flashed some skill in the Yokohama match despite conceding two early goals. Those were not totally his fault as the team in front of him provided no real support. During that match he made, at least what looked to be, some pretty spectacular saves. This could mean he was either slightly out of position and had to make a dramatic play on the ball to make up for poor positioning or, Ishii is actually that good. We will find out this weekend.

See you all out there this Saturday and do your best to stay dry in what could be a very wet, very sloppy affair at the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium.

“Ain’t No Cure for the Summertime Blues” Match Day 16 Recap: Yokohama F.C. 2-1 FC Ryukyu

This is a very tough recap to write based on a couple of factors. 1. FCR should’ve and could’ve won this match. Yes, shoulda, woulda coulda, didn’t applies here. 2. FCR lost one of their best players, Danny Carvajal, at a crucial part of the season. To all of you who faithfully click on the link and read this blog each week, thank you, I appreciate all of you and please bear with me during these troubling times.

First Half

FCR and Yokohama both started out very sluggish. This was to be expected from Yokohama – as I eluded to in the Match Day Preview – but was unexpected from FC Ryukyu. FCR have usually started matches on the front foot and this was key to FCR bringing home the points. However, FCR couldn’t get going or get that all important 1^st half goal. The best chance FCR had was from a corner kick in the 14^th minute, and I must admit, it was pleasing to watch FCR inject some creativity into their set pieces. The CK was crafty in that the person chosen to take the shot was Uestao, who, was outside the normal line of attackers and had to make a nice play on the ball to get into a shooting lane. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t score as this would’ve proved the difference on the day. His shot was just inches wide and FCR would go into half time 0-0.

Would’ve proved to be the difference maker had this gone in.

Now, neither team looked up for the match and this was worrying because FCR should be considered as a “fast stating team” whereas Yokohama are more of a second half team. We have seen how FCR comes out very slow during the initial parts of the 2^nd half and I was very concerned for us moving forward without a goal. I was also concerned that FCR threw so much at the attack that they were exposed down the right flank for much of the first half. It seemed as if Yokohama was making these great runs and opening up the FCR defense but in reality, we left ourselves wide open for this because of the over commitment in the attack.

Second Half

The back and forth play continued for much of the second half until, Koji Suzuki broke the dead lock in the 67th minute. It was a beautiful take as he moved effortlessly across the top of the Yokohama FC box and delivered an absolute gem of a strike into the top corner of the goal to give FCR the 1-0 advantage.

Absolute Heat Seeking Missile Strike by Koji, what a stud player!

I will do my best not sound dejected or one sided from here on out but things turned very ugly for FCR after this moment.

For a brief period of time I though that FCR could end this horrible run of road performances with that Koji goal. Then fate stepped in, as it does on occasion, to bring all the FCR faithful back down to reality.

For those new to the blog or following FCR I’ll cast a wide net here and say that there are 2 MVP performers on the squad, Koji Suzuki and Danny Carvajal. Both of them are the heart and soul of this squad and are the main reasons why FC Ryukyu sit 9^th in the table instead of 21^st. To lose either one to injury or transfer would be catastrophic and what I am about to espouse applies to the latter.

In the 70th minute, Danny Carvajal, the FCR stalwart, suffered what looks to be a moderate Grade 2 ankle sprain. He landed awkwardly during a save on a set piece, his foot bent inward and he rolled the ankle inward luckily. You may ask, luckily? And I’d answer, yes! As someone who plays Fantasy Football (NFL) at a very high level, I can tell you it was reassuring that Danny didn’t roll the ankle the opposite direction for the dreaded “high ankle sprain” that would keep him out for an extended period of time and possibly require surgery. There is no doubt that Danny will miss time as the injury required a substitution and he could be seen grimacing while putting weight on the ankle but it probably isn’t season ending so we all should be relived.

It also should be noted that Danny carried on during the run of play, while injured, to make a crucial save to keep FCR in the lead when he could have easily fell to the floor. People use the term bravery far too often but it is warranted in the case of Danny this past week. What a warrior.

Danny C on one leg making a crucial save. In combat this type of valor is awarded with medals, but in football, it may go unnoticed. Not fair.

Let me add this narrative: The Yokohama FC fans were absolutely classless in their derision of Danny as he tried to continue on and assess the injury, yet, they were more than happy to cheer Ibba’s time wasting in extra time (for which the ref never added any extra time). I’ll remember this Yokohama. It will not be pleasant for you or your fans when you visit Okinawa in August, I promise you.

A master class in time wasting: 1 minute and 23 seconds of pure BS. Left to right clockwise. 1. Flops to floor. 2. Needs the stretcher. 3. Cheating is fun kids. 4. A Divine intervention has miraculously healed Ibba and he no longer needs the stretcher. 5. Total time wasted after walking off the pitch. 6. Coach thanks him for the courageous effort and somehow the injury that required a substitution has healed itself!

So back to the matter at hand. If you are like me and have played or watched sports for a majority of your life, then you’ll understand the next sentence. How many times have you seen a situation where a key player gets injured, cannot continue, and then suddenly the momentum shifts to the opposing side and they suddenly take control of the game? I had this sentiment as soon as Ishii stepped on the pitch for the injured Carvajal. I pleaded, to the television, that FC Ryukyu should also sub in an extra defender to provide some cover for the GK who was “hoping out of the frying pan and into the oven.”

They did not and Yokohama quickly took advantage of the situation and grabbed the lead from an Ibba brace. Ibba’s first was after a deflection from a Domigues shot and Ishii cannot really be blamed for this because he did well to get to the shot. Ibba’s second should be attributed to lazy, lackluster defending that saw Masutani getting overpowered by Ibba. I stated in the preview that if FCR could control Ibba then they would have a chance at victory. FCR did up to a point and then switched off. FCR really never threatened the Yokohama goal during the remaining 15 minutes and the match ended 2-1.

There was a glimmer of hope that the FCR would be awarded a Pk but the ref, incorrectly, failed to award the PK which would’ve changed the outcome of this match.

1. Referee is too far from play to see foul and does’t consult with assistant referee who clearly sees the foul. 2. Suzuki has the advantage. 3. Yokohoma defender steps in front, doesn’t touch the ball, impedes and upends Suzuki for a clear foul in the box. 4. Defender insinuates “no contact” despite the ball never changing direction or speed. Clear foul missed by another inept J2 officiating crew.

Match Takeaways

1. This point hurts the most. I said the X Factor was going to be Danny Carvajal and I was correct. Unfortunately, he was injured and the team simply collapsed after that to a 2-1 loss.

2. FC Ryukyu failed to start fast and they couldn’t grab the lead in the first half. Neither team looked interested in playing a football match this weakened and yet, Yokohama was just asking to be scored upon early. FCR came close but this is a game of inches (centimeters) and FCR has had no luck in that department lately. Hopefully this will change when it matters most but for now this side has been unlucky on the road and hasn’t caught any breaks.

3. Allowing Yokohama to quickly exploit Ishii shows immaturity on the part of the defense and coaching staff. Everyone on FCR should be held accountable for this. You knew Yokohama were going to do all they could to attack the Ryukyu goal with an inexperienced keeper and yet no one on the team did anything to prevent the inevitable. That is inexcusable and is grounds for a counseling by senior staff and management. 2 goals within 3 minutes of Danny’s substitution is amateur, and FC Ryukyu is not an amateur team. The defense went missing at a crucial time and left the GK exposed, as they’ve done too often this year to be honest, and they paid the price with 2 goals and a loss.

4. After reviewing the highlights several times, I think there is something there with Ishii. Either he makes routine saves look spectacular or he is spectacular. Time will tell, I guess, but we all could use some unexpected performances from our reserve keeper in these uncertain times.

TRANSLATION: ‘We executed my game plan flawlessly. We waited for an injury to a key player and a blatant no foul call to pounce on our opponents and earn a victory.” ” I had no idea how to defeat FC Ryukyu and wish to thank the Referees who allowed us to win this crucial match.”

Conclusion

FC Ryukyu move on to a brutal run of fixtures at less than 100%. I cannot sugar coat this in any way, if we grab 5 points from now until the end of July, FCR will have a chance to stay in the J2. It is about to get real ugly folks. A FC Ryukyu attack that lacks any venom and an injured Carvajal is a recipe for disaster so please prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

“Summertime Blues” Match Day 16 Preview: Yokohama F.C. vs. FC Ryukyu 6/2/2019

Match Day 16 Preview: (H) Yokohama F.C. vs. FC Ryukyu (A) at the NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium, 6/2/2019 Kickoff at 1400.

Weather Forecast: Cloudy all day with temperatures in the mid-70s all game (24C) with only a 5% chance of rain.

Interesting history about the club can be found at the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama_FC

FC Ryukyu are on the road this week traveling to Tokyo to take on Yokohama F.C. who currently sit 13^th in the J2 standings. FC Ryukyu are coming off a 2-1 win over Niigata this past weekend behind goals from Yu Tomidokoro and Shinya Uehara while Yokohama are reeling from a 2-1 road loss to Kofu. This is third time in as many matches that FC Ryukyu will play a side, that on paper, looks evenly matched with FC Ryukyu. This will be a tough test for FC Ryukyu as their away form has been quite poor this season and the side needs to start earning some positive results away from home quickly.

Yokohama F.C. 13^th in J2 with 18 points, 5W3D7L GF16 GA18 GD -2

Current Form: DLDWL Home Record, 2W3D2L, Home Scoring Record GF9 GA10 GD -1

Record Against Common Opponents of FC Ryukyu: 4W3D3L GF13 GA11 GD +2

Yokohama vs Top 11 in J2: 0W1D6L GF3 GA11 GD-8: vs Bottom 11: 5W2D1L GF13 GA7 GD+6

Typical Formation: 4-4-2

Yokohama F.C. seem to have settled on a starting 11 in the form of 4-4-2 after a brief trial of 3-4-3 against Zelvia a few weeks back. Yokohama have the ability to start two very tall FWs in Ibba and Toshima but are opting to bring Toshima on as a sub later in matches. Yokohama could also be dealing with an injury to one of their key Mid Fielders in Domingues as he hasn’t featured in any of Yokoahama’s last two matches as either a starter or reserve.

The first match I reviewed was against Kyoto where Yokohama were hammered 3-1 at home. The defending was woeful and the team looked sluggish in the match. It was this game that prompted a change in formation the following week against Zelvia but Yokohama were unable to achieve victory and had to settle for a draw, thanks in large part to a Zelvia own goal. Yokohama reverted back to a 4-4-2 the following week against Kagoshima and that lineup didn’t change against Kofu the next week.

Ibba really dominated the Kagoshima match as his two goals proved to be the difference on the day. Yokohama were unable to replicate that performance against Kagoshima the following week against Kofu where they were defeated 2-1. Ibba added his 6^th goal of the season but the Yokohama defense let the team down once again.

Yokohama F.C. Players to Watch

Left to Right: Ibba, Toshima & Domingues

#10 Ibba FW. This guy is a handful and is in good form right now having scored 3 goals in the past two matches. He has also added 2 assists this season. Ibba will definitely be a stiff test for the Ryukyu defense as he can use his height and power to his advantage over the smaller Ryukyu defenders. Ibba also moves really well in side the 18-yard box and creates space for him to get on the end of crosses.

#9 Akira Toshima FW. Second leading goal scorer for Yokohama and has one assist on the season. He is another tall striker that Yokohma could employ but he doesn’t move as well as Ibba.

#40 Domingues MF. He seemed to be one of Yokohama’s better playmakers but he may have picked up an injury a few weeks ago. If he plays, he will likely start down the right.

#11 Kazuyoshi Miura FW. How could we talk about Yokohama F.C. without mentioning the oldest player to have ever scored a professional goal and possibly the oldest player at any competitive level in the world. The 52-year-old hasn’t featured in a match since April 7^th but it would be a treat for those FCR fans who are traveling to Yokohama this week to see him play. Let’s hope he doesn’t score against us if he does play.

Expected Starting 11 for both sides this weekend.

FC Ryukyu: 9^th in J2 with 23 points, 6W5D4L GF21 GA17 GD+4

Current Form: DLWLW, Away Record 1W2D4L, Away Scoring Record GF7 GA10 GD -3

Record Against Common Opponents of Yokohama FC: 4W3D3L GF15 GA12 GD+3

FCR vs Bottom 11 in J2 4W2D3L GF13 GA10 GD+3: FCR vs Top 11 2W3D1L GF8 GA7 GD+1

Typical Formation: 4-2-3-1

FC Ryukyu’s recent road form has been poor the past 5 weeks. FCR has only earned one point in their last 5 road matches and that was way back in April against Tokyo Verdy when Uesato netted a late equalizer. During FC Ryukyu’s past 5 road matches they have also conceded 6 times, scored only twice and been shutout 3 times. These road games did not come against superior opponents mind you as FCR lost to Kagoshima and F.C. Gifu during that stretch, two teams that are at the bottom of the table. FC Ryukyu’s last road win was their first road game of the season way back on Match Day 2 against Omiya.

Now for some encouraging news. FC Ryukyu have won 2 of their last 3 matches and finally broke through to score two goals in a match, something they hadn’t done since Match Day 6 against Renofa. FC Ryukyu have also settled on a lineup that sees Kazama playing the CAM role with Komatsu dropping to a central mid field role. In that last match against Niigata, Tomidokoro netted his second goal of the season and his first from a set piece. This is very important for FCR as they were lacking creativity from set pieces and having Yu deliver quality shots and crosses from set pieces is vital to this team’s success. It was also encouraging to see FC Ryukyu bring on Uehara late the past two games to add a bit of veteran leadership and height to the attack.

FC Ryukyu do a have a positive record against teams in the bottom half of the table whereas Yokohama have been dreadful against those teams in the top half of the J2 table. Yokohama have a negative goal differential against top half teams (-8) and have only managed 1 draw in 7 matches. FCR on the other hand have earned 14 points with a positive goal scoring record of +3 in their 9 matches against bottom 11 teams. There is one major point that needs to be made with these statistics, FCRs losses against bottom half teams have all occurred on the road and they were against teams that were at the very bottom of the table at the time of those matches (Chiba, Kagoshima & Gifu). Ryukyu really needs to shake off their horrible road form of late and grab all 3 points against an inferior opponent before a very rough stretch of games in June and the packed schedule of July.

FC Ryukyu Keys to Victory

1.) Start fast and get out in front of Yokohama F.C. quickly. Yokohama have conceded the first goal of a match 11 times this season and 8 of those came in the first half of games. This is a staggering stat that indicates that Yokohama are slow starters and can be put to the sword early if FC Ryukyu can attack them with speed and crisp passes.

2.) Attack the back line of Yokohama FC. Yokohama’s defending has been awful the last few matches and they can be ripped apart at the back with good runs and passes. Yokohama suffer from the same lack of concentration affliction that FCR succumbs to from time to time and allows opponents to score. The Yokohama defenders will make poor decisions at the back by failing to marking runs by opposing players, misjudging crosses and clearing balls from their own end. FCR should press the Yokohama defenders when they have the ball and make quick passes within the 18-yard box to create space and shooting lanes for the attacking Ryukyu players. A quick pass back to the top of the box from Tokumoto, Nishioka or Suzuki to a waiting Yu, Tanaka or Kazama could produce some very nice results.

3.) Mark and isolate Ibba. As with all tall, powerful strikers I’ve written about in the past, Ibba will be a handful for the FCR defense tomorrow. Okazaki must mark him on all set pieces and if Masutani draws the short straw to mark Ibba, no pun intended, then he needs to use his quickness and low center of gravity to gain the positional advantage over Ibba. If both Ibba and Toshima are in the match at the same time then Nishioka may need to provide some support to Masutani. Ibba is in good form right now and by taking him out of the match you remove Yokohama’s best goal scoring option.

4.) Do not concede too many Free Kicks and Corner Kicks. I have stated on many occasions that a tall striker provides a very nice option in the attack because the player providing the service doesn’t need to be pinpoint accurate with his cross because the tall striker can rise above most defenders and get on the end of the pass. This is easier said than done as FCR concedes a lot of FKs and CKs during their matches. While CKs may be inevitable, cheap fouls around the Ryukyu 18-yard box need to be kept to a minimum to ensure Ibba doesn’t use his height against us. It should also be noted that Ibba can take a nice FK as well.

Match Prediction

I see both teams scoring and FC Ryukyu slightly edging out Yokohama F.C. 2-1 for their second road win of the season.

Conclusion

This will be a close, tense, back and forth match that will see both sides having good chances on net. The X factor is that FCR has one of the best, if not the best GK, in J2 this season in Danny Carvajal. If FCR can carry a 2-goal advantage into half time and prevent the bombardment of Carvajal’s net in the second half, then Ryukyu could walk away with all 3 points this weekend.

Victory over Yokohama is key for FCR as this is the 10^th time this season that they have faced an opponent in the bottom half of the table. With 4 matches against Kanazawa, Kyoto, Kofu and Nagasaki on the horizon, all of which are teams jockeying for position within the top 6 positions of the J2 table, these are 3 vital points for FCR this weekend. FCR certainly want to avoid starting a 5-game losing skid as points will be at a premium this month against much tougher opponents.

I hope we get an appearance from two former FC Ryukyu players in Park and Nakagawa on Sunday since Yokohama F Marinos wrapped up their J1 game this week with a 2-1 victory of Shonan last night and the Ryukyu match is right in their backyard. It would be great for them to say hi to the FC Ryukyu fans who attend the match and I am going to be slightly jealous of you all if they do make an appearance.

Good luck and Come on Lads!!!!!

Shell Shocked! Match Day 14 Recap: Fagiano Okayama 1-0 FC Ryukyu

It was an unfortunate turn of events for FC Ryukyu this past weekend at the City Light Stadium in Okayama. The hosts were able to secure all 3 points after a PK was awarded early in the second half and the boys from Okinawa could not respond. FC Ryukyu’s overall road record now sits at 1 win in 7 with only 2 draws. It seems a long time ago when that free scoring side of FCR was taking it to Omiya in match Day 2 and if FCR hopes to secure J2 football in 2020, the road results need to improve.

Okayama came out in their typical 4-4-2 with FC Ryukyu in a 4-2-3-1 formation. FC Ryukyu did see the return of Nishioka from injury and it was a welcome sign considering that our starting CB, Okazaki, would sit this match out due to suspension from his accumulation of yellow cards. The FCR reserves featured #21, Shinya Uehara FW, for the first time all season and I was certainly interested in seeing what the big man (186cm) could provide up front as well as in defense if needed.

The first half of the match started out exactly as I had predicted. FC Ryukyu came out on the front foot, controlled a majority of the possession and created the most opportunities on net. Unfortunately, FC Ryukyu were unable to take the lead on any of their chances. Ryukyu’s first chance at taking the lead came in the 10^th minute when Koji Suzuki nearly turned a cross into a goal but the outstretched arms of the diving Okayama keeper sent the shot wide. Then it was Okayama’s turn to create some chances and they had three great opportunities to take the lead but luckily, they couldn’t get past Carvajal. Ryukyu’s best chance came in the 39^th minute, again from Suzuki, who struck a ball first time on the volley but the shot was directly at the Okayama keeper from point blank range which meant he was able to parry it over the top of the net.

The second half began with a flurry of action after only 30 seconds from the Okayama side. I had also feared this would be the case in the match preview and Okayama nearly broke the deadlock in the first 2 minutes. They had 2 shots on net in the first 30 seconds requiring top quality saves from Carvajal to keep the score line 0-0. Not one minute later, Okayama had 3 shots on net with the last being saved from Carvajal and the following foul from Okayama on an FCR player was the only thing that slowed the onslaught on the Ryukyu net.

However, a break down at the back from Masutani, who failed to track the run of an Okayama player, resulted in a free run on goal for which Carvajal had to come out and make one of those challenges where it could result in a sending off and/or PK. The resulting Carvajal challenge upended the Okayama player and therefore they were awarded a PK. Lee stepped up and netted his 9^th J2 goal of the season thus moving him into a tie with Koji Suzuki as the top scorers in J2.

FC Ryukyu began to press for the game tying goal with their substitutes of Ochi, Uehara and Wada but they couldn’t find the back of the net to secure a draw. The closest FCR came to tying the match was a diving header by Tanaka that just went over the crossbar. Ryukyu were lucky to not have lost 2-0 since it was only the post that stopped a Okayama shot on net after Masutani failed yet again to track another run from an Okayama player. Truth be told, FC Ryukyu could’ve lost 3 or 4 to 0 if it wasn’t for the heroic efforts of Carvajal.

This has to go down as another lost opportunity for FC Ryukyu to secure vital points on the road. Both teams were evenly matched in this game, I think FC Ryukyu still has the better overall squad, but Okayama just outplayed them on the day. Again, I am baffled how this team responds to the level of competition they face each week and just hope they can start putting teams away when needed in order to avoid a relegation scrap at the end of the season.

Match Takeaways:

1. FC Ryukyu has failed to score multiple goals in a game for the 8^th time in a row and was shut out for the 3^rd time all season. I can deal with the fact that FC Ryukyu will be shut out from time to time but the fact that we haven’t scored more than one goal in any match since Renofa is just inexcusable. The players, the staff, the philosophy and formation of FC Ryukyu is designed for one sole purpose, attack. Well, the team can play some very nice passing football in their own half and just over the halfway line but they are having great difficulty in our opponent’s end. Rarely do I see any penetrating runs from the FCR outfield players into the box when we have possession and our attacking MFs just look confused on where to go with the ball. No one is moving and they simply look to get it wide to a fullback for a cross instead of trying to unlock teams with runs in and around the box. I don’t have many suggestions on how to fix this issue outside of training ground work and a possibly reshuffling the starting 11.

2. FC Ryukyu lacks creativity and conviction on corners and free kicks. FC Ryukyu once again attempted several short corners, none of which were remotely successful against Okayama. I get that maybe we are trying to draw out an extra defender thus leaving someone unmarked in the box with the short corner but we are not fooling teams with these set pieces. It is deflating as a fan to see your team win a corner only to throw away the opportunity with indecisive, poor crosses and passes. If FCR doesn’t have the height advantage on set pieces, then misdirection from headers on low crosses that can shift the ball quickly to the other side of goal maybe the solution. There is not much more I can add on free kicks other than teams rarely feel threatened from any of our set pieces. Yet again, another training ground issue.

3. We need to tighten up the central defense and quit allowing free runs on Carvajal. There have been way too many breakdowns at the back that have created several chances for the opposition. Carvajal has performed admirably on numerous occasions throughout the year in these situations and is why FCR sits 9^th in the table after match day 14 instead of 19th. The worrying trend is that FC Ryukyu loses concentration at key moments in the game and this results in an absolute barrage on net from our opponents. This past week is a perfect example. FCR came out sluggish in the second half and were shell shocked by the Okayama attack. Players were standing around hoping for someone to make a play and alleviate the pressure. That is simply not good enough at this level. Outside of the team working with a sports psychologist I am not sure how you improve the concentration levels of the team so they can begin seeing out tightly contested matches instead of shifting the momentum to the opposition.

FC Ryukyu is returning home to the friendly confines of the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium this Saturday to face a Niigata side who just lost at home to Ehime. FC Ryukyu desperately needs to secure the 3 points at home this weekend so let’s all get out there in full voice and cheer on the boys.

“The Fighting Pheasants” Match Day 14 Preview: Fagiano Okayama vs. FC Ryukyu

Match Day 14 Preview: (H) Fagiano Okayama vs. FC Ryukyu (A) at the City Light Stadium, Kickoff at 1700 5/19/2019.

Weather Forecast: Temperatures will be in the low to mid 70s with what looks to be rain early in the day and possibly continuing up to and through kickoff. Winds of 10-20 MPH are expected so this could be a very nasty, very messy match played out on a wet pitch. The rain is expected to end sometime in the early evening but I’d prepare for the worst and bring my wet weather attire for this game.

The match up this week features two evenly matched teams in Fagiano Okayama and FCR. Okayama return home after two weeks on the road that saw them lose both matches against Yamagata and Kyoto. FC Ryukyu on the other hand, are coming into the match having just handed Mito Hollyhock their first loss of the season which subsequently knocked them out of first place.

Fagiano Okayama: 12^th in J2 with 16 points 4W4D5L Current Form: DWDLL Typical Formation: 4-4-2

GF15 GA 16 = Goal Difference -1; Scored 11 goals at home while conceding 9 this season.

Home Record: 3W3D1L

Record against Common Opponents of FCR: (8 games) 2W2D4L

Fagiano where an interesting team to scout this week as I see a lot of similarities between them and FC Ryukyu. The teams are only separated by 4 points in the table, each has earned victories via shutouts only twice this year and they have both been kept off the score sheet only a handful of times. It would seem that this match will feature some scoring as each side scores and concedes plenty of goals.

In match day 10, Okayama was able to overcome a sluggish start and quick goal from a Vortis PK to win 2-1 behind goals from #9 Lee Yong Jae and #19 Hayato Nakama. Okayama nearly handed the match to Tokyo Verdy the following week when they gave up a late PK but Verdy were unable to convert the PK or follow on shot. Against one of the top seeds in J2 this year, Yamagata, Fagaiano conceded a first half goal but nearly pulled out the draw after #19 Nakama was able to win the ball back in the Yamagata end and send a cross to #9 Jae, whose header glanced off the crossbar. Fagainao’s last match against Kyoto saw them cede an early own goal to the hosts (though it wasn’t credited as such) followed by a very late goal in the 84^th minute that handed them a loss.

Okayama never looked out matched or outgunned in any of the 4 matches I reviewed for this preview. If anything, Fagaiano has started out a little sluggish only to come on later in matches and this is something that FC Ryukyu needs to exploit this week.

Okayama Players to Watch:

# 9 Lee Yong Jae FW. Leading Goal scorer on Okayama with 8 on the season, 6 in his past 6 matches and is the second leading scorer in J2 this year. Lee is a big, powerful forward that FC Ryukyu will struggle against. What separates Lee from other larger strikers in J2, like Jefferson Biaino from Yamagata and Olunga from Reysol, is his pace. His quickness was evident against Tokushima and when combined with his strength, makes Lee a formidable forward. Lee is also good at finding space in the defensive back lines of teams and can rise to meet crosses in the box. He is in top from right now coming into this match and FCR had better watch out.

#19 Hayato Nakama MF. Nakama is the second leading scorer on Okayama with 4 goals and one assist on the season. Together with Lee, these two represent 80% of the goals scored for Okayama on the year. Nakama is quite the playmaker with a very lethal left foot. In the four games I watched, he and Lee, are in synch with one another and seem to find the other often in the opponent’s end.

FC Ryukyu: 8^th in J2 with 20 points 5W5D3L Current Form: DLDLW Typical Formation: 4-2-3-1

GF 19 GA 15 Goal Difference of +4; FCR have scored 7 goals on the road and have conceded 9.

Away Record: 1W2D3L

Record Against Common Okayama Opponents: (8 games) 3W3D2L

FCR travel to the Okayama prefecture after having handed Mito Hollyhock their first loss of the season in a very tightly contested match. FCR were able to shut out an opponent for only the second time all season thanks in large part to the efforts by Danny Carvajal between the sticks. FCR scored early against Mito from an absolute bullet header from Koji Suzuki for his J2 league leading 9^th goal and he nearly doubled his tally shortly thereafter only to see his shot deflect over the top of the goal. Tokumoto nearly put the game out of reach late in the second half, which would’ve been a tremendous feat as Mito have yet to surrender multiple in goals in any game this year, but his shot hit the post and the resulting Tomidokoro rebound went high and wide. Nonetheless, FC Ryukyu earned a hard-fought win against the top team in J2 and secured that elusive 5^th win that has evaded FCR for the better part of 2 months.

FC Ryukyu will have some serious questions to answer this week after Okazaki picked up his fourth yellow card this year resulting in a one match ban. As I’ve mentioned on several occasions, the depth of the FCR back line is of great concern. Masutani has been forced to fill in the past 7 weeks at RB while Nishioka recovers from what I assume was an MCL, PCL or LCL sprain. I am not sure what FC Ryukyu’s plan will be for this week because we only have 3 healthy CBs, one of which is filling at RB, and haven’t tried any other player on the roster at RB in Nishioka’s absence. Does FCR slide Masutani back to his CB role and push #16 Arai into the RB slot, or, do they instead opt to start #30 Nishikawa at CB -who is always on the reserves for FCR matches – and keep Masutani at RB? These are tough questions for Higuchi to contemplate.

FC Ryukyu keys to victory:

1.) Stop the Okayama attack in the form of Lee and Nakama. Easier said than done in my mind. These two are wreaking havoc on the opposition as of late and in light of injuries and suspensions to the FCR back line, these two may prove fatal to FCR on the day. Nakama plays down the left which means he will run into either Masutani or Masutani’s replacement on Sunday. Nishiokoa was seen participating in warm ups last week but he had a large knee brace on. I doubt he is match fit and won’t be for another 2-3 weeks. I’d prefer that FCR start Masutani at RB as his speed should at least cover the quickness of Nakama. Nakama is a powerful player in his own right so Masutani must fight for positioning against Nakama at all times. I worry that so much of the FCR attack comes from our Right and Left Fullbacks that FCR could be severely punished on all counter attacks down the left.

As far as Lee is concerned, he must be marked on all set pieces. He can be seen taking some long runs into the box on set pieces to generate height and power for headers and FCR must get in the way of those runs. If you combine Lee’s ability to rise and meet headers with FCRs inability to defend set pieces, and now lack of height and experience at the back with Okazaki suspended, this seems like a recipe for disaster.

2.) Stretch the pitch laterally and pull the back line of the Okayama 4-4-2 apart. One of the easiest ways to create scoring opportunities against the 4-4-2 lineup is quick changes in direction. Tomidokoro, Tanaka and now Kazama up front need to be quickly passing it off down the flanks as this will create the mismatches in defensive coverage. From there, crosses into the box for Suzuki or over the central defenders to the other attacking Mid Fielders of Ryukyu should open up plenty of shooting lanes for the Ryukyu attack.

3.) FC Ryukyu need to start fast and get out to an early 2 goal lead. This will allow FCR to deal with the Okayama onslaught from Lee and Nakama and open up Fagiano for a 3^rd goal.

Match Prediction: Seeing how I am like 1-12 on the year so far with match predictions there really is no point in providing any educated guess. All I will say is that FCR could really benefit from their second road win of the season as the matches will get tougher from here on out for the boys from Okinawa. I like both teams to score and see this match ending 1-1.

For those of you staying in Okinawa to watch the match, please join me at the Arcade Resort Okinawa or Café Camp Nou (if it is open) to catch the game. Good Luck boys!

Match Day 12 Preview: FC Gifu vs. FC Ryukyu 5/5/2019

Match Day 12 Info: 5/5/2019 (H) FC Gifu vs FC Ryukyu (A) at the Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium, Kickoff at 1800

Weather Forecast: Temperatures will be in the low 70s/High 60s for most of the match. Looks like it will rain prior to kickoff but only a 25% chance of showers during the match. Winds will be at 6-7 mph so it should be a nice cool evening to watch the final match of week 12 in the J2 league.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. FCR is on the road, against an opponent at the bottom of the table who does not score a lot of goals and lacks confidence. I’ve said that at least twice this season in prior match day previews only to see FCR eek out a draw or lose. The situation is no different against FC Gifu. Gifu, like Ryukyu, are targeting this match up for 3 points. Gifu would like to get out from the bottom of the table and FC Ryukyu would like to get that elusive 5^th win and put an end to the tumble down the table they’ve been experiencing the past few weeks. Like @UeYuina and @becutechic in the cover photo, it’s all business this week for FCR.

FC Gifu: 22^nd in J2 with 9 points, 2W3D6L Goal Differential of -4, Current Form LLLLD

Typical formation: 4-3-3 as a diamond and then a more traditional 4-3-3 vs Tochigi this past week.

FC Gifu started the season with 2 wins and a draw in their first 4 matches but since then have only been able to muster 2 draws in their last 7 matches. During that same 7 game stretch, FC Gifu has only scored twice while conceding 13 goals. Gifu are an even split at home with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses and those results came in that very same order this season.

From what I’ve seen on the game film, FC Gifu is a team who is starting to play as if they have nothing to lose. FCR has seen this before against Kagoshima and that “backed into a corner mentality” has gotten the best of FC Ryukyu this season on several occasions. The FC Gifu draw against Tochigi, that came on a late goal, may be the spark that generates some confidence in Gifu and emboldens them to take it to Ryukyu on Sunday evening.

Players to Watch: #14 Koya Kazama. He is the Gifu leading scorer with 2 goals this season.

#10 Ryan de Vries FWD. A large forward that Okazaki and Fukui will have to deal with during the match.

#16 Yu Togashi FWD. How could he not make the list? Always enjoy seeing former FCR players, especially those from the tittle winning season, so let’s hope he out there tomorrow. Strangely, he hasn’t featured in over a month and I don’t know if it is due to injury or he is unable to break into the starting 11 or the reserves.

FC Ryukyu 7^th in J2 with 17 points, 4W5D2L Goal Difference of +4 Current Form LDDLD

Typical Formation: 4-2-3-1 but was a 4-1-4-1 this past week against Zelvia.

FCR has a chance to put some distance between themselves and the bottom of the table against an opponent in FC Gifu who has failed to fire the past few weeks. The match up against Gifu is the last “easy” match up for a while for FCR if you want to look at match ups based solely on the standings within the J2. However, we’ve seen time and time again this season, that when FCR plays what could be considered an inferior opponent, FCR seems to breathe life back into those squads and not achieve the expected winning result. This game sets up the same way so many have this season and I hope FCR can come out firing to an early lead.

FCRs last match up saw them score very early on from a nice cross into the box from Tomidokoro that found a surging Masutani, who was able to generate some serious power behind the header. At last! Well, at least that is what I thought. FCR had finally scored first again and I thought that the attack maybe firing again. As we all know, that wasn’t the case and FCR saw out a draw against Zelvia after Machida began dictating play and netted the late equalizer.

FCR Keys to Victory: 1.) Score first and Score Often. It goes without saying that it is highly likely FCR concedes a goal in this match up as they’ve only kept one clean sheet all season. Therefore, FCR needs to get going and get going fast against Gifu. FC Gifu can be put out of their misery with some quick consecutive goals and its high time that Suzuki gets back to his scoring ways.

2. Harass the Gifu back line. For whatever reason, FC Gifu’s defense seems to lose concentration at the back and can go missing at the worst times. FCR needs to be making solid runs through the channels in the Gifu defense in order to confuse and pull the Gifu defense apart. This will lead to some breakdowns in coverage and communication for Gifu and should see an FCR attacker alone and open on goal.

3. Weather the FC Gifu strong start and remain calm if Gifu do score first. This game could see FC Gifu coming out to a blazing start and that means that FCR will once again be under pressure and rely heavily on Danny Carvajal to bail out the defense. FCR must utilize its Right and Left Mid Fielders to cover the Right and Left backs who get so deeply involved in the FCR attack. Gifu’s formation suggests that they will try to punch a hole right through the center of the FCR defense but this would be a mistake. FCR is strong through the center but rather weak on the flanks, and even more so now that Masutani is playing RB due to the Nishioka injury.

4. Let Koizumi start over Ochi and Kawai. FCR needs to see more out of Koizumi and this match up would be the perfect coming out party to introduce himself to the J League. Kawai’s speed is likely going to be needed at the end of the match so let’s save him and Tanaka as late subs.

Match prediction: At the end of the day I see FCR dropping points on the road. This could be either a draw or a loss, but I feel that a loss is more likely as FCR seems unable to handle the “caged animal” mentality by those teams at the bottom of the J2 table.

Let’s hope the Bengara boys can go out there and grab that 5^th win and push their point tally a little closer to 42. The schedule is going to get a lot tougher for FCR in the coming months and this match up versus FC Gifu has to be treated as a must win for FCR.

Golden Week Special #1: Reinventing the FCR Attack!

Golden week special #1 will focus on the FC Ryukyu attack, or better yet, what has happened to the FC Ryukyu attack the past few weeks. We will examine some possible formation changes and see if FCR has the personnel to execute any of these proposals.

1. The FC Ryukyu 4-2-3-1.

You are probably accustomed to this formation now even though it has some of its pieces swapped out over the course of the first 11 games. The were only a couple of times this season when we got a glimpse of what could’ve been with this formation. The opening match against Avispa Fukuoka saw the lineup that Higuchi was hoping to run out each week. It featured the starting 11 above and cruised to 3-1 victory. Week 2 against Omiya saw the first change due to a Tomidokoro injury but no one really noticed as Nakagawa and Uejo were on fire that day. We’d eventually get Tomidokoro back into the lineup but not before Nakagawa departed for Yokohama F Marinos. All in all, we had 1, just 1 match this season with the original 11 starting lineup.

In subsequent weeks FCR had to find replacements due to a Nakagawa transfer,
injuries to Uejo, Nishioka and Tanaka and the short week match up against JEF that required some much-needed rest for some of the starters. Because of all these factors FCR has only scored 8 goals over the last 8 matches compared to the 9 they scored in the first 3 games of 2019. Higuchi promised to continue the attacking style of play that FCR was so famously known for when he took over this off season, well now he needs to find a way to restore it to its former glory.

The remainder of this article will focus on some of the well-known formations that exist in football as well as those that may not, and how FCR could employ them. A football team cannot simply change their formation at a moment’s notice and expect it to net results right away. This is due in large part to the facts that the manager usually has a preferred style and sets his team up to support that style in addition to having conducted so much on the training ground in the preferred formation. Keep in mind, this is the real world, not FIFA19, you cannot alter formations and starters and drop the difficulty settings to achieve the results you want. Instead, I am proposing that the club to take a hard look at the assets they have on hand, or could possess later, and really think about how to make the FCR attack lethal once more.

2. 3-4-3

Uesato would drop back slightly to support the back 3.

“Using a 3–4–3, the midfielders are expected to split their time between attacking and defending. Having only three dedicated defenders means that if the opposing team breaks through the midfield, they will have a greater chance to score than with a more conventional defensive configuration, such as 4–5–1 or 4–4–2. However, the three forwards allow for a greater concentration on attack. This formation is used by more offensive-minded teams.” Straight out of Wikipedia and sounds exactly like FCR. We rarely keep clean sheets so there should be little concern about conceding as it seems every team has been attacking our original 4-2-3-1.

I think FCR could set up with a back 3 of Fukui, Okazaki and Masutani. The MF would consist of Tokumoto on the left, Uesato slightly deeper as a holding MF, Uejo pushed slightly forward to control the attack and finally a player like Koizumi out wide to the right. Up front would see Tomidokoro, Suzuki and Tanaka. Tokumoto and Koizumi would bear the most responsibility when it comes to back tracking and assisting in defense but this seems logical as Tokumoto already plays in an RWB role in the current formation and Koizumi has not had a lot of playing time this season so his legs should be fresh. It is unrealistic to ask the skill players of Tanaka and Tomidokoro to take on the task that Tokumoto and Koizumi will play and Uejo has just become a full 90-minute match fit this past weekend. Since FCR conducts so much of their attack down the flanks anyways, we could run Tokumoto and Koizumi ragged for about 60-75 minutes before bringing on Kawaii, Nishioka or Ochi to keep the attack fresh. There are several variations to this formation that FCR could tinker with but I believe FCR should only bring a player like Kawai on later in matches so we can maximize his speed.

A more traditional 3-4-3 set up. Tanaka drops back to provide service to the attacking players. Koizumi comes in as RWB/RMF to provide a spark.

3. 3-3-2-2

I have not seen much out there on this set up so I am not sure of all the nuances for players responsibilities but from the small visual representation here, it seems FCR would have to be very careful with possession in order to prevent too many counter attacks. Also, this formation may already exist under a different numbering system but boy do I like the way it forces FCR to lean into the attack.

I believe FCR would need to start with the speedy players and then alter or change their set up later in the match. This formation seems to send the message that you want to get out in front quickly in order to build a lead and then continue pounding the net until the players are exhausted.

I think in this formation we’d ask our back line to hold their positions and for players like Kawai and Tokumoto to “pinch” into the Central Mid Field areas when defending.

4. 3-4-1-2

This formation may see Tomidokoro providing better crosses/passes into the 18-yard box.

“3–4–1–2 is a variant of 3–5–2 where the wingers are more withdrawn in favor of one of the central midfielders being pushed further up field into the “number 10” play maker position.” Wikipedia again with this quote.

The last two formations have seen FCR put an additional forward up front to provide some relief to Suzuki. There is no doubt he is outstanding at the holdup play but someone needs to be making dangerous runs into the box so Suzuki can start finding open space in which to operate. By dropping Tomidokoro a little bit farther back I think FCR gains a play-maker that can put some very dangerous crosses and passes into the box.

5. 3-2-3-2

If FCR wanted to get out on the front foot quickly.

In this set up FCR would sacrifice some of the speed required for defending in order to put maximum pressure on the opposing defense. We would deplete the energy levels of Uejo and Tokumoto rather quickly as they’d have so much to do when tracking back on defense but this puts all of the FCR play makers forward in the attack.

6. 3-1-4-2

Allow some space for Suzuki and Uejo to run into.

Assuming we could cover and prevent all counter attacks with a back 3 and Uesato over top, FCR could play to its strengths by attacking from the flanks. By dropping Suzuki and Uejo back slightly from the more forward wingers in Tomidokoro and Tanaka, we may see better service into the box for our attackers. As evidenced by this past weekend, when Tomidokoro has time to pick out players in the box he can deliver and this formation will push him and Tanaka slightly wider to provide a little more precise crosses to Suzuki and Uejo.

The other option would be to swap Suzuki and Uejo out wide to where Tomidokoro and Tanaka were at in the previous formation. We know how lethal Tomidokoro and Tanaka are and this may free up some space for Suzuki and Uejo to create some mismatches running laterally into the box.

Allow Suzuki and Uejo to attack the 18-yard box from the flanks.

7. 3-2-2-3

That;s a lot of firepower orientated forward.

FCR would be asking Kawai and Koizumi to track back on defense while allowing Tomidokoro to pick out the runs made by Tanaka, Uejo and Suzuki up front. Assumption would be that Uesato still provides top cover to the back 3 and doesn’t get sucked into the attack without recovering back on defense.

8. 2-1-4-3

End of the match and FCR need an equalizer or the all important winner.

This formation is probably best reserved for some serious last-ditch efforts on net instead of how you want to start the match. 5 attackers are really 7 with the support provided by Tokumoto and Kawai down the flanks. Those two would need fresh legs to support all the defensive back tracking requirements so again this is probably best left to the end of matches when chasing an equalizer or winner. With that said, there are 5 of the best FCR players up front who can score from anywhere.

It was great experimenting with some of the formations FCR could employ with their current squad and I want to leave you all with one more. This one requires a transfer fee to be paid, contract to be signed and for those funds to be available.

So please bear with me as we travel down this fantasy path.

9. Defending set pieces with a player that has serious height.

Joao Gabriel is an interesting player for SC Sagamihara. He has all the traits you look for in an outfield player but if we think bigger than that, we see a player that can help see out tough match ups as well as provide chances at equalizing games or winning them very late. Keep in mind, Gabriel is not a direct replacement for either Suzuki or Wada, rather, he is there to provide a certain skill set that FCR desperately requires. It is obvious a lot of our matches will come to last minute equalizers, winners and losing goals so this guy could either prevent or provide those required services.

Imagine what it would be like defending corners or set pieces late with Joao’s presence. Suzuki could drop back into a counter attacking position,and since he is one of our best finishers, he should be the one getting on the end of counter attacks instead of having to start all of them.

Nothing like a little height at the back that can feast on high crosses sand clear them out of danger.

10. Set pieces late in games with the same player.

Instead of having to be pinpoint accurate with all the crosses coming into the box, FCR just has to be in the “general area.” What I mean by that analogy is that there is a lot more forgiveness in the errors of the cross if it is too high or off target with a player of Joao’s height roaming the area. FCR could be more inclined to send crosses into the box at higher elevations vice trying to maneuver into the box and attempt one more pass that may prove to be one more pass too many and derails our attack.

Set piece delivery from Tomidokoro or Uesato, That front line looks menacing to defend with Joao’s height up there.

Could prove difficult for teams to defend late in games and gives FCR a chance to equalize or win late.

Again, this was enjoyable but I don’t know if any changes will occur down here in Okinawa to revitalize our attack. Until the next time, enjoy your Golden Week.