Montedio Yamagata

Intro

Ryukyu fell victim to two set pieces and suffered their first home loss of the season 2-0 to Montedio Yamagata in what could be the last home game where fans can attend for a month while Okinawa is in a state of emergency. The loss drops Ryukyu down to third but it is the visible cracks in the defense that is more concerning than the dropped points. Ryukyu are now level on points with former league leaders Albirex Niigata and head into one of the biggest games of the season in a bit of downward spiral.

Match Highlights
Man of the Match
Review of the Keys to Victory
Prediction
Talking Points
Round 15 in J2
Conclusion

1. Match Highlights

2. Man of the Match

Montedio Yamagata RB Riku Handa: That was a really nice goal he scored which ended up as the winner for Montedio Yamagata on Saturday.

3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Slow down Yamagata’s fast start. Likelihood 4. No! Yamagata scored early again and Ryukyu had no answer.

2. Stifle Ibuki Fujita. Likelihood 3. Yes, but he nearly scored late in the second half but sent the shot high over the bar from inside the 18-yard box.

3. Limit Yamagata’s set pieces in dangerous areas. Likelihood 3. Yes, as Yamagata had 4 FKs and 4 CKs, but Ryukyu’s Achilles heel this year has been defending set pieces as both Yamagata goals came from set pieces.

4. Prediction

Totally whiffed on this one when I predicted a 2-0 win for Ryukyu. Season Record 6-3-6.

5. Talking Points from Round 15

1. Defending of set pieces, scoring from set pieces. Ryukyu conceded their third goal inside of two games from a set piece this round. Yamagata’s opening goal saw a preponderance of the Ryukyu defenders get sucked into defending what they thought was going to be a cross into their defensive line only to see the pass find an undefended area wide open in the Ryukyu box. I am not sure who was at fault there as both Kiyotake and Numata were left staring at one another after the goal. Kiyotake crashed in trying to defend the cross and Numata was on an island all to himself. The second Yamagata goal was just a matter of who wanted it more as Hiroki Noda rose over top of both Chinen and Shimizu to bury the header, and Ryukyu.

Ryukyu had 14 corner kicks on Saturday night and converted none of them. Granted, scoring from a corner kick may already be a low probability, but you had 14 cracks at it and couldn’t even net an ugly goal in the process. Most of the Ryukyu corners couldn’t clear the first line of the Yamagata defense, but two of the Yamagata corners (50%) had no problem finding the back of the net.

Ryukyu have conceded four goals from set pieces, which is the most of any type of goal that can be conceded, and need to tighten this up heading into the next match. That may be a tall ask considering we could be without the services of Okazaki. Practice this week should focus on defending and converting set pieces as Niigata have scored 9 goals from set pieces, the most of any of their totals, as well as conceded four goals from set pieces, also the most of any of the goals they’ve conceded.

2. Possible injury to CB Ryohei Okazaki. Okazaki was subbed off just before the start of the second half for Lee Yong Jick and I highly doubt that was a tactical decision as he has played every single minute this year. Okazaki has come on strong this year and though there are times where he may stumble leading to a goal by the opposition, his play has been much better than years past. There has been no word from the club as of this writing if there was a significant injury to Okazaki that will require him to miss time but heading into the most important match of the season without one of our best defenders is certainly not ideal. Though Chinen may have had a rough day at the office, as well have from time to time when he got beaten on a nice step over but Taguchi made a fine save on the ensuing shot and was unable to clear the ball on Yamagata’s second goal, though we’ll really need his tenacity and skill with any prolonged absence to Okazaki.

3. Yamagata looked really dangerous on the counter attacks while Ryukyu struggled with the final pass on attacks. One of those counters led directly to the corner kick that they converted for their second goal while Ryukyu once again couldn’t find that last pass inside the 18-yard box. Ryukyu controlled a majority of the game and looked dangerous when heading towards goal, but passes were off the mark and headers following crosses sailed wide or were not strong enough to ask questions of the Yamagata keeper.

4. Speaking of absences, Abe was once again left off the roster. I thought that Abe may have just been granted a rest day the week prior against Tochigi as Ryukyu released photos this past week of Abe at practice, but he didn’t even make the reserves for this game. On a night when Ryukyu had 18 total shots, 8 of which were on target, only 3 really threatened the Yamagata goal as the offense was just flat and in need of a finisher like Abe.

5. The curious selection of the Ryukyu reserves continues. Akamine made way for Torikai and Ichimaru went as an unused substitute. I have a hard time believing that Torikai is better than Nakagawa, Ichimaru or Ramon for that matter, and now we are likely looking at a CB pairing of Chinen and Yong Jick which means that Fukui is likely to dress as the emergency central defender next week. I’d really like to know what is going on with Nakagawa these days with injuries piling up to go along with a dip in performances. With little to no information released from the club when it comes to injuries, there are many questions about players fitness levels heading into Niigata.

6. Ryukyu missed a great opportunity to accumulate points in their past three games. All three of Ryukyu’s opponents in rounds 13-15 were in the lower half of the table heading into those games yet Ryukyu managed just 4 points from a possible 9. I am not saying that Ryukyu could have earned all nine points, but even two more points would have put them level with Kyoto and two ahead of Niigata. Not surprising that the win one, draw one, lose one pattern coincides with Ryukyu’s worst defensive performance of the season where they conceded nearly the same number of goals in these past three games that they did in their first twelve games of 2021.

6. Round 15 in J2

Kyoto Sanga FC defeated Albirex Niigata 1-0 and have now jumped two spots into the lead. Niigata suffered only their second loss this season, but second in a row, and are level on points with Ryukyu who also lost this round. Jubilo Iwata and Ventforet Kofu both won thus cutting the lead between them and Niigata/Ryukyu to 4/5 points respectively. V-Varen Nagasaki and Montedio Yamagata were the big movers this week as their wins moved them up 6/7 slots and inside the top half of the table.

Round 15 is not yet completed as the (22) SC Sagamihara vs (21) Ehime FC takes on even greater importance as the winner could pull themselves out of the relegation zone for one week at least.

7. Conclusion

I guess we will have to wait a little longer to grab that first win ever over Montedio Yamagata. The only thing to do know is put this game in the rearview mirror, correct the mistakes that led Ryukyu down this path, and prepare for the single biggest game of the season to date. Both Ryukyu and Niigata head into this match coming off a loss, but Niigata are too good of a side to lose three games in a row and will look to take out their aggression on what could be a weakened Ryukyu side.

Intro

With each passing week the stakes get higher and higher for FC Ryukyu who are on a record setting pace. Since their loss to FC Machida Zelvia in round nine, FC Ryukyu have won three games and drawn twice. Montedio Yamagata enter the match having won three out of their last five games since changing managers and last week was the first win for Peter Cklamovski who fully took over the club prior to round 14.

Yamagata have been nearly perfect when facing Ryukyu as they’ve drawn twice (2019) and defeated Ryukyu twice (2020) with three games in which Yamagata scored three or more goals against Ryukyu. But Ryukyu have been one of the best defensive sides in J2 this year while Yamagata rank near the bottom of the league in terms of goals scored. Much like the SC Sagamihara match prior to Kyoto Sanga this year, FC Ryukyu cannot overlook their immediate opponent with such a massive game the following week and need to get the job done against a side that has been trending upwards the past few weeks.

Match Day 15 Preview FC Ryukyu versus Montedio Yamagata

Weather Forecast and Match Day Information
Previous Match Highlights
Team Previews
- FC Ryukyu
- Montedio Yamagata
Keys to Victory
Prediction
Round 15 in J2
Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast and Match Day Information from FC Ryukyu

Montedio Yamagata may not have brought a typhoon with them to Okinawa this year but the weather forecast looks dreadful for Saturday.

No away fans for this round either while Okinawa remains under heightened priority prevention measures. We are all holding our collective breath down here to see if Okinawa enters a full blown state of emergency which would mean playing behind closed doors, but it is probably warranted in these tough times.

Click>>> Match Day 15 Info from FC Ryukyu

2. Previous Match Highlights

FC Ryukyu 4-2 Tochigi SC

Montedio Yamagata 1-0 Ehime FC

3. Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: Last week Ryukyu released a statement that one of their top team players tested positive for COVID-19 and then Takuma Abe was left completely off the match day roster leaving some to speculate that he was either injured from the prior week, or was possibly the CV-19 player. Well, that has all been put to bed this week as FC Ryukyu released a photo of Abe at practice which is a great sign moving forward.

Shintaro Shimizu filled in admirably during Abe’s absence last week, netting a goal and coming close on another occasion, but it will be good to get Abe back in the lineup ahead of the game with Niigata. So far Higuchi has gotten the most out of both Shimizu and Koki Kiyotake as each has already exceeded, or at least matched, their goal tally from 2020. Both are on pace to have one of their best seasons and are a big reason why FC Ryukyu have enjoyed so much success to date. But there is a player who is knocking on the door and could force his way into the starting eleven sooner rather than later.

Shunsuke Motegi has accounted for three goals in just under forty minutes played this season. He is credited with two of those goals as one was an own goal that was already headed into the net but nevertheless, Motegi is looking more and more dangerous with each passing week. Much like Koizumi’s emergence last year, Motegi is becoming someone that Higuchi cannot afford to leave out of the lineup each week. Only twenty four years old, the future is looking bright for a player whose highest ever point total is eight from 2019, which he could easily smash this year if given the opportunity.

One player who has yet to register a goal this year is Koya Kazama, last year’s leading scorer for Ryukyu, though Koya has contributed five assists this year which is only two shy of his 2020 total of seven. Koya’s time will come and it is extremely encouraging to see that Ryukyu do not rely solely on one player to carry the team every week, it seems a different player steps up each week to carry Ryukyu forward.

As Ryukyu fans we may have grown accustomed to seeing this side score very early and then see games through to shutouts, Ryukyu have only recorded three shutouts in their last seven games compared to four in their first seven. The most recent stretch of seven games has also seen Ryukyu concede more than two goals in a game twice compared to none at the start of the season. Let’s hope we see Ryukyu get back to those strong defensive performances this week like we saw against Iwata, Kofu and Kyoto.

Montedio Yamagata: Since their managerial change last month, Yamagata have looked a different side. Recently they have a penchant for scoring early in games as four of the six goals they scored in their last five games all came within the first half. During their last five games Yamagata have won three times, drawn once, and lost once. They also played three teams that sit inside the top six during that stretch and own a far better away record than at home.

Montedio jumped out to an early lead against Jubilo Iwata and then hung on at the end to win 1-0. Iwata really dominated the second half as Yamagata was nowhere to be found, and should of at least equalized had they not missed a sitter, in a performance very indicative of Ryukyu versus Iwata on match day one. They then went on to defeat Thespakusatsu Gunma 2-1 before earning a 2-2 draw against Ventforet Kofu the following week.

Yamagata once again jumped out to an early lead against Kofu before the visitors pulled two back. But Yamagata equalized in the 96′ minute from Naoki Kuriyama who struck the ball while falling backwards and it ended up finding its way around the Kofu keeper. The joy of that late draw at home to Kofu was short lived however as Yamagata conceded an early goal to Kyoto Sanga the next match and couldn’t crack the Kyoto goal despite hitting the crossbar and post. Montedio Yamagata played really well in this game, didn’t look overmatched by the strength of Kyoto, and seem to be playing up to the level of their competition these days.

Montedio got back to winning ways the following game when they defeated Ehime 1-0 thanks to yet another early goal at home in a game in which both sides didn’t look particularly strong. Yamagata’s leading scorer is Vinicius Araujo who has two goals and assist to his name but their most dangerous player is Ibuki Fujita who came over from Matsumoto Yamaga FC in the winter. Yamagata have also waffled between who to start in net this year. Eisuke Fujishima regained his starting position over Victor the past three weeks but both keepers are nearly identical in every stat category with both achieving two shutouts. The only thing I saw in Victor was it seemed he was far more generous at giving up the rebound on shots compared Fujishima.

4. Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

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

1. Slow down Yamagata’s fast start. Likelihood 4. Yamagata are just a different side in the first half of games compared to their play in the second half. For the year they have scored 7 first half goals compared to just 4 in the second half of games. They’ve conceded 5 goals in the opening half of fixtures but have conceded 9 second half goals this year. If Ryukyu can enter halftime level or ahead, they have a good chance at seeing out all three points.

2. Stifle Ibuki Fujita. Likelihood 3. Ibuki is by far Yamagata’s most creative player and moves well in and around the box setting up his teammates or scoring goals. He sits just behind the forwards in Yamagata’s 4-4-2 which means it comes down to Uesato and either Koki or Yu to keep track of his movements, which shouldn’t be to hard considering Ibuki has the best combover in all of J2.

3. Limit Yamagata’s set pieces in dangerous areas. Likelihood 3. Most of Yamagata’s goals stem from set pieces so Ryukyu cannot afford to be committing fouls near our box during Yamagata’s fast start. Bringing Yong Jick in the second half to add some height to the defense is probably not a bad idea either.

5. Prediction

I don’t think we are going to witness another goal scoring bonanza against a team lower than Ryukyu in the standings as Yamagata have only conceded 14 goals this season and play much better away from home. However, a 2-0 home win for Ryukyu feels right. Season Record 6-3-5.

6. Round 15 in J2

Due to some teams having to play their opening round of this years Emperors Cup, round 15 is spread across 8 days. (7) Blaublitz Akita kicked off the round with a 1-1 draw to (10) Renofa Yamaguchi thanks to a late equalizer. (20) SC Sagamihara will host (19) Ehime FC on Thursday May 27th to close out this round. But let’s be honest, there is one game on everyone’s mind this week.

The game on every neutral’s radar is the top of the table clash between (1) Albirex Niigata versus (3) Kyoto Sanga FC who are separated by only one point. Albirex are coming off their first loss of the season while Kyoto Sanga are unbeaten over their last nine games. There are two other fixtures that feature teams within the top half of the table this round as (8) FC Mito Hollyhock face (5) Ventforet Kofu, and (9) JEF United Chiba host (6) FC Machida Zelvia.

The free J-League International YouTube broadcast this round will feature (17) Tochigi SC at home to (12) Matsumoto Yamaga FC.

7. Conclusion

Montedio Yamagata are another team that FC Ryukyu have failed to defeat during their time together in the J2. This game represents more than just another step in the ladder that Ryukyu need to take to reach the summit of J2, it is another dragon they need to slay along the way. It isn’t always pretty overcoming these mental hurdles, but it is vital to their success. Simply put, Ryukyu need to win on Saturday to shift all the pressure to Albirex Niigata and Kyoto Sanga the following day.

Tag: Montedio Yamagata

Match Day 15 Report: (3) FC Ryukyu vs (8) Montedio Yamagata #FC琉球

Match Day 15 Preview: (2) FC Ryukyu vs (15) Montedio Yamagata 5/22/21 #FC琉球