Tag: Noda

(6) FC Ryukyu vs (18) Fukushima United FC #FC琉球

Intro

Apparently I didn’t see the full picture last week when I mistakenly thought that the half step back that Ryukyu took at Imabari was actually just the beginning of a full on slip into a fall backwards for the club. FC Ryukyu lost 0-1 at home on Sunday to Fukushima United FC after putting in a less than inspired performance in what was a very winnable game. We can clearly see that the battle for promotion in J3 will be a dogged fight all season where FC Ryukyu must take advantage of teams in poor runs of form or risk finding themselves on the outside looking in come the end of the season.

Match Highlights

Talking Points

1. The Lineup: We finally saw the return of Koki Kiyotake to the lineup but at the expense of Mu Kanazaki being dropped. As always, no idea if that was a tactical decision or due to injury since there is so little information regarding the health of any of our players. FC Ryukyu dressed five of our college recruits along with 18-year old Tsusha last night. That doesn’t feel like they’re putting out the strongest lineup rather just what is available. The missing in action list as it currently stands following Match Day 4 for FC Ryukyu: Sulley, Kelvin, Kanazaki, Hitomi, Shirai, Yanagi, and Nakano (5/8 forwards on the roster are out or missing).

2. The Match: FC Ryukyu looked lethargic and fresh out of ideas when trying to breakdown Fukushima. They really lost this game in the middle third of the pitch with the amount of turnovers and sloppy play, especially from our two central midfielders. Ryukyu dodged an early bullet on a Fukushima breakaway that Taguchi managed to save, and with the subsequent rebound shot going wide, but were not so lucky a bit later on. More on that subject later.

Ryukyu eventually came to life in the waning moments of the match after the introduction of Kiyotake who had an open header go right at the Fukushima GK and another shot hit the post. But to be honest there wasn’t any significant adjustments by Kuranuki at the half that contributed to anything positive for Ryukyu. One could argue that any adjustments that Kuranuki did make at halftime benefited Fukushima more than Ryukyu as our opponents nearly doubled their lead on several occasions after the break while looking dangerous and with their tails up. Points dropped at home to a team on the slide isn’t a ringing endorsement for Kuranuki and one that will put him under the microscope a little more than he had hoped this early on. But knowing the club’s track record for instituting change, this will need to be a regular occurrence that can no longer be brushed off before it is addressed.

FC Ryukyu are not generating any offense, nor anything close to quantity and quality shots on net. Ryukyu seem to rely solely on the idea of one of their fullbacks bombing a ball forward in the hopes a forward player can run onto the end of it. Is this how the offense is supposed to flow? Strictly through our fullbacks sending in “prayer balls?” Just look at the amount of passes that were intercepted, turned over, or went out of bounds this game when attempting to break Fukushima’s press. A tactic that many of our opponents can easily employ against us, and one that will continue for the foreseeable future until Ryukyu figure out a way to turn large amounts of possession into goals.

3. Ryunosuke Noda: Didn’t really have much of an impact on this match outside of his angling to get an early send off with some of his ill-timed challenges. The worst being the cross on net when Noda rose for a header but opted to send the Fukushima goalie into the post instead. Indeed a card worthy infraction and Noda’s last contribution to the match for Ryukyu. I can understand the frustration some of our forward players may feel having little support or involvement in games but clearer heads need to prevail when times are rough so as not to put Ryukyu up against it for unnecessary reasons. Have to back up one’s persona with results or else it just looks comical.

4. The Taguchi Special: Junto getting his own section in this recap has become a regular occurrence, but for all the wrong reasons. For the third consecutive week Taguchi put FC Ryukyu in an early hole, one which they couldn’t recover from this time. Taguchi spilled a shot, having failed to corral it, right into a dangerous area that resulted in some panicky defending by Ryukyu, and of course during that fracas the ball found a Fukushima attacker. An ugly goal by every account but one that Fukushima desperately needed and one that Taguchi desperately couldn’t afford. With the indictments on Taguchi’s play increasing each week one has to wonder when, not if, Kuranuki will make the change at GK?

Round 4 in J3

Ryukyu missed a golden opportunity to move into sole position of first place as all the other fixtures had concluded at the time of their kickoff. Instead Ryukyu find themselves in 6th place trailing the teams above them by a single point. (3) Iwate Grulla Morioka required a late PK to muster a draw against (15) Azul Claro Numazu at home and (1) Matsumoto Yamaga FC surrendered a late goal to (16) Tegevajaro Miyazaki also resulting in a draw. (2) FC Imabari once again scored deep into a match but this time the goal resulted in a win over (14) Giravanz Kitakyushu. (8) Vanraure Hachinohe took the most direct route to goal from a single pass from their GK and deposited a blast from close range into the (12) FC Gifu net for their win.

Three of the more exciting fixtures this round all ended in a tie. (5) Kataller Toyama and (13) AC Nagano Parceiro finished 3-3 after Nagano jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second half and looked primed to push that lead to 4-1 when they lined up for a PK. But that is where things went sideways for Nagano as they missed the PK and then conceded two goals within four minutes near the end of the match. (4) Gainare Tottori scored two second half goals just 7 minutes apart and looked in total control of the game until (9) Kamatamare Sanuki scored twice inside five minutes at the very end. Finally, (20) Y.S.C.C. nearly notched their first win of 2023 before an own goal from a set piece ended their match with (11) Nara Club in a 2-2 draw.

Conclusion

No one was under the impression that FC Ryukyu were going to go undefeated all season, or even undefeated at home. But since the slider scale for how some view the club hasn’t moved all the way back to the side of ‘feeling good about the team,’ a performance like this will just engender more frustration from the fans. The only good news is the loss this week isn’t considered fatal at this point in the season and Ryukyu can recover from a minor setback with many other results in the league going in their favor this week. It is back to work for the club with an eye on grabbing some points at FC Gifu next Saturday.

MD 2 Report: FC Ryukyu vs Iwate Grulla Morioka #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu moved into second place in the standings following a come from behind 2-1 victory over Iwate on Saturday night. It was a complete reversal from the last time these two teams played in Okinawa, almost exactly one year ago, with Iwate drawing first blood in the 25th minute followed by two second half goals from Ryukyu. Both Takezawa (48th minute) and Noda (81st minute) attempted to rip the stitching out of the net with both shots from close range finding their way into the top of the goal. This was a good, if not important, win for Ryukyu despite the season having just started as it marks the first time this season that Ryukyu have won back to back games, a feat they only managed to achieve once last year.

Highlights

Talking Points

1. Another plot twist for the Ryukyu lineup. We knew we were going to be without Mu Kaznazki due to suspension but Kelvin was surprisingly dropped from the team altogether. Noda returned from injury to make the bench and possibly due to the lack of forwards, Kuranuki shifted from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1. That seemed to work well for Ryukyu as there were not as many wayward passes and turnovers that plagued their first match with Hachinohe with the central defensive midfield pairing of Morita and Kagiyama really standing out. Two of our collegiate signings also made their debuts with Ryota Araki taking over for Nakano at Right Midfield and Shusei Yamauchi coming on for a brief substitute appearance. Araki also notched his first point of the season with an assist on the Takezawa goal.

2. Ryukyu dressed a lot of defensive players this match and is that because Kuranuki had a certain game plan in mind to blunt the Iwate attack or are we dealing with more injuries than we previously thought? I do not know but if Kuranuki wasn’t forced into shifting the lineup due to injury and more of a concerted effort, that is the type of progress you love to see. It is still to early to tell about Kuranuki, and since we’ll probably not get many injury updates anytime soon, let’s just assume it is a mix of both.

3. Are Ryukyu that good? Is Hachinohe better than expected? Is Ehime really that bad? I have no idea. Iwate looked like a different side in this game compared to their performance at Ehime. Same goes for Ryukyu after their opening match. Iwate didn’t dictate the run of play as they did against Ehime, Ryukyu did, and though my fear of Iwate pounding us on set pieces – which was confirmed while watching Iwate train the day prior in Okinawa – that never really came to fruition. Iwate had four corner kicks and a few free kicks but Ryukyu were able to snuff those out. The lone goal from Iwate came from open play and it looked like Taguchi was sitting a little to far back to deal with the shot. A shot that Dany saves every time.

Round 2 in J3

The much anticipated match between Kagoshima and Imabari ended in a draw following a flurry activity late that also included an own goal by Imabari on the very last play of the game. Continuing the trend of some late game drama was the match between Ehime and Nagano with Ehime equalizing late on after a series of rebounds and deflections. Tottori dispatched Y.S.C.C. after falling behind early and have moved into the pole position in the table while Toyama drops out of the top having lost to Numazu. Nara club notched their first point of the season while FC Osaka took all three points from Miyazaki on the road.

Conclusion

It felt really good to see Ryukyu win back to back home games for the first time since match days 18 and 20 of 2021. We are only two games into the season with a massive test next week at Imabari, but another fast start by this club (in an odd number year) would really set Ryukyu up for success. Especially considering the amount of players that haven’t featured this year, and who we think, will have an even greater impact in this league.

(21) Omiya Ardija vs (20) FC Ryukyu #FC琉球

Intro

Let’s get it on! Ryukyu play their second match against a team near the bottom of the table this month and it a massive 6-pointer with Omiya Ardija. FC Ryukyu have only lost once in their last six (6) games while riding a three (3) game unbeaten streak. Omiya have failed to win in their last four (4) games while suffering consecutive defeats to Iwate and Sendai the past week. These are the type of games that Ryukyu need to win and neither side wants to leave this match without all three (3) points. The match might not have the shine of the games between teams at the top of the table, but it will have its own type of fireworks for us to enjoy.

Weather Forecast & Match Day Info

Cool and breezy with the slightest chances of rain. But then again, I’ve been wrong before.

Click>>>> Match Day 18 Information from Omiya Ardija

Team Previews

Omiya Ardija: Omiya have been inside the relegation zone around the same amount of time as Ryukyu. They didn’t earn their first win of 2022 until Match Day 9, then experienced a bit of bump in performance when they went four (4) games undefeated (2 wins and 2 draws), before losing two (2) games in a row. Omiya has also been hit hard by the injury bug this year as they’ve lost both of their top two goalies in Yuta Minami (Achilles Tendon Rupture) and Tomoki Ueda (Patellar Tendon Rupture) for the season, and most recently FWD Seiya Nakano (hamstring). This has thrust Ko Shimura, on loan from Giravanz Kitakyushu, into the starting role where he has already conceded five (5) goals in two games.

Omiya won once, drew twice, and lost twice in their last five (5) matches. The 2-1 victory at Zweigen Kanazawa pulled Omiya out of the relegation zone for the first time since Match Day 4, which was further aided by the draws the following rounds at Tochigi and Nagasaki, but found themselves in familiar territory once again with consecutive home losses to fellow relegation team Iwate and most recently Sendai. The Iwate match was a rescheduled game due to CV-19 in which Omiya actually played three (3) consecutive matches on the road prior to Iwate and Sendai followed by what will now be three (3) consecutive home matches ending with Ryukyu.

The schedule doesn’t get much easier for Omiya moving forward as they will play Tokyo Verdy after the Ryukyu match and then play their sixth game in under three (3) weeks when they travel to Okinawa to play FC Ryukyu again, but this time for the Emperors Cup. The cup competition could be a major distraction for both sides who are trying to battle their way to safety while dealing with major injuries at the moment.

Omiya’s top three point leaders this year are: FWD Atsushi Kawata (6 goal & 1 assist), MF Shinya Yajima (3 goals & 1 assist), and MF Masaya Shibayama (5 assists). But none of these players have seen the score sheet since Match Day 13. Similarly, Ryukyu are likely to be without their top scorer in Kusano which may even things out a bit for the two teams tomorrow night.

FC Ryukyu: Ryukyu are in the midst of their best stretch of results this season. Two (2) wins and one (1) draw in their last three games has resulted in Ryukyu finally moving off the bottom of the table, albeit on goal differential, but a mentally significant point nonetheless. This is a hugely important match for Ryukyu right now and unfortunately they’re likely going into this match at less than 100%. Yuki Kusano, FC Ryukyu’s leading goal scorer, was subbed off with an injury to his left knee last match and with such a quick turn around between fixtures, it is unlikely that he features for Ryukyu in the midweek.

That means the combination of Shinya Uehara and Ryunosuke Noda will lead the Ryukyu attack. Ryukyu are also unlikely to see the return of Takuma Abe (now going on eleven matches since he last featured, and still no word on his status) and Ryohei Okazaki. This probably means we will see Takuya Hitomi in a reserve role at forward with Keigo Numata returning to play CB alongside Lee Yong Jick. Ryukyu really need the offense to show up tomorrow, and more importantly, have it driven through Kiyotake and Ikeda with Kusano out. Uehara and Noda seem to be a like-for-like with each other’s playing style but I’d give the slight advantage to Uehara in the aerial department, with Noda being slightly better with the ball at his feet. Either is capable of putting it in the back of the net so long as we can provide the service to them.

It is a whole other story on the defensive side of the ball for Ryukyu as the preferred deployment of Numata over Omori at CB must be based on the need for a veteran presence along side Yong Jick and not one based solely on skill. Numata faired decently in his CB debut, and will need to do so again if Ryukyu are to grab all three points, in addition to Yong Jick going the full distance on Wednesday night. Yong Jick’s play has improved the past three weeks and we need to find a capable defensive partner for him in the absence of Okazaki.

I cannot emphasize the importance of this game enough for Ryukyu. A win would provide a three (3) point cushion over Omiya, and with Iwate playing Yokohama FC, a win could provide a three (3) point cushion from the relegation zone. Ryukyu won’t catch Tochigi, even if Tochigi lose, but it brings them just a little closer to possibly dragging Tochigi down the table. It has to be three (3) points for Ryukyu on Wednesday night.

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. Win the set piece battle. Likelihood 2. Omiya seems very capable in attacking set pieces, particularly corner kicks, but struggles at defending those same type of set pieces. Ryukyu don’t really earn, or capitalize, on set pieces (CKs) but this one area could make all the difference tomorrow.

Kinain’ Ya Around

In what could be Kazuki Kuranuki’s last game in charge of Ryukyu before Kina returns, Ryukyu need one more positive result inside this brief, temporary, “new boy bounce.” So far the results have been good under Kuranuki as some of things that plagued Kina’s coaching style this season – specifically opponents easily adjusting to the Ryukyu game plan mid game and Ryukyu failing to make subsequent adjustments – have largely gone away the last two weeks. Ryukyu played within themselves last week against a strong Kofu side despite having little offensive production. They seemed content on taking what was given to them by Kofu, parked the bus a little bit after taking the lead, and nearly pulled off the unthinkable. Ryukyu will need a similar type of performance this match if we wish to leave Saitama with all the points. And I think Kuranuki is up to the task.

Round 18 in J2

League Leaders (1) Vegalta Sendai headline this round’s matchups when they welcome in (6) Fagiano Okayama. But since Ryukyu are squarely inside the relegation battle, I will focus on the games for teams near Ryukyu in the standings. (22) Iwate Grulla Morioka host (3) Yokohama FC in what should be a very tough matchup for the hosts, and one in which we’d (Ryukyu fans, and Omiya fans) like to see YFC win. This only adds fuel to the fire for the Omiya/Ryukyu game as the winner could potentially move ahead of the bottom two sides. (19) Tochigi SC will face (4) FC Machida Zelvia at home in another tough matchup for a bottom four side. Tochigi surprised everybody last week with their win over Vortis but a slip up here, coupled with wins for any of the bottom three teams, would pull Tochigi further into the relegation scrap.

It maybe a bit premature to look at the games concerning JEF United Chiba as they are six (6) points ahead of the chasing pack but they do have a difficult draw at (7) V-Varen Nagasaki this round. The free broadcast on the J-League International YouTube channel will once again feature (11) Tokyo Verdy this time hosting (17) Zweigen Kanazawa in a game that some of the fans from the bottom four teams will at least monitor the score tomorrow evening. Verdy went undefeated to open the season but have only managed a single (1) win in their last nine (9) matches. This game is quickly shaping up to be one of two evenly matched teams, not on paper but based on recent performances, squaring off for the international audience. Click>>>> J.League Int’l YouTube Channel.

Conclusion

Got to have it on Wednesday. Nothing more needs to be said.

FC Ryukyu vs Ventforet Kofu #FC琉球

Intro

Ryukyu almost did the unthinkable on Saturday night when they were just four minutes from winning their third game in a row. The game was largely controlled by Kofu and it is just unfortunate that Shinya Uehara’s beautiful 71st minute header was nullified by a 90th minute goal from Kofu ending the game in a draw and pushing Ryukyu’s record to 0-2-6 following a run of two wins in a row. But, Ryukyu were able to grab a crucial point when others around them dropped points this weekend. The draw pushes Ryukyu out of the relegation zone, based on goal differential over Omiya and Iwate, for the first time since Match Day 5.

Match Highlights

Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

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

1. Take the game to Kofu. Likelihood 3. No. Ryukyu may have come close to splitting the overall possession with Kofu, but a preponderance of that possession was in our own end. Ryukyu created three (3) goal scoring chances this match with the goal being the lone shot on net.

2. Someone steps up in central defense. Likelihood 2. Almost. Yong Jick was having a decent game, with some mental errors/turnovers mixed in, but once he came off for Omori, Kofu scored their goal.

Takeaways from Match Day 17

1. Kusano’s injury. This one could be catastrophic for FC Ryukyu. Ren Ikeda collided with Kusano in the 40th minute after going for a contested ball and being slightly tripped up by the Kofu defender. Ikeda fell directly into Kusano’s left knee, bending it inward, and immediately dropping Kusano to ground. Kusano was seen grabbing his knee and the Ryukyu trainer was performing the initial assessment to see if a ligament (ACL) was snapped. While Kusano was not writhing in pain, he was not able to carry on. Hopefully it is something minor, but I am not a doctor, and if it season ending, or even a 2-3 month recovery time, Ryukyu are in big trouble. Uehara stepped up later for a goal, and thankfully Noda has returned to the lineup, but are we sure that either one of those players can lead the Ryukyu line like Kusano? I don’t know and it would help to see Abe return as that only leaves Hitomi, Vinicius, Paso (who we haven’t seen in months) and possible Kelvin – if he signs with Ryukyu – at the forward position. Goal scorers like Kusano just don’t grow on trees and would be nearly impossible to replace in the summer transfer window.

2. May have felt dejected we didn’t see out the win, but have to be happy with the result. Kofu had several opportunities, with quality looks on net, that went narrowly wide. Ryukyu dodged a serious bullet following a Numata foul at the top of the box and then having the Kofu shot taker put it just inches high over the bar. Ryukyu didn’t really offer much in the attacking department on Saturday but played well enough in defense to avoid conceding more than just one. The upsetting part of the Kofu equalizer was, unlike their earlier attempts, the Kofu goal scorer was unmarked and all alone inside our 18-yard box while some Ryukyu defenders were wildly chasing the ball. I do not know who blew their responsibility for marking that man but that has been the typical mental breakdown Ryukyu suffer through this season that drastically change outcomes of their games. The Kofu match marks the sixth time this season where Ryukyu have lost the lead and ended the games in either a loss or a draw (0-3-3).

3. Lineup choices. We were wondering who would start at CB for Ryukyu after the Okazaki injury last week. Well, it turned out to be LB Keigo Numata. That is an interesting choice considering Omori is fit enough to dress, and come off the bench, as a natural CB. I am not sure of the reasoning behind this choice and it seemed to work up until we took Yong Jick off late in the second half. It seems Ryukyu only have two (2) healthy CBs at the moment and choose to start just one (1) in their 4-4-2 lineup. Sure would be nice to know the status of some of other central defenders on the roster as well as see Ryukyu make a move for a central defender in the summer transfer window. I cannot see Numata being the long term solution to our central defender injury crisis.

4. The ‘new boy bounce’ is helping. Kina missed his second game in a row due to CV-19 and Ryukyu earned a point and our now in the midst of a three game unbeaten run. It would be great to see Kuranuki lead the team in a few days at Omiya in what is going to be a crucial 6-point match up in the relegation battle. If we can get one more game out of Kuranuki, with all three points, it would release some of the pressure on the team before a run of six difficult matches in a row.

Round 17 in J2

Albirex Niigata ran rampant over Yokohama FC this week and moved into second place. Blaublitz Akita roared back from three goals down to draw with Tokyo Verdy at home. League leaders Vegalta Sendai defeated Omiya Ardija 4-2 for a result that helps Ryukyu. Though the end of this match was marred with some scuffles between each teams fans. Another result that helped Ryukyu was the 3-0 defeat of Iwate by FC Mito Hollyhock. One result that didn’t help Ryukyu was the shocking win by Tochigi on the road at Tokushima Vortis that snapped their winless run at nine (9) games.

Conclusion

It doesn’t get much bigger for Ryukyu this year when they travel to Omiya on Wednesday. But I’ll leave that for the Match Preview tomorrow. For now, some fan photos from Round 17.

(16) FC Ryukyu vs (22) FC Mito Hollyhock #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu are fresh off their first win of the season and looking to double that win total when last placed FC Mito Hollyhock travel to Okinawa on Saturday. Ryukyu had to battle back twice from deficits at Renofa Yamaguchi last week but hopefully that performance has calmed some nerves of the fans as well as steeled the reserve of the Ryukyu players. Mito enter the match in the midst of a four game winless streak which makes this a bit of a trap game for Ryukyu who may be feeling their oats after their last win.

Weather Forecast & Match Day Info

The forecast calls for partly covered skies with little chance of rain. That is banking on the fact that a pretty nasty storm front clears out on Friday. We all know how weather works down here in Okinawa so prepare for the worst and enjoy better conditions if they should occur. Or just drink more to forget about how terrible the weather (hopefully not the match) actually is while you’re standing outside.

Click>>>> Match Day 05 Information from FC Ryukyu

Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: That first win should provide a little sense of relief, as well as some boost in confidence, for Ryukyu heading into match day 5. We all wanted to see a Ryukyu performance indicative of their first game last Saturday, obviously not the previous two rounds, and we got just that last week. Now it is time to build on that momentum from the Renofa match and notch another win in what could be Ryukyu’s first home victory of the season.

Last week it was the ‘old guard’ of FC Ryukyu that pulled them through so perhaps we need a bit more of that this game. Abe’s goal from a corner was spectacular; Kiyotake’s header looked accidental (but we’ll take it); and Ryunosuke Noda’s first goal in over a year and half was a well taken shot from a breakaway. Speaking of Kiyotake, he had an interesting game last week in that he scored the equalizer, assisted on the winner, but was a bit off the mark for parts of the match. He nearly allowed Renofa to take control of the game when he sent a misguided pass directly across the top of the Ryukyu box and onto the foot of a Renofa attacker. Luckily Taguchi was up to the task and parried it away from danger thus keeping the one goal deficit in tact.

Heading into this matchup it is anyone’s guess as to who Kina will start as Ryukyu have been pretty consistent on rotating players in and out of the starting eleven all season. Ikeda returned last week from a one week absence, Yu Tomidokoro seems to have secured one of the starting CM roles over Kazuto Takezawa, Abe and Kiyotake both started, Yuki Omoto made his first start at RB, and Rio Omori has gone missing the past two weeks thus allowing Yong-Jick a return to the bench. It is great to have all these options but it likely leaves the side a little unsettled. Perhaps Kina is deploying a strategy of forcing players to earn the starting role each week compared to that of his predecessor who based it solely on name brand recognition, which is a good thing. What isn’t a good thing is needing the offense to get going and shifting many players around who cannot get into any sort of rhythm. I guess we’ll see this week.

Hopefully we see a return of Keita Tanaka at RB this match as he was seen at practice throughout the week but there is no telling how is rehabilitation from last season’s injury is progressing, or if he is ready to go. If he does play, I would expect a limited appearance until he gets back up to match fitness. One player that Ryukyu will definitely be without for the extended future is Sittichok Paso who will be joining the U-23 Thailand national team for the Dubai Cup in the U.A.E. Personally, I think Ryukyu are wasting a great opportunity to capitalize on having a Thai player in the squad when it comes to marketing and actual playing time. We need to find a better way to incorporate him or else we shouldn’t be wasting his, or our, time by rostering and failing to market a player like Paso.

FC Mito Hollyhock: Here is the tale of the tape so far: (1) Mito have suffered two defeats by a score line of 2-3 and have only managed a single point from their first four matches. (2) Mito can be prone to both fast starts, 4 of their 5 goals have come within the first 15 minutes of games, as well as lackluster finishes, 6 of the 8 goals conceded have occurred in the second half. That is the reality facing Ryukyu on Saturday.

Mito’s season was delayed by a week due to a CV-19 outbreak at Oita so they opened their campaign during week 2 at home to Sendai. Mito controlled the majority of play to open the game and their efforts were rewarded with an early goal before a handball/PK wiped out that lead in the 32nd minute. Sendai went ahead in the 74th minute but Mito quickly equalized two minutes later when Kazuma Takai took the most direct route ever seen inside the box to put it into the top of the net. However, Mito switched off near the end by conceding a goal in the 3rd minute of stoppage time. Against Akita the following week both sides traded numerous chances before some nervy run of play from both teams saw Akita score the eventual winner.

Mito played Oita in the midweek to make up for the previously postponed round 1 and once again they looked the better side to start the match. Mito opened the scoring in the 7th minute from a good nice run of play but, in keeping with Mito’s luck to date, Oita equalized from a very nicely taken shot inside the first half. Finally, and probably the most deflating performance to date, was Mito’s 2-3 loss at Yokohama FC where they surrendered a two goal lead in that loss.

Mito’s most lethal player is Kosuke Kinoshita, who joined from the Urawa Reds this offseason, and who has two goals and one assist this season. Mito has only defeated Ryukyu twice in the short span of their time together in J2 with their most recent win occurring at Ryukyu back on matchday 25 last year when Ryukyu were beginning their too often predictable mid-season collapse.

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. Weather the early Mito storm. Likelihood 2. There is no doubt that Mito start matches very fast as indicated by their goals scored/conceded ratio mentioned in the team preview section. Mito are very adept at hitting teams on the counter attack, which means Ryukyu need to survive the first 15 minutes of this match in order to take control of the game. Easier said than done for Ryukyu as this exact type of pressure caused us to concede early in the game last week at Renofa.

2. Harass Mito inside the box. Likelihood 3. A preponderance of Mito’s conceded goals have occurred in and around the 6-yard box. Ryukyu need to put more quality shots on net to cause some chaos and confusion in the Mito defense as well as inject some better crosses into the attacking players who should find space to operate on Saturday.

J2 Round 05

A couple of tilts at the top of the table this week with (5) Fagiano Okayama looking to rebound from a heavy defeat at Zelvia when they host league leaders (1) Yokohama FC, with (2) FC Machida Zelvia traveling to face (3) Tokyo Verdy in a bit of a derby match. Most of the other games this round see a lot of teams in the bottom third of the table squaring off in order to jockey for positioning. There is the lone, albeit odd, Monday afternoon kickoff this week between (13) Roasso Kumamoto and (14) V-Varen Nagasaki.

The free J-League International YouTube broadcast this week will feature (12) Albirex Niigata at home against (12) Ventforet Kofu and the link can be found below the picture.

Click>>>> J-League Int’l YouTube Channel

Conclusion

So it is kind of a big weekend for both the club and the supporters. First, it is Jin-Beno Day (the official mascot of Ryukyu) and there are a ton of giveaways and special seating at the stadium. Who doesn’t love J-League mascots? Second, Yu Tomidokoro, aka Mr. Ryukyu, celebrates 250 matches in his J-League career along with Yuki Omoto celebrating his 100th game in which commemorative plaques and towels are available for purchase. Third, a win here for Ryukyu could be a nice launching pad to further success along with an uplifting first home win for the fans.

But finally, and most importantly, this is the first match of the season that I will be able to attend in person. So brace yourself Okinawa, the Commander of the Ryukyu Army is inbound!