Tag: okazaki

Match Day 4 Preview: FCR vs Tokushima Vortis

Match Day Info: 03/16/2019 (H) FCR vs Tokushima Vortis (A) at the Tapic Stadium (Okinawa Comprehensive Park) Kickoff at 1800.

Welcome everybody to the Match Day 4 preview. This week we see FCR taking on Tokusima Vortis at home. FCR is riding high with a 3-game winning streak while Tokushima is reeling from a recent loss at home to Omiya.

Weather Forecast: One word, Perfect! Kickoff will see temperatures around 64 degrees with a slight Northeast wind between 8-10 miles per hour for most of the match and no rain in the forecast. Temperatures will stay in the mid 60’s all game so a light jacket is probably all you need.

Tokushima Vortis: 14th in J2 W1D0L2, Current Form LWL

Typical Set Up: Depends on where you do your research. On the JLeague website, it lists them as always setting up in a 3-5-1 but on the DAZN broadcast it has fluctuated every week this season; Started 4-1-2-3, then 3-4-2-1 and the last match was more of a 4-5-1.

Tokushima seems to be searching for the right combination at the back. They switched goal keepers after the first match, and rightfully so, as his poor play directly contributed to 3 of Kagoshima’s goals. Also, against Kagoshima, they were very disorganized at the back. Despite erasing both of Kagoshima’s leads in the game, the Tokushima defense let them down once again for a late winner.

Against Gifu in their second match they were much better in the attack but had two horrible giveaways in their own box from free kicks that almost resulted in Gifu scoring. #13 Kiyotake made an acrobatic kick in the last minute of extra time, on what was a very chaotic play, to give Tokushima their first victory.

Tokushima once again started out fast against Omiya but they were unable to score. They asked some questions of the Omiya keeper early on but ultimately it was a very nice take by Babunski from Omiya that handed Vortis their second loss of the season.

Players to Watch: #13 MF Koki Kiyotake. He’s their leading goal scorer and has a very quick powerful shot from distance. He needs to be marked and dealt with when roaming the MF as he’s not afraid to shoot from distance. #3CB Jordy Buijs. He’s not on the list because of his superb defensive skills, but because of his offensive skill. He won a ball against Kagoshima at the center circle, carried it all the way to nearly the top of the box; and I guess Kagoshima assumed he wouldn’t shoot but he unleashed a tremendous shout with pace, accuracy and a curl that beat the keeper. So FCR shouldn’t be encouraging him to take any shots is what I am saying.

FC Ryukyu: 1st in J2 W3D0L0, Current Form WWW, typical formation 4-2-3-1

FCR is bringing some serious momentum into this match after taking maximum points from all 3 games this season. They have displayed the ability to win at home despite the fact that we didn’t have a majority of the possession as well as the ability to win big on the road in a tough atmosphere.

Similar to Tokushima attempting to get the right combination at the back, FCR has been forced to change their lineups each of the past 2 matches. This is mostly due to injures to Tomidokoro and Masutani but now they will face an uphill battle to replace one of the top goal scorers from J3 last season and a player I was very excited to watch develop. Unfortunately, FCR has sold (assuming that’s the case but I never see anything on JLeague transfers) Kazaki Nakagawa to the Yokohama F Marinos. He will be sorely missed and I wish him all the best but that begs the question, who will take his place as the attacking central midfielder?

My suggestion would be to slide Tanaka into the CAM role and put #13 Kawai into the Left Mid Field position. We saw what Kawai did late on vs Ehime FC last week and I believe his speed could cause real trouble for Tokushima at the back. Tanaka is an excellent service provider for through balls and passes and he’s probably the best player to take over that role until Tomidokoro returns.

With that in mind we’d still assume to see Tanaka flanked by #14 Uejo as the Right Mid Field with the leading J2 League Goal scorer, #9 Suzuki, up front. That would leave #20 Uesato and #6 Kazama as our two holding Central Defensive Mid Fielder. At the back, barring any injuries, is #3 Nishioka, #4 Okazaki, #5 Tokumoto and #33 Fukui. This line was solid last week and I hope that continues because it is so vital to have a cohesive unit back there that is just stopping all attacks and clearing the danger away from goal.

Danny Carvajal will once again man the posts for FCR and what an outstanding signing he has been. The clean sheet last week was amazing and the man continually puts himself in the right place at the right time to stop the shots. We’ll once again require his strong performance to bring home the three points.  

Keys to the Match: 1. Weather the early attacking storm from Tokushima. They will likely start fast and create a few chances within the first 20 minutes of the match.

2. Close down their attacking Mid Fielders when they have the ball outside the top of the box. The Tokushima MFs are not afraid to shoot from distance or outside the box. FCR can not allow them space even 30 yards out as they have no fear striking from that distance or greater distances. I believe this is due to the fact that Vortis hasn’t created a lot of chances, nor provides any good crosses or service, to their strikers.

3. Attack from our Left side, the Vortis Right side on Defense. This is a weak spot for Vortis and FCR should do everything they can to exploit them out there. Use Kawai’s speed and get behind the Vortis defense. While they scramble to deal with that pressure, its most likely that an FCR player will be unmarked in the box and get a free shot on net.

4. Pressure the back line of Vortis and take lots of shots. Vortis is usually disorganized at the back and has made several lineup changes meaning, the players are still getting to learn to play as a unit. Applying pressure from Free Kicks or when Vortis tries to play out from the back may see FCR get a cheap takeaway in the Vortis end that they can convert into a goal or two. While the Goal Keeping play has improved the last two matches, the Vortis keeper can be beat rather easily so long as we keep the shots at the posts and not down the middle.

FCR should just continue to attack, attack and attack the Vortis defense and GK. If Uejo, Kawai and Suzuki can find some space in the Vortis end with Tanaka unlocking the defense to set them on the way to goal, then FCR should easily beat Tokushima at home.

Game Prediction: Goals, hopefully more for FCR than Vortis. See you at the match in Section A with the big England Flag, you can’t miss me!

Injury Updates

Well once again we face the reality of not knowing what players are currently injured – other than waiting until the starting 11 and reserves are announced pre-match – so we have to assume some injuries have carried over from last week and what to expect moving forward.

# 2 Masutani Kosuke CB: Absent from the starting 11 and reserves against Ehime F.C., I am not sure what injury he has picked up.  I was there to see him finish out the match vs Omiya and he looked fine so he must’ve taken a knock in training or picked up an injury. Let’s hope for a speedy recovery because we will need all hands on deck in the back for the grueling J2 campaign.

# 33 Fukui Ryoki CB: Was dealing with some serious lower leg cramps near the end of the match vs Ehime FC and had to be subbed off in the 93’. This shouldn’t be a major issue going forward as his match fitness should improve over time along with playing a full match. In his defense, he was all over the pitch making play after play so getting worn down like he did while assisting in maintaining a clean sheet is totally understandable. Hydrate and stretch big man and hopefully we see you out there against Tokushima as that is a nice pairing at CB for FCR with Okazaki.

#4 Okazaki Ryohei CB: He seemed to take a nasty knock in the match and stayed down clutching his lower right leg. Despite Tokumoto signaling that either a trainer or change was required while standing over him, Okazaki was able to see out the match. He didn’t display any noticeable limp or loss of lateral movement or speed but we’ll see how he progresses throughout this week and if he’s in the starting 11/reserves next week. We really can’t afford to be dealing with too many injuries at the back this early as each of the players I’ve mentioned so far have been pretty solid for FCR.

#10 Tomidokoro Yu MF: Probably the injury update that most FCR fans want to read about. I was lucky enough to speak with Tomidokoro at this week’s match when he walked by me heading to the stands for a community relations event. I asked if he was doing alright and he replied with a “yes.” I asked him what was his injury and he pointed to his foot. This could indicate anything from an ankle sprain, soft tissue injury, plantar fasciitis or footballer’s ankle. Here is the good news, he was not walking with any noticeable limp, moved up and down stairs with ease, raised and lowered the injured foot with no issues.

Of course I had to ask when he would return to the lineup, to which he replied, “one week.” This is encouraging news because whatever ailed him has had time to heal and begin the strengthening process and will allow him to return to practice and ultimately match fitness. It seems FCR will be without his service for at least one more week and barring any setbacks in training, we’ll see him out there against Montedio Yamagata.

Well that’s all for player injury updates. I simply lucked out by being in the right place at the right time to hear directly from the player as to what was afflicting him. I hope there are no repercussions for the players engaging the fans and being as candid about their injuries as Tomidokoro was, but I’m grateful that he was and hope we have greater visibility on the match fitness of all the FCR players.