Tag: Suzuki

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!

Match Day 3 Recap: FCR 2 – 0 Ehime FC 03/10/2019

Well not the best of weather to draw in the fans but nevertheless FCR was looking to remain perfect on the season and secure a vital 3 points at home vs Ehime FC.

FCR came out in their typical 4-2-3-1 with one noticeable change, absent from the starting lineup and reserves was # 2 Masutani. We must assume he picked up an injury during the last match or training but it is anyone’s guess at this point. Ehime FC elected to switch formations this match and employ a 4-3-3.

Early action saw Ehime attempting to unlock our defense with long through balls that were either headed out or went over the touch line. FCR had a few opportunities early but the attacks fizzled out when FCR was dispossessed near the box. In the 10′ FCR finally broke through by capitalizing on a giveaway to #14 Uejo who made an outstanding run into the box and sent a cross over to #9 Suzuki , who was wide open and would’ve had a brace for the third time in a row, but the cross was deflected slightly by the Ehime defender and the deflection curled around the keeper into the bottom right of the goal. It was very important to score early as it seemed to relax the boys and would mean that Ehime may press a little more than they wanted thus opening themselves up for a counterattack.

The remainder of the half was marked by Carvajal making some nice saves and #7 Nakagawa missing a few golden opportunities to further the FCR lead. At times our defense was getting pulled apart slightly and Ehime had some nice chances on net but one each attempt was sent high or not struck with any power. As expected, Ehime had a lions share of possession with 60% in the first half compared to FCR’s 40%.

The opening minutes of the second half were very pacey and created multiple opportunities for both sides. FCR had two chances early to convert with the most notable from # 5 Tokumoto who just missed. FCR had a bit of a scare in the 51st minute when Ehime broke through our ranks and had that been a better pass to their player, who had to turn the opposite direction instead of hitting him in stride, Ehime may have leveled as he was alone on goal. Carvajal was then called into action in the 54′ to make a a nice save and maintain the FCR lead. Tokumoto sent a couple of dangerous crosses into the box in quick succession shortly thereafter but no one was able to convert either of them into a goal.

In the 75′ minute Tanaka was able to release Suzuki down the middle/left side and Suzuki converted the shot for his J2 league leading 5th goal. Having the 2 goal buffer was very reassuring with just under 15 minutes to play and it also meant the Ehime would have to press if they wished to get back in the game resulting in more scoring opportunities for FCR.

The final nervy moment for FCR was when #10 from Ehime FC, Kamiya, once again bested the FCR defender, #3 Nishioka, and sent a shot into the side netting. The most notable moment after that was the very ambitious effort by #20 Uesato, who tried a long range shot from the halfway line when the Ehime GK was far out from his own goal. Another 12 inches lower and that ball may have gone in but it landed just inside the top netting. The match was a little terse near the end when frustrations boiled over on a very poor challenge from the #10 of Ehime FC on FCR. He kicked out the foot of Nishioka who had possession deep in the Ehime corner and then Nishioka rose up to shove Kamiya. This resulted in both players being yellow carded and hopefully a fine for Kamiya as the replay shows it was a very poor challenge.

At full time FCR 2 – 0 Ehime FC. All 3 points secured and because of the total amount of goals FCR has scored on the season, 9, FCR was once again atop the J2 table.

Some additional game notes: We got our first look at a couple of new faces, at least to me, for FCR this past week. #33 Fukui took over CB duties for Masutani and I must say he looked good. He made a very well timed challenge to stop a Ehime counterattack that could of tied the game and was all over the pitch making plays. He makes a nice pairing with #4 Okazaki and may even press Masutani out of the lineup depending on how the long the latter is dealing with injury. He was noticeably dealing with leg cramps near the end and hopefully his match fitness improves over time as its not even hot in Okinawa yet, wait till summer! We then got to see #13 Kawai come on in place of Uejo and he made some very nice runs down the left side and almost drew a PK near the end that the ref wiped out. Seems like a nice player to bring on late to run at the opposing teams tired defense. #19 Nishikawa and # 19 Ochi also came on late but I didn’t get to see enough of them to make any assessments.

Final Notes about the Match: Ehime ended up controlling the ball for 60% of the match as they intended too but were unable to convert any of their opportunities. There were a few misses and miss hits but Carvajal played exceptionally well. He seems to be in the right place at the right time creating difficult angles for opposing players to navigate. FCR must remain strong at the back if we are to do anything this season. On that note, it wasn’t the best game for Nishioka this week as he was constantly being beat #10 and other players down the left side. A few of those time made for some very tense moments when Ehime was free on net. Ehime focused much of their attack down our left side and if opposing teams continue to target our left side we will need to start dedicating a MF to come back and provide support, thus disrupting our game plan of attack, attack, attack. We will also look to tighten up some of the errant passes in the opponents end and that will surely come in time with the starting 11 of FCR becoming more familiar with one another.

In the end, FCR won and that is the most important thing for this newly promoted J2 team. The “safe zone” to stay in the J2 for the following season the past 5 years has been around 42 points (42-37-43-43-42) and if that is the case this year, FCR are roughly 20% of the way to securing J2 football next season.