Intro
As the race for the top continues to tighten, Ryukyu walked away with all three points on Saturday night when they defeated Tochigi SC 4-2. Ryukyu fell behind early from a goal on a corner kick but responded with two quick goals from Shintaro Shimizu and Kazumasa Uesato to put Ryukyu in the lead. However, Ryukyu surrendered a second goal late in the first half and were in danger of dropping points at home until Shunsuke Motegi’s “hate-seeking’ missile broke the deadlock late in the second half. Then Yong Jick netted his first ever goal for Ryukyu on a set piece that put the match out of reach for Tochigi.
- Highlights
- Man of the Match
- Review of the Keys to Victory
- Prediction
- Talking Points
- Round 14 in J2
- Conclusion
1. Match Day Highlights
2. Man of the Match
FC Ryukyu Mid Fielder Shunsuke Motegi: He scored what was ultimately the winner for Ryukyu, and it was a very nice goal at that, and was involved in the set piece that netted Yong Jick’s goal. Had Shintaro Shimizu got the header on target from Motegi’s dead ball cross, he could have had an even bigger day.
3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu
1. Bombs away. Likelihood 4. I’d say so.
2. Follow up the shots that are saved with more shots. Likelihood 3. Ryukyu’s opening goal by Shintaro Shimizu is a perfect example of this as was Yong Jick’s redirection from the Ren Ikeda shot at the end.
3. Play it safe when playing out from the back. Likelihood 3. Ryukyu had a difficult time breaking the high press from Tochigi but were able to slowly make their way up the pitch with passes among the two center backs and Uesato.
4. Don’t forget about the old Route 1. Likelihood 2. Ryukyu heavily favored attacking down the right side but the Shintaro goal stands out as the one that was most directly down the middle as it was Koki’s shot from just outside the box that rang the crossbar.
4. Prediction
Tipped Ryukyu to win 3-1 and seeing how they did win by two goals, I’ll take a draw this round. Season Record 6-3-5.
5. Talking points from Round 14
1. Don’t be fooled by all that possession. Ryukyu had an insane amount of possession on Saturday night but a majority of that was them inch worming out of their own end. Tochigi’s high press resulted in Okazaki, Chinen and Uesato registering 400 combined successful passes, or roughly half of the total passes by Ryukyu on the night. Still, outside of one turnover by Ryukyu that required a nice save by Taguchi, Ryukyu were composed and took their time to pick their spots.
2. Tochigi looked dangerous in the opening half but then faded away. Obviously with such little possession, Tochigi did well with the little opportunities they were afforded. Their first goal was the result of Okazaki being involved in a pick play were the man he was marking cut across him to knock him off his spot thus leaving Daichi Inui wide open to bury the header. However, Tochigi’s second goal was a thing of beauty when Yuki Nishiya did well to control the cross and then strike an absolute cracking goal. But in the end, Tochigi had to resort to shots from distance to generate any pressure on net and none threatened the Ryukyu goal.
3. Yong Jick has become an asset as a late defensive sub for Ryukyu. While he is the most likely candidate to fill in for either center back, Yong Jick is much more useful as defensive midfielder late in games. He adds the element of height in both the defense, as well as in the attack, of set pieces.
4. Abe’s absence from the squad. Ryukyu announced earlier in the week that a top team player had tested positive for COVID-19. Then there was the sight of Abe leaving the Ehime match with a heavily wrapped leg with what looked to be an ice pack on his right hamstring. We do not know whether Abe was the player who tested positive, nor do we know if he is dealing with an injury that could see him miss the all-important Albirex Niigata match in two weeks, but his absence doesn’t bode well for the side. I think we all hope this was just a rest/maintenance day for the talisman and nothing more.
5. Shunsuke Motegi has played a total of 41′ this season but has a pair of goals and contributed to a third from the own goal at SC Sagamihara. I think his time is coming to take over the LM spot for Ryukyu but he’ll need to get more minutes under his belt. There is no doubt we are seeing the dangerous player that Motegi can be which makes his inclusion in the squad, but going unused in games when Ryukyu are trailing, all the more perplexing. If Abe misses any more time, Motegi could provide the spark the offense needs during games.
6. Where we stand at the 1/3 mark of the season. Ryukyu have one less shutout in their last seven games compared to the first seven; they have been shutout one more time these past seven than the first seven; they also have two games where they conceded multiple goals, but have one more game where they scored more than three goals in a game in games 8-14. At times it seems as if Ryukyu both play up, and down to some of their competition but that is typical for any side in a season. They’ve taken seven points off of sides inside the top six and are tied with Albirex Niigata for the second most points ever by a J2 side at this point in the season.
6. Round 14 in J2
Albirex Niigata suffered their first loss of the season 2-1 to FC Machida Zelvia which puts them level on points with FC Ryukyu, and only one point above Kyoto Sanga. Kyoto defeated Mito Hollyhock without the services of Peter Utaka which sets up a massive game between these two teams next week. Jubilo Iwata and Ventforet Kofu both won 1-0 at home thus not changing any of the standings for teams three through five.
It is extremely tight at the top with three teams only separated by a point and who will play one another over the next two rounds. At the bottom, it is a five horse race with those sides all sitting on eleven points.
7. Conclusion
As we witnessed this past round, the teams at the top cannot afford to drop any points as the race for promotions is so tight. To their credit, Ryukyu overcame an early deficit and finished the game strong which has put them level with the leaders. But before we can consider ourselves fortunate, and way before we can consider the job done, Ryukyu need to beat a Montedio Yamagata side that has a perfect record when facing Ryukyu. In fact, they have scored three or more goals against Ryukyu on three occasions since 2019. This will be no easy match for Ryukyu ahead of Niigata despite Yamagata’s current place in the table.
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