MD22 Report: FC Ryukyu vs SC Sagamihara #FC琉球

Intro

Ouch! This one stings as FC Ryukyu dropped crucial points at home, with Takuya Takagi getting some revenge on Higuchi for the past few seasons, when they fell 0-1 to visiting SC Sagamihara. Ryukyu ran headlong into a brick wall defense for only their second home defeat this season in which they were out shot and slightly outplayed by the visitors. For their part, SC Sagamihara executed their game plan flawlessly as they frustrated the Ryukyu attack all night and looked far more dangerous on several short counterattacks off of Ryukyu turnovers. The loss drops Ryukyu to fourth place but more importantly, it severely dents their bid on promotion.

Match Highlights
Man of the Match
Review of the Keys to Victory
Prediction
Talking Points
Round 22 in J2
Conclusion

1. Match Highlights

2. Man of the Match

SC Sagamihara Defenders Yasumasa Kawasaki, Tatsuya Shirai, and Yudai Fujiwara: They completely shut down the Ryukyu attack. Granted, they had help from their teammates, but shutting out the third highest scoring team in the league while on the road is impressive for a team that was a mess in defense for the past few rounds.

3. Review of the Keys to Victory for FC Ryukyu

1. Do not sleep on Sagamihara. Likelihood 4. Maybe they didn’t, maybe they did, but they definitely slipped on this banana peel.

2. Take full advantage of the chaos that is the Sagamihara defense. Likelihood 4. Quite the opposite actually. Somehow SC Sagamihara were very well organized in defense.

3. Win the battle against the two strikers of Sagamihara, win the match. Likelihood 4. It was only the set piece that did Ryukyu in on Sunday night.

4. Prediction

Not even close with my 3-1 prediction. Season Record 6-5-11.

5. Talking Points from Round 22

1. Reo Yamashita’s debut. Not sure if starting LB Keigo Numata was given the night off or if it was just an opportunity to give the young man some minutes at this level, but Yamashita’s debut didn’t go as planned. He committed a costly turnover in the second half and missed badly on an attempted cross from inside the box in the first half. All things which are forgivable during your first start but it didn’t help that Ryukyu are operating with a makeshift back line with all the injuries. There has been no word on the status of Numata as of this entry.

2. Limited chances. Ryukyu had roughly four good chances to crack the Sagamihara goal but the closest, and last best, chance they had was a 70’ minute shot by Yong Jick that hit the crossbar. Ryukyu never really threatened the Sagamihara goal nor tested their keeper. Unlike SC Sagamihara who were gifted some short counterattacks in the first half that called Inose into action on more than one occasion. Sagamihara’s second half goal stemmed from a set piece in a dangerous area where the Sagamihara attacker had a wide-open shooting lane to catch Inose out. In Inose’s defense, he may have been screened by all the players in front of him and unable to see the shot being set up. Or he thought the Sagamihara player might attempt to cross it into the box. Either way, it was a nicely worked goal.

3. The roadmap to defeating Ryukyu. It seems Ryukyu’s game plan for any given match is to let the opposition run at them so as to create a back-and-forth match for which our attack can freely operate. If the opposition simply parks the bus and aspires to hit us on the counterattack, teams will have great success. Higuchi, as well as a couple of players, commented after the game how it was hard to break down SC Sagamihara when they were putting five defenders inside the box and four others just behind the ball. We’ve seen this before from several teams that faced Ryukyu this season and the results are always the same. I am not sure how you overcome this situation other than adding speed and height to the attack by switching to a back three during the game and trying to win set pieces in dangerous areas with bold runs that could draw fouls or at least earn a corner kick.

4. This Summer gonna hurt. In 2019, when Ryukyu were trying to stave off relegation, not earn promotion, they went through a brutal stretch over the summer months where they won twice, drew twice and lost eleven games, five of which were in a row. So far things are slightly better this time around as Ryukyu have three wins, two draws and a single loss in the summer months to date. But Ryukyu has only managed two more points (15) over the last three months combined compared to the month of April (13). I was hoping we could squeak by with some results until a majority of our players return from injury but I am not sure their reintroduction will come soon enough. It feels as if promotion is slowly slipping away.

5. Some good news. Ryukyu played their third game of the J-Elite League on Monday afternoon where they drew 2-2 with Kagoshima United. However, the bigger news was seeing both Okazaki and Dany Carvajal return to action. Not sure if either will make the roster next week, but it would be good to get both of them back into the lineup before the break.

6. Round 22 in J2

Jubilo Iwata was able to pull out a draw on the road to Renofa Yamaguchi with Kyoto Sanga FC winning comfortably on the road at Giravanz Kitakyushu and Albirex Niigata demolishing Tochigi SC at home. Ventforet Kofu, Montedio Yamagata and FC Machida Zelvia all won their fixtures to get that much closer to the leading pack.

7. Conclusion

Putting this one in the rearview mirror is all you can do I suppose. FC Ryukyu now need to travel to Omiya Ardija and grab three points before the break or risk falling completely out of the promotion picture. Sure, they could surprise us all after the break with big results in the months of August and September – which would definitely make us forget about this recent run of from – but will it be enough?

Match Day 10 Preview: (2) FC Ryukyu vs (6) Ventforet Kofu 4/25/21 #FC琉球

Intro

The big thing on everyone’s mind this weekend is how will FC Ryukyu respond to their first loss of the season. Ryukyu’s 8 game undefeated streak was snapped this past Wednesday at Machida with an uninspiring performance where the offense went missing for long stretches of time. Kofu enter Round 10 with a 3 game undefeated streak following a win in the midweek and two previous draws and have had their way with Ryukyu every single time. FC Ryukyu have never earned a single point off of Kofu in the four matches they have played in the J2.

Weather Forecast & Match Day Info
Previous Match Highlights
Team Previews
- FC Ryukyu
- Ventforet Kofu
Keys to Victory
Prediction
Round 10 in J2
Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast & Match Day Information from FC Ryukyu

Favorable weather is in the forecast as the typhoon that was milling about Okinawa on Friday and Saturday has now moved on.

With the surge of COVID-19 cases in Japan, and a modified State of Emergency here in Okinawa, clubs, including FC Ryukyu, as well as those in the hardest hit areas of Japan, are not allowing visiting fans into games, and possibly no fans at all in some areas. News of “playing behind closed doors” for many of the clubs in the Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo has been floating around the Japanese media today and it looks as if this is where the entire J-League is heading. Be safe and do your part to limit the spread of CV-19 at any match you intend to attend.

Click>>> Match Day 10 Information from FC Ryukyu

2. Previous Match Highlights

FC Machida Zelvia 3-0 FC Ryukyu

Ventforet Kofu 2-0 SC Sagamihara

3. Team Previews

FC Ryukyu: Wednesday’s game was a let down for many of the Ryukyu faithful as it was such a steep drop off in performance by Ryukyu when compared to their first 8 games. There were breakdowns in passing, attacks and communication all over the pitch which led to the drubbing at the hands of Zelvia. Basically, nothing worked all night. Ryukyu has relied heavily on defense and the strength of their goalkeeping throughout the year but when that too failed, Ryukyu were done in.

We’ve discussed on several occasions for how Ryukyu utilize crosses from the fullbacks and midfielders to score goals. Though they tried mightily do conduct the same tactic at Zelvia, Zelvia was able to sure up the back line with up to 5 defenders at a time which restricted the runs of any of the Ryukyu attackers. It didn’t help that some runs weren’t even being made to get onto the end of crosses by Ryukyu, and it also didn’t help that when they did make these runs they were often missed by the player in possession. There were far to many lateral and backwards passes on Wednesday with no real thrust made on net by the offense.

Higuchi kept the same lineup from the win over Verdy the previous weekend but did use all 5 substitutes in an attempt to change up the flow of the game. Obviously it didn’t pay off and now Higuchi and Ryukyu are faced with enacting some sort of squad rotation for the Kofu match as some players looked tired at the end of the Machida game. It starts near the top as Kazaki Nakagawa has finally featured for the first time all season and with a drop in the play from Ikeda this week, it might be a good time to see what Nakagawa can add to the attack from the start of a game.

There shouldn’t be any changes to the back four though Numata could definitely use a breather. That means Higuchi should deviate from his normal stance of dressing 4 forwards, Abe, Uehara, Akamine and Shimizu, and consider dressing Motegi (MF) and possibly Reo Yamashita (LB) to spell the tired legs of our players. Ryukyu gambled at Zelvia by sticking with the lineup they’ve played all season and it simply didn’t pay off. Now they need to adjust slightly in the short time between games so as to avoid fatigue, burnout and risk of injury to some of the senior players in the squad.

In any event, what is needed is a massive injection of offense. Abe continues to execute the hold up play that makes him a vital cog in the Ryukyu offense, but isn’t getting the service a striker of his quality deserves. Kofu has scored 6 goals over their last 3 games and while the defense and Taguchi need to regain a bit of the confidence that was lost this past round, the offense needs to switch on and carry the load for Ryukyu this game.

Ventforet Kofu: Kofu enter this round on a slight upward trajectory compared to Ryukyu who are attempting to arrest their recent slide in the midweek. Kofu have an impressive four wins from four over Ryukyu in their recent history. Kofu was the side that ended Ryukyu’s home undefeated streak in 2019 and have outscored Ryukyu 10-3 in all the games played between the two sides.

Kofu started the year fast by drawing once and then winning three in a row. Then they ran into some tougher competition in Machida Zelvia and V-Varen Nagasaki where they lost twice in a row. They got back on track with two consecutive draws with Giravanz Kitakyushu and Matsumoto Yamaga FC before grabbing their first win in a month when they beat SC Sagamihara on Wednesday.

Kofu faced many of the same problems that Ryukyu did in their match with Machida with their attack being completely snuffed out. They allowed a quick goal to Nagasaki before pulling one back on a nice back post set piece but after ringing the post a few times, Kofu allowed Nagasaki to score from a set piece near the end of the game. Kofu took the lead over Kitakyushu on a fast break where Izumisawa rounded the keeper but returned the favor to Kitakyushu by allowing them to execute their own fast break leading to the equalizer. Kofu came close a few times to netting the winner but either hit the post or narrowly missed the target from close range.

In the rain soaked match at Yamaga, Kofu found themselves down early but equalized in the 16th minute and followed it up with another excellent back post header from a set piece. They then added a third goal just four minutes later. Everything was looking good while leading 3-1 but some panicky defending led to a Yamaga goal and then it was Kofu’s turn to have their keeper rounded on a fast break where Kunimoto Suzuki grabbed his third goal of the game which resulted in a draw. The two first half goals by Kofu were all they needed to swipe aside Sagamihara in the midweek.

While the box scores may indicate Kofu have turned a corner and are headed in the right direction, if we take a close look at the last five games there is a bit of pattern that may boost Ryukyu’s chances. The losses were suffered at the hands of two teams currently in the top half of the table with each of the draws were come from behind where Kofu allowed their opponents back into the match. SC Sagamihara sit near the bottom of the table so that is in line with the results that Kofu have achieved to date. But the script for this match reads much like the past match at Zelvia for Ryukyu so it may provide a little confidence to Kofu.

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. Defend the left, but watch the right on quick counters. Likelihood 3. A vast majority of Kofu’s attacks flow through the left side of their offense, primarily Izumisawa. He has orchestrated many of the crosses, or has taken part in the build up play, that have led to Kofu’s goals. When on the counter attack Kofu streak quickly down the right so Numata is going to have fitness test on Sunday if Kofu breakout of any Ryukyu press. It will also require the CBs and MFs to keep a close eye on their marks as those players drift towards the back post, when Kofu is in possession down the left, as this is their signature goal these days.

2. Take the attack of life support and give it a jolt with a defibrillator. Likelihood 2. Ryukyu have scored 4 goals in their last 4 games but have been shutout twice in that time. We really need to get Abe firing again and that means better passing in the attacking end and acting like more of a threat across all three attacking lanes. Perhaps Nakagawa can breathe some life into the side, especially as the Ryukyu last line of defense was so easily penetrated last round.

3. Play like you’re the second-best team in the league, because you are. Likelihood 3. It’s all about confidence right now. May have lost it for a bit but it is time to regain that swagger that netted us five wins in a row and eight games undefeated. Let’s brush off the recent loss and get back to winning football.

5. Prediction

Considering that Kofu haven’t scored less than 2 goals in any game against Ryukyu but just once, and with their recent goal scoring outbursts, coupled with Ryukyu’s goal scoring drought and overall poor record against Kofu, it is hard to tip Ryukyu as winners this week. Hoping for a better outcome but not making the same mistake I did in the midweek to a similar type of opponent. Kofu win 2-1. Season Record 5-1-3.

6. Round 10 in J2

The lone Saturday game should be a good one. (1) Albirex Niigata, fresh off their last minute equalizer, travel to a resurgent (16) Ehime FC who haven’t lost since their managerial change. (3) Kyoto Sanga, (4) Jubilo Iwata and (5) Zweigen Kanazawa, and to some extent, (6) Ventforet Kofu have favorable matchups to exploit the promotion race.

It will be (22) Matsumoto Yamaga FC hosting (13) Thespakusatsu Gunma on the free J-League broadcast this round.

Click>>> LIVE | Matsumoto Yamaga F.C. vs Thespakusatsu Gunma | Matchweek 10 | 2021 | J2 LEAGUE – YouTube

7. Conclusion

As Ryukyu near the quarter mark of the season there are still some questions for which we need answers. Mainly, can the offense get going? As noted earlier it will be interesting to see how Ryukyu respond to their first setback of the season against a team that has always had the better of Ryukyu, so let’s hope for a positive response on Sunday.

Match Day 9 Preview: (9) FC Machida Zelvia vs (2) FC Ryukyu 4/21/21 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu travel to Machida Zelvia on Wednesday for their first of four midweek fixtures in 2021. FC Ryukyu have failed to beat Zelvia in their last eight meetings managing only 1 win and 2 draws in the 10 games these teams have played since entering the J3 back in 2014. The next big test for Ryukyu will be finding the right mix of squad rotation and defeating an opponent who has always had your number.

Weather Forecast & Match Day Information
Match Day 8 Highlights
Team Previews
- FC Machida Zelvia
- FC Ryukyu
Keys to Victory
Prediction
Round 9 in J2
Conclusion

1. Weather Forecast and Match Day Information from the Club

A very pleasant evening to watch football.

It looks like visiting FC Ryukyu fans will be able to attend. Please not that there is no advance entry to hand banners.

Match Day Information from Machida Zelvia

2. Match Day 8 Highlights

V-Varen Nagasaki 0-3 FC Machida Zelvia

FC Ryukyu 2-0 Tokyo Verdy

3. Team Previews

FC Machida Zelvia: Zelvia have failed to win any of their home games this season and to be quiet honest, look a far better side when playing on the road compared to playing at home. Prior to the match at Nagasaki this weekend, Zelvia had only managed 1 goal in their previous four games. Zelvia seem to yo-yo between strong performances and very tepid ones. Many people viewed Zelvia as this seasons dark horse with the caveat that it would be their defending that lets them down. Unfortunately for Zelvia, they have been without the strike duo of Chong Tese and Dudu as Tese has picked up an injury that will see him miss at least 4 weeks with Dudu just completing his 14 day quarantine at the J-League bubble. I am not sure how quickly he will be incorporated into the squad but it seems likely that Dudu will get some playing time this Wednesday if he is fit.

Over their last five games Mito have won two matches while losing the other three. As mentioned earlier, the wins came on the road at Kofu and Nagasaki with losses occurring to Mito Hollyhock, Kanazawa and Kyoto Sanga. Mito found themselves in an early hole at Mito when two wind aided balls ended up allowing the hosts to jump out to a 2-0 lead by halftime. The final goal of that game was after a Zelvia turnover sprung Nakayama in the counterattack to which he finished superbly. At Kofu Zelvia looked much better and scored the games only goal in the third minute. Zelvia had control for most of this game with Kofu offering only about 20 minutes of any action in the Zelvia end.

Following that strong performance Zelvia looked dominant against Kanazawa but were unable to find the back of the net. All those missed chances ended up costing Zelvia as they were done in by an own goal in the 89th minute and went on to lose 1-0. The Zelvia defense had their hands full against Kyoto but still allowed Zelvia to stay in the game after they surrendered the lone goal of the match in the first half. Then, everything seemed to change at Nagasaki this week.

Ranko Popovic switched back to a 4-4-2 from the previous weeks 4-4-1-1 and Zelvia got off to a fast start once more. Two goals by Kaina Yoshio pushed Zelvia out front before a Hasegawa goal just two minutes after the second Yoshio goal put the match out of reach for Nagasaki. Once more Zelvia looked a different side when leaving the friendly confines of the Machida GION stadium, and though the offense went missing for a long stretch for Zelvia, they were able to breakout in a big way this weekend. Adding a good attacking player like Dudu into the mix is sure to help. But Zelvia, like Ryukyu, rely on some older veterans to prop the team up and they too will have to contend with some squad rotation this week.

FC Ryukyu: Ryukyu own a rather poor record against Machida Zelvia having won only once in their past ten matches, and that win came all the way back in 2014 during FC Ryukyu’s inaugural season in the J3. In the six games where Ryukyu have traveled to Machida, they’ve been outscored 11-4. Last season, Ryukyu lost the opening fixture 4-2 thanks to four first half goals by Zelvia. The score line was only brought close by a Zelvia own goal and late strike by Takuma Abe after the game was well out of hand. During the curtain closer for the 2020 season Ryukyu were defeated 1-0 at home by Zelvia in a very uninspiring performance.

But, this is a season unlike any other with Ryukyu putting to rest many of the ghosts that have haunted them from past seasons. The strength of this club is their defense as the offense has yet to get on track this year. That is not to say they are struggling for goals as everyone is chipping in these days, it’s just not at the level we’ve come to expect from a club predicated on attacking football. Abe has done so well this year in all facets of the game and it would be great to see him back on the score sheet after a slight absence these past three weeks.

I think Ryukyu have benefited greatly from a more relaxed schedule this year compared to last season and it has allowed many of the veterans the recovery time between matches that they sorely missed in 2020. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how Higuchi conducts the squad rotation with three games inside of eight days. I wouldn’t expect many changes, but utilizing substitutes earlier and possibly giving a run out to Motegi, Makito Uehara, Shinya Uehara and Akamine needs to be done to keep the squad fresh.

These next two fixtures are massive for Ryukyu if they wish to keep the field at bay. Their current lead over third placed Kyoto Sanga FC is just six points and Kyoto are starting to generate some serious momentum. Defeating an opponent that you have a historically poor track record against is the next step that the Ryukyu needs to make on their way to 80 points.

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. Short passes in the Zelvia box. Likelihood 2. Zelvia are not the most impressive defensive unit in the league and a single goal maybe all that is needed for Ryukyu to see out a win on Wednesday, but that doesn’t mean they can take this opponent lightly as Zelvia have bested Ryukyu nearly every single time. Zelvia have conceded from crosses this season, but are far more susceptible to the short passes in and around the box. Ryukyu will need a strong performance out of Ren Ikeda and Takuma Abe as they can wreak havoc on the Zelvia back line with penetrating runs and quick changes in direction when in the oppositions box.

2. Play to your strengths. Likelihood 4. A short week on the road could mean a low scoring affair, a situation that Ryukyu are very comfortable in, and another defensive masterclass by the CB pairing of Chinen and Okazaki, along with Taguchi in net, is exactly what Ryukyu need this match. Zelvia’s offense wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders this year, but it is starting to generate some thrust. Blunting the Zelvia assault will allow FC Ryukyu to continue to play the style of football they’ve become accustomed to this season.

3. Finding the right mix in the squad rotation. Likelihood 2. Higuchi may not make any changes to this side for this match but that could have an effect later on this week when Ryukyu return home to face Kofu. Ryukyu currently roster four forwards each match so allowing Akamine to start this week may not be a bad idea. Yu and Koki Kazama seem to rotate fairly regularly and hopefully Ichimaru can spell Uesato for longer stretches over these next two games. We should not tinker with the current CB pair but Yong Jick coming in for either of the central defenders so as to keep them fresh is the smart move. Makito Uehara could provide some relief to Tanaka but it will be interesting to see how Higuchi addresses the left back position. Numata will almost certainly need a break these next few games and that means it comes down to either Fukui or Reo Yamashita, who looked good in his lone appearance in the J-Elite League last month.

5. Prediction

Zelvia have been shut out three times this year while Ryukyu have five clean sheets. Zelvia have hit the three goal plateau twice this season compared to FC Ryukyu’s one. Any changes to the Ryukyu squad might have some consequences, and though it is a bold move to predict a win for FC Ryukyu, who haven’t defeated Zelvia in well over seven seasons, that is what I am going to do. 2-1 win for Ryukyu in the midweek. Season Record 5-1-2.

6. Match Day 8 in J2

(1) Albirex Niigata will look to retain the top spot for another week when they travel to (10) Tochigi SC who are currently on an unbeaten run of 5 games. (3) Kyoto Sanga FC and (4) Jubilo Iwata will continue to chip away at the leaders with favorable matchups at (11) Tokyo Verdy and home to (15) Omiya Ardija respectively. Other interesting matches this round include (5) Zweigen Kanazawa hosting (8) Blaublitz Akita and the resurgent (22) Ehime FC hosting (16) Renofa Yamaguchi FC. It’s not quite time to push the panic button for (12) V-Varen Nagasaki, but another performance like this past weekend will at least warrant removing the safety cover for the panic button.

It is FC Ryukyu’s turn to appear on the free J-league International YouTube broadcast so please tune in and enjoy from around the world. Or at the very least, use a VPN if you live in Japan and you do not have a DAZN account. Click the link below the infographic to get the YouTube page for the match.

Click>>> LIVE | FC Machida Zelvia vs FC Ryukyu | Matchweek 9 | 2021 | J2 LEAGUE – YouTube

7. Conclusion

Well strap yourselves in for this one as FC Ryukyu will need to exorcise some serious demons to retain one of the two promotion slots in J2. It has been nothing but disappoint for Ryukyu when they play Zelvia so it will be really encouraging to see them net any points away from home on a short week. A win would show that this team has really turned aa corner in their development and provide a massive boost to the overall morale of the team.

Special Edition: J Elite League Match Day 1 Recap of FC Ryukyu vs V-Varen Nagasaki 3/21/21 #FC琉球

Intro

FC Ryukyu played their first of six games in the 2021 J Elite League this past Sunday and I was fortunate enough to attend. Ryukyu will play another 5 games in a round-robin home and away tournament against Nagasaki, Kagoshima United FC and Avispa Fukuoka inside Group C. The opening game ended in 1-1 draw with two first half goals from both sides but I was more excited to see some of the players on the team that haven’t featured for Ryukyu this season.

Brief History on the J Elite League

Prior to this year I had no idea that there was even a ‘reserve’ league in existence for the J-League, but that was based on the fact that FC Ryukyu never participated in this type of tournament before. The only history I can find about any ‘reserve tournament’ existing for the J-League was from 1993-2009 before taking a lengthy break until 2016, followed by the J-Satellite League in 2018 and 2019, and finally the creation of the J Elite League in 2020. However, the 2020 season as cancelled due to the Coronavirus.

The League is designed on the premise of developing players under the age of 21, those within a team’s youth academy, and for the reserve members of each team. This year’s League will feature 14 clubs within 3 groups that are broken up geographically in a round-robin tournament from March 8 – November 30. Each club must have at least 3 U-21 participants in each match and they can make up to 7 substitutions each game through three substations not counting any made at half time. Plus the ‘concussion’ substitution rule change is in effect for the league.

Their was a cash incentive paid out to the top 6 sides of this tournament in 2018/19 but I am not sure if that system is still in place for 2021. As far as I can tell, there isn’t an official section of the J-League website that is dedicated to posting the results of each match or the overall standings. As for now, all you have to go on is the press releases from each of the clubs participating in the tournament. More information about the League can be found in the links below this section.

Official J-League Release J League Reserve League Wiki FC Ryukyu Official Release

Match Day 1 Recap

Luckily V-Varen Nagasaki posted a video for this match to their official YouTube Channel

Talking Points

1. These matches obviously benefit the reserve players more than the academy players but this game couldn’t have come at a better time. Most of the starting 11 for Ryukyu were either bench players from previous matches or players you would expect to feature in the event of an injury to a starting member. And it was good to get these guys “match experience” with FC Ryukyu facing a bit of an injury crisis at the moment.

You may have seen that Dany Carvajal will be out for a few months while he deals with a stress fracture to his lower leg. Though Taguchi has a stranglehold on the starting GK position, I am sure the competition for the starting role at practices will fall off with Dany out and Ryukyu are left with only 1 other GK with any J2 experience, Inose. However, it was Tsumita who got the start over Inose on Sunday. Perhaps they want to see what they have in Tsumita moving forward or perhaps he has earned the #3 GK role for Ryukyu.

Shintaro Shimizu leveled the score with a thunderous strike and his contributions to the first team will be vital in the event Abe misses time due to injury. There has been no word on the status of Abe following his exit due to injury this past Saturday and I truly do not expect the club to release any unless it is serious enough to warrant a lengthy absence. In my opinion, that leaves Shintaro as the likely candidate to start at FWD for Ryukyu. He mas made appearances this season but could be asked to play a lot more in the coming weeks.

It is a shame there are only five more of these games throughout the year as you would want these reserve players to get as many match minutes as possible in the event they are called up. Still, I think Ryukyu made the right call to join this league with the number of players they have on the roster so as to evaluate what they have at any given moment and more importantly by season’s end.

2. It was a telling sign to see who didn’t dress for this match. In particular, Ramon and Nakagawa. There is chatter amongst the Ryukyu supporters that Ramon is dealing with a minor injury that won’t keep him out for long, but the rumors surrounding Nakagawa are more concerning. Some of the supporters said that Nakagawa arrived in “rough shape” to Ryukyu this offseason. This could mean anything from a nagging injury requiring a rehabilitation and strengthening period or just being out of football shape from not featuring on a regular basis for the better part of two seasons. I hope Nakagawa is progressing in his efforts to return to the pitch as he can provide a huge boost to the attack when match fit. He may need to return sooner rather than later in the event Ikeda is asked to fill in up top for the injured Abe.

We also didn’t see RB Tavares or MF Sawada in this match and there has been no word on their status to date.

3. Yong-Jick looks to be a better CDM than CB. When Murase came on for Ichimaru, Yong Jick moved forward into the central mid fielder role and he looked more comfortable, more in control, and was better positioned defensively than I’ve seen from him in the past. Ryukyu’s only other center backs on the roster are Fukui and Murase so they don’t have the luxury of depth at the position to make the switch permanent, but it may provide some flexibility for Ryukyu moving forward. I would have rather seen Makito Uehara make the move to CDM this game but I understand why it is important to get him some game reps at his listed RB position.

4. Shunsuke Motegi looked good in his first full match in quite some time. Ryukyu currently dress four forwards each match but I don’t think that is sustainable. Motegi was a very good player before coming to Ryukyu and his inclusion into the top team could prove vital in the case of Shintaro moving into the starting FWD role.

5. FC Ryukyu and the fans should be very excited for what they have in both Reo Yamashita (LB) and Koki Yushin (MF). Both players had a really good game against this level of competition and the future looks really bright for the 16-year-old Yushin. He more than held his own out there and I was surprised to find out he was that young and playing that well against some of the senior players from Nagasaki. Yushin’s development could move forward rapidly if he sees regular action in the remaining games of this tournament.

Reo Yamashita played well enough to at least warrant consideration in the Ryukyu top team if Numata is injured or requires a rest day. Yamashita is the only other LB on the roster and despite not having played a single minute at this level of competition, the college player looks like he could withstand some of the rigors of the J2. There is still a steep learning curve he needs to navigate but he displayed plenty of confidence and skill in his first match.

6. It is hard to assess where the level of this competition is compared to the J2 and J3 leagues. First, most of the players in the lineup were veterans of the J-league so I cannot say that it was any less than the level of J2, or any more than J3. Second, I think there were only about 4 youth players that featured between the two sides so it was not as if we were seeing the likes of the U-23 sides from years past or the famous all Japanese U-23 side from the inaugural J3 campaign of 2014. Finally, it is the exact type of competition needed to keep reserve players fresh while allowing youth players to gain valuable match experience at the current level of their parent club.

Conclusion

This was my first time watching a reserve team match for FC Ryukyu and I thoroughly enjoyed the day out with my son in a relaxed setting. I am not sure how many of these match recaps I will be able to write for the reserve games as the information surrounding this tournament is sparse and the match reports following the games even less so. Hopefully I can get to the remaining home matches to provide some more insight in the future but that will largely depend on when the matches are held and if fans are allowed to attend.