First Impressions: Azul Claro Numazu Vs. FC Imabari

Credit: J-League

In an unprecedented event in the world of Malaysian football, it was announced recently by the J. League that all Azul Claro Numazu’s 28 matches for the 2021 J3 season will be broadcasted live in Astro Arena due to one of our players, Hadi Fayyadh now plying his trade for the Shizuoka prefecture outfit in a loan move from parent club Fagiano Okayama. Hadi hasn't made a single competitive appearance for Okayama since his move in 2019. However, there is a sense of optimism where he finally gets game time by going down a tier in the Japanese football system.

Even though he hasn’t gone on the field, Hadi has truly adapted well in Japan from becoming a tourist ambassador for Okayama to helping out promoting businesses in Numazu with new teammates Kosei Uryu & Yusuke Imamura. Heck, he even has a song about him by one of his Okayama teammates! Like every other Malaysian player, hopes are high for Hadi to ultimately come good. The signs were positive when Hadi started for a few of Numazu’s pre-season games.

Hadi is one of four new forwards brought in to Numazu. Looking at their record, Numazu needs reinforcements up front. They only scored 36 goals across 34 games and finished 12th out of 18 teams. It didn’t look like it was a disastrous season, but they definitely can and need to be better. Hadi though would have to compete for a starting spot up front with the likes of Ryo Watanabe, Yusuke Imamura and fellow new loan signing Junya Takahashi.

Hadi’s physical presence would surely be beneficial for Numazu, especially after acquiring creative midfielder Kosei Uryu who is touted by J. League Regista as one of the top 10 signings to watch in J3 this year. Uryu joined Numazu from Verspah Oita, the Japan Football League (Japan’s 4th division) champions. But Oita isn’t promoted as they didn’t have a J3 license at the time (They do now). They also crucially extended the loans of defender Tatsuya Anzai and goalkeeper Ryusuke Otomo, especially after losing their first-choice keeper last year Yuya Nagasawa to J2 side Tokyo Verdy. 

As for FC Imabari, they are looking to build an impressive 7th-placed finish last year which was their first ever campaign in the J3. For a newly-promoted side, FC Imabari boasted a 3rd-best defensive record, conceding only 27 goals throughout the season led by defender Takuya Sonoda and 35 year-old goalkeeper Tomohito Shugyo as they kept 13 clean sheets, the 2nd highest total behind 2020 champions Blaublitz Akita. FC Imabari is Spanish head coach, Lluis Planaguma’s first overseas job having been managing only in Spain prior to his Japanese adventure. He was appointed in January 2020 and he has clearly done a great job in making Imabari a dark horse to watch. However this year, Imabari had to contend with losing top scorer Masamichi Hayashi to J2 side Montedio Yamagata though they did offset it by signing a few quality players who we will go into later. Things got off to a rocky start when they lost 1-0 at home to Roasso Kumamoto, one of the promotion contenders.

Given what went down last season, perhaps there is a sense that Imabari will get their first win by just edging Numazu. But it’s now a new season altogether. Can Numazu kick start their season with a win or will Imabari bounce back from their disappointing start? 

Azul Claro Numazu

Cue the disappointment when it turned out the man of the moment, Hadi Fayyadh did not make the matchday squad so we have to wait longer to see him in action. The way Numazu arranged their starting line-up on their Twitter makes it seem like they are playing a 3-5-2, but the official J. League site had them arranged in a 4-2-3-1 system with Ryo Watanabe and Junya Takahashi preferred to start with winger Kota Suzuki the only back-up option to call upon in attack.

They almost got off to a great start after just four minutes when Watanabe was able to divert a low cross to the near post, only for it to be stopped by the hand of Imabari goalkeeper Tomohito Shugyo. Numazu had control for the opening 15 minutes. But somewhere along the way, Imabari gained momentum and Numazu struggled to create anything worthwhile. So it was against the run of play when on 31 minutes, an excellent cross by Tatsuya Anzai found full-back Takumi Hama, who jumped highest to head the ball in from quite a distance in the box to give the home side the lead.

Numazu had a few tries to get more goals, but they weren’t threatening enough. Strangely around the hour mark, Numazu head coach Masataka Imai opts to sub out creative spearhead Uryu. This would make Numazu’s job to attack even more labored. So it’s perhaps no surprise that Imabari controlled the match in possession and attack in the second half. Had it not been for goalkeeper Ryusuke Otomo who since joining on loan last year finally making his debut here, Imabari would’ve equalized at some point. But the Numazu keeper, who is the busier of the two keepers here, did well to hold his ground. As the match approached its end, Numazu put players behind the ball to frustrate the visitors as they successfully held on for the three points.

Best Player: Kazuki Someya

The right-winger is perhaps the most liveliest player for Numazu in this match. You would be forgiven if you think Someya is about in his mid-to-late 20s, but he’s actually turning 35 this year. He was agile throughout the match and even is capable of beating the Imabari full-back once in a while. Quite a number of attacks came down his flank as he played the key pass that led to Numazu’s sole goal.

FC Imabari

Imabari looks like they are playing a 4-4-2 formation with new signings Toshiki Toya & Tasuku Hiraoka leading the attack while the centre defence pairing of Takuya Sonoda & Han Jeol-chung tasked to keep the defence solid. It took a while, but Imabari got control of the match and had two great chances to open the scoring. First, left-back Takuya Shimamura, another new signing from Kyoto Sanga of J2, just saw his low shot agonizingly wide of the far post and Hiraoka’s low shot towards the near post needed Otomo to be called upon to save it.

Imabari had a further two great chances to score, but one was well stopped when substitute Seigo Takei looked destined to score (And he really should’ve scored) and the other hit the frame of the goal (Which will go into later). Since then though, Imabari struggled to make Otomo work more despite controlling proceedings. As time went on, it became more difficult for the away side to break through Numazu’s defence and penetrate their box. Therefore, they brought on Leo Mineiro and Koichi Miyao to bolster their attack in the last 15 minutes. But their plans were derailed when Mineiro’s leg folded forcefully behind him following an accidental collision and he had to be replaced and stretchered off the field just nine minutes after he came on. Imabari could’ve got a point deep into stoppage time, but midfielder Keishi Kusumi could only put his effort wide as Imabari suffered a second consecutive 1-0 defeat. 

Best Player: Takuya Shimamura

The left-back was EVERYWHERE around Numazu’s final third. Whether he overlaps with the left-winger or play as the inverted wing-back, the 22-year old never looked tired as he tries to contribute to Imabari’s attack. He even went to the other side of the wing to help out once in a while when the possession goes to the right-wing. So it was a massive shame when his stunning curler hit the bar. Just slightly lower and that would’ve been a goal-of-the-week contender right there. Nevertheless, Shimamura can take heart with his performance today.

Overall

Imabari may have had the better chances, but they didn’t pepper Otomo’s goal enough with shots. Considering they were controlling most of the match, there is concern on the quality of their attack despite having the most threatening chances. They may have had the 3rd best defence last year, but the number of goals they scored leave much more to desire as they only scored 39, the lowest of all the top half teams. Masamichi Hayashi’s departure further aggravates that problem. However, they can take to heart that they have what it takes to take it to their opponents. All they need to do is just score whatever chances they have. They can do it when they next face Iwate Grulla Morioka at home.
As for Numazu, they perhaps got away with it with a narrow win, but they need to assert their dominance someway in a match. Sure, it’s only their first match of the season, but they rode their luck here a little bit. Even so, their defence did well to frustrate Imabari so a foundation is there for Imai to build on for this season. Up next for Numazu is a trip up north in the Aomori prefecture where they will face Vanraure Hachinohe. So here’s hoping Hadi does make the matchday squad this time around.

Also a huge shoutout to Keesh Sundaresan and ex-FELDA United head coach Nidzam Jamil for a good job on commentary. Hopefully we hear more of them for all Numazu’s upcoming matches.