FC Gifu - J2 season 1/3 Review

FC Gifu have bravely fought their way through one third of their debut J2 season. Below are some thoughts on their performance thus far.

Round 15 J2 Table (FC Gifu Result)

32 Sanfreece Hiroshima (1-1)
28 Cereso Osaka (0-1)
26 Vegalta Sendai (0-1)
25 Shonan Bellmare (2-4)
24 Sagan Tosu (0-1)
23 Yokohama FC (2-3)
22 Montedio Yamagata (5-3)
17 FC Gifu
17 Ventforet Kofu (1-1)
17 Thespa Kusatsu (0-1)
14 Tokushima Vortis (2-1)
12 Ehime FC (0-3)
12 Roasso Kumamoto (2-0)
12 Avispa Fukuoka (5-1)
10 Mito Hollyhock (3-1)

Results indicate that FC Gifu has beaten most of the teams lower then them in the table whereas they have generally lost to teams higher in the table. This is probably a good indication of where FC Gifu are at the moment, good enough to beat most of the "lower" teams but as yet not good enough to beat the "stronger" teams.

Results Round 1 to 15:

Results - Overall
Won 5 Draw 2 Loss 7

Results - Home
Won 1 Draw 1 Loss 5

Results - Away
Won 4 Draw 1 Loss 2

A look at the overall results shows that Gifu have played well an have some rather impressive results considering it's their first season in the J2. The main concern though is the wins at home. Just one solitary win from seven games. Not only is this a concern for the team but by failing to win at home the attendance figures also declines. Also, while they have probably played better than their oppostion in the games that they've won there have been several games which they should have at least won or drawn, but instead lost (eg Kusatsu, Yokohama etc).

All in all you'd have to say a pass but honestly the team will be disappointed not to have gained more points then they have now.

Goals:

Goals - For 23 Goals (J2 - =2nd)

Goals - Againgst 22 Goals (J2 - 11th)

This says it all. Some of the best attacking play in the league, followed by some of the worst defense in the league. The goals against is perhaps expected but the goals for is probably a shock for most people. In that aspect it's a definite thumbs up. But will it continue??

Best Players:

1. Takashi Umeda
Great general all-round skill. Dribble and pass, aggressiveness and four goals.
Took over as captain in place of the injured Komine.

2. Masato Katayama
First season in the J2 and already six goals. Knows how to sniff a chance

3. Takayuki Komine
Captain Courageous. Has a big body and defies gravity with his defensive dashes and body checks.

Best Games:

1. Ventforet Kofu 1 - 1 FC Gifu
The long awaited J2 debut. Gifu travelled to Yamanashi to face freshly relegated Kofu and came out with a brave draw thanks to MF Hiromi Kojima.

2. Montedio Yamagata 3 - 5 FC Gifu
Away to Yamagata Gifu pulled off shock number one of the season when they scored five goals and took their first win of the season in just the third round.

3. Avispa Fukuoka 1 - 5 FC Gifu
FC Gifu came from behind to dismantle Fukuoka 5-1 in what has to be the shock result of the season so far.

Best Goal:

Masato Katayama's volley-shoot against Tokushima Vortis

Attendance:

29697 (7 games)
Average Attendance: 4242 (J2 - 11th)

Considering the amount of sunday games and the timing of some of the games, the attendance figures are not too bad. The worrying thing is though that if Gifu continue this poor run at home it's hard to see the figures rising much.