Football Season Guide

Difficult last year. No team scored fewer than Oita’s 27 goals in 38 rounds. Only the bottom 2 sides had fewer than Oita’s 8 wins. However, some solid defending and lots of draws proved just about enough for survival. During the spring had similar problems with passive forward actions. Mixed 8 wins with 10 defeats during the league phase of the Vision League. Scored only 18 goals in these 18 matches. As a result finished outside the top 25. Young striker Shinya Utsumoto showed some glimpses of brilliance during the Vision League. He even won 2 Goal of the Round Awards. Hopes are his development could continue. If this is the case Oita might have a slightly better record in attack this term. New striker Furukawa struggled last year and he is not expected to play too often. The main right-back Yoshida is the only regular from the defence to have left. New signings Oda and Moriyama are expected to battle for the right to start. Oda has more experience and should be the preferred regular at least early on. If the defensive stability remains similar, no reason not to with the main players still there, and the scoring record improves even slightly, Oita should have a better point tally.