Rayo OKC Puts Trust In Ironmen On The Back Line

Photo credit: Rayo OKC

The reason for Rayo OKC is challenging for a berth in The Championship, the NASL's four team postseason tournament, is simple and clearcut for defender Kosuke Kimura: “We got hot at the right time.”

That might be the No. 1 understatement of 2016 in the NASL.

Rayo OKC has experienced its shares of challenges, but now the club is tied, on points, with Minnesota United for the fourth and final berth in the postseason. Rayo OKC faces another pivotal game, at equally desperate Fort Lauderdale on Saturday night.

And while Michel, the NASL Player of the Week after scoring three times last week, has garnered much of the attention as the goals continue to add up, it has been Kimura and one of his defensive partners – Futty Danso – who have been the rocks in defense in front of goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes.

In fact, all three have been on the field for every minute of all 30 league matches – that is three guys coach Gerard Nus has been able to write in his lineup sheet without a second thought.

“A successful team needs a mix and balance between experience and youth but overall, competitive players with a big desire to win every single game,” Nus said. “Kosuke and Futty are the best examples of these experienced and determined veterans.”

The two veteran defenders, who played together with the MLS’s Portland Timbers in 2012, are seemingly opposites who have found common ground on the soccer field. The 5-foot-9 Kimura, 32, is a tireless worker who came to the United States from Japan without a workable knowledge of English and now speaks without an accent. The 6-foot-3 Danso, 33, is a native of Gambia who also came to the U.S. to play soccer in college (Kimura at Western Illinois, Danso at North Carolina Wesleyan).

“Futty and I both have experience and we’re friends from our time in Portland,” Kimura told NASL.com. “We know how each other wants to play. We’re both getting old, but we can still move. Not many teams attack from our [right] side, but we want to keep humble and train. We might get into each other during a game, but that’s normal. We know that a steady back line is the most important part of any team. We concede here and there, but we’re getting wins and ties and we’re not easy to break down. We have strong confidence.”

Rayo OKC has put together an eight-game unbeaten streak to launch itself back into the postseason race. The club has won three straight games, conceding only one goal over the span. In fact, Rayo OKC has not allowed the opposition more than one goal in its past seven games.

Kimura said that Nus, the Spanish coach who has been in the job since early August, has tweaked the team’s tactics a bit. He has been stressing high pressure and ball possession, the Holy Grail of all soccer teams everywhere.

“We try and hold the ball and press a bit,” Kimura said. “Build up from the back and get our rhythm going. In tight areas we like to invite the pressure from the other team because when we get the ball back we can attack right away. We have enough quality to play football. What he (Nus) has been trying to do takes time. We play high risk, high return.”

As six teams scramble for that final spot in The Championship, the Loons are sitting, tenuously, in the catbird seat. Minnesota has a superior goal differential over Rayo OKC, and two wins to close out the regular season would probably see United through to a semifinal date with the New York Cosmos on Nov. 5. For Rayo OKC, a trip to South Florida to face the Strikers brings together two clubs that absolutely must grab all three points to remain viable.

“One at a time," Kimura said. "One at a time.

“The game against the Strikers is a huge one. But if we keep playing well and stay together we know we can do it. We have to stay humble and stay focused on ourselves.”