Sanfrecce Hiroshima escaped with minimal damage to their J.League title ambitions after Yokohama F. Marinos missed a second-half penalty in a 0-0 draw with the division leaders on Saturday.
Sanfrecce went into the game at Nissan Stadium with a five-point lead over Vegalta Sendai and Urawa Reds at the top of the table, but that position hung in the balance when substitute Mihael Mikic brought down Yokohama's Yuji Ono inside the box in the 75th minute.
Ono took the kick himself only to blast it high over the crossbar, however, allowing Sanfrecce to breathe a sigh of relief and open up a provisional six-point gap with Vegalta and Reds playing later in the evening.