Urawa Reds made up ground in the J.League title race with a 1-0 win over Albirex Niigata as front-runners Yokohama F. Marinos and Sanfrecce Hiroshima both lost on Saturday night.
Urawa went into the match at Saitama Stadium trailing first-place Marinos by four points having lost 3-0 to the league leaders on Wednesday night, but a 62nd-minute goal from Shinzo Koroki ensured the Saitama side bounced back against mid-table Albirex.
Marinos retained the top spot despite losing 1-0 to Omiya Ardija — ending Omiya's run of eight straight defeats in the process — but Urawa closed the gap to one point and leap-frogged Sanfrecce after the defending champions slumped to a 2-1 home loss to FC Tokyo.