Captain Yuki Abe slammed home an 83rd-minute piledriver to give Urawa Reds maximum points from their opening two games of the J. League season with a 1-0 win over Montedio Yamagata on Saturday.
Reds, who blew a five-point lead with three games remaining to finish second behind Gamba Osaka last season, went into the match at Saitama Stadium having beaten second-division champions Shonan Bellmare 3-1 on the opening day.
The former Asian champions struggled against a promoted Montedio side that came up through the playoffs after finishing sixth in J2 last season, but Abe finally found a way through with a ferocious long-range shot that flew past ex-Urawa goalkeeper Norihiro Yamagishi in the Montedio goal.