Shinzo Koroki hit the winner against his former club as Urawa Reds beat Kashima Antlers 2-1 on Saturday to stay two points clear at the top of the overall J. League table.
First-stage champions Reds went into the game having won five of their last six games after suffering a wobble at the start of the season's second stage, but it was Antlers who took the lead through Yasushi Endo in just the third minute.
Urawa's Toshiyuki Takagi leveled the score three minutes later at a boisterous Kashima Stadium, but despite the home side going on to dominate the match, Koroki plundered the spoils for Urawa after a mistake by goalkeeper Hitoshi Sogahata left him with an open goal in the 72nd minute.