The J. League first-stage title race will go down to the wire as 10-man JEF United Ichihara was beaten 3-0 at Shimizu S-Pulse on Saturday, while Yokohama F. Marinos and Jubilo Iwata both posted vital wins.
A win for Ichihara, previously unbeaten on the road this season, coupled with defeats for Iwata and Yokohama would have landed Ivica Osim's men their first ever J. League title.
But the three points never came and Yokohama emerged as the favorite to clinch first-stage honors in the final round of matches next Saturday after a second-half double from Tatsuhiko Kubo gave it a 2-1 win at Gamba Osaka.
Yokohama moved to the top of the table on 29 points from 14 games, one clear of defending champion Iwata, which won 1-0 away to Kashiwa Reysol, while Ichihara dropped from first to third on 27 points.