The high-flying Urawa Reds earned a little breathing space at the top of the J. League Saturday after a 3-2 win over visiting FC Tokyo.
Tatsuya Tanaka pounced to cancel out a shock opener from Tokyo striker Shingo Akamine before Satoshi Horinouchi and Robson Ponte both found the target to send the Reds four points clear as faltering Gamba crashed to a 4-1 defeat at Kawasaki Frontale.
Tanaka, lively on his return to the Japan national team in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Cameroon, brought out a fine save from Tokyo goalkeeper Hitoshi Shiota in the 16th minute but it was the Gasmen that drew first blood at Saitama Stadium 2002.
Akamine rolled into an empty net in the 33rd minute after Brazilian Rychely had poked the ball through Ryota Tsuzuki's legs but Tokyo's joy lasted just four minutes as Tanaka capitalized on poor defending to slot home from close range.