Tokyo Verdy killed off the unbeaten start of Nagoya Grampus to the J. League season with a shock 2-0 win at Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides struggled to make inroads in a scrappy first half played at a woefully pedestrian pace, but a 55th-minute goal from Diego sparked the match into life.

Grampus hit back as manager Dragan Stojkovic instructed his team to pump high balls toward towering strikers Frode Johnsen and Yuki Maki, but Verdy broke away to snatch a second through 18-year-old substitute Hiroki Kawano.