Nagoya Grampus passed another test of their mettle en route to their first J. League championship as Dragan Stojkovic's men defeated Cerezo Osaka 1-0 thanks to Josh Kennedy's J1-leading 16th goal on Saturday.
Kennedy hit a first-half penalty as Nagoya overcame the absence of Japan internationals Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Mu Kanazaki to beat Cerezo, opening up an 11-point lead over idle Kashima Antlers with six games left in the season.
Antlers, who Grampus will face next weekend at Kashima, play Albirex at Niigata on Sunday.