Naohiro Takahara flirted with his first J. League hat-trick in nine years as the former Japan striker scored twice in Shimizu S-Pulse's 4-1 away thrashing of Omiya Ardija on Sunday.
Takahara, who signed with Shimizu over the winter following his sojourn in the K-League with Suwon Bluewings, netted in the space of nine second-half minutes to help Afshin Ghotbi's side climb out of the relegation zone and up to 11th place.
Shimizu midfielder Alex Brosque opened the scoring late in the first half, and Shinji Tsujio struck the fourth for S-Pulse against Ardija, who went down a man midway through the second half at Nack5 Stadium after Lee Chun Soo was booked for a second time.