Late heroics from Masakatsu Sawa enabled Kashiwa Reysol to cling on to top spot with a dramatic 1-0 win over visiting Vegalta Sendai on Saturday night.

Sendai looked all set for a hard-earned draw, a result that would have seen Kashiwa surrender pole position to Yokohama F. Marinos, who won 2-1 at Jubilo Iwata.

But Hitachi Stadium erupted when Sawa scored his first professional goal, heading in Koki Mizuno's rightwing cross in the fourth minute of injury time.