Vegalta Sendai and Sagan Tosu shared the points in a stifling 1-1 draw in the J. League on Sunday.
Naoyuki Fujita drew first blood for Tosu in the opening half before Sendai striker Shingo Akamine leveled minutes after halftime as the two struggling sides failed to give themselves a boost up the table.
"It was an extremely tough game," Vegalta boss Makoto Teguramori said. "We were hoping to push the tempo a little more than we did, but I suppose 1-1 is a fair result."