KAWASAKI –

Sanfrecce Hiroshima picked up their fifth straight win with a smash-and-grab 1-0 victory over Kawasaki Frontale on Wednesday to move one point off the top of the J. League table.

Sanfrecce, champions in 2012 and '13, went in front in the third minute through Brazilian striker Douglas then shut up shop for the remaining 87 to leave Todoroki Stadium with all three points.

Urawa Reds held onto first place despite not playing because of Asian Champions League commitments, but Sanfrecce climbed into third behind them and FC Tokyo, who beat Vegalta Sendai 3-2 to move into second on goal difference.

"We managed to score early, and it would have been nice to then go on and dictate the play and attack more," said Sanfrecce manager Hajime Moriyasu. "But Kawasaki are a very good attacking team, and we are in the middle of a run of games. So if you score first, you shut the play down, make sure you don't concede and try to hit them on the counter.

"As the game went on, they began to attack more and more, and we had to fight through a few dangerous moments. But the players dug in and in the end we came away with the three points."

Frontale struggled to create chances despite dominating possession, and Yahiro Kazama's side has now lost its last three games to take the wind out of a promising early-season challenge.

"We didn't take enough shots," said Kazama, who lost forward Yu Kobayashi to a knee injury in the warmup before the game. "We had chances to shoot but didn't take them. We began to shoot more in the second half, but it still wasn't enough. It doesn't matter about the other team — it's up to us."

Sanfrecce got off to the perfect start when Douglas capitalized on a communication mixup between Frontale defender Shogo Taniguchi and debutant goalkeeper Shota Arai to steal in and put the visitors in front.

"We knew before the game that their 'keeper was making his debut and that his understanding with the defenders might not be there yet," said Sanfrecce defender Kazuhiko Chiba. "We thought we might be able to exploit that at the beginning of the game, and sure enough we did."

Sanfrecce were happy to sit on their lead with Frontale suffering from a lack of attacking edge in the first half, but things picked up after the break and Yoshito Okubo almost equalized with a 63rd-minute header from a Kengo Nakamura cross.

Frontale failed to threaten consistently for the rest of the game, however, and a Makoto Kakuda header onto the roof of the net in injury time was the best the home side could muster as Sanfrecce escaped with the points.

"I believed that I could get the ball, so I stuck my leg out made contact," said Douglas, who joined Sanfrecce at the start of the season and has now scored three goals. "I saw a gap between the defense and the 'keeper and thought I could get in and score.

"It's great to score, but the most important thing is that the team worked together to get the win."

Elsewhere in the J. League, Sho Naruoka grabbed an injury-time equalizer to give Albirex Niigata a 1-1 draw with Montedio Yamagata, while Matsumoto Yamaga beat bottom side Ventforet Kofu 2-0.

Shimizu S-Pulse twice took the lead but had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Sagan Tosu, Yokohama F. Marinos downed Nagoya Grampus 2-0, and Shonan Bellmare and Vissel Kobe drew 1-1.

Urawa, Gamba Osaka, Kashiwa Reysol and Kashima Antlers were all absent from J. League action because of ACL fixtures.