Kawasaki Frontale blew an early lead and drew 2-2 with visiting South Korean side Ulsan Hyundai in an Asian Champions League Group H match on Tuesday night at Todoroki Stadium.
In another ACL group match, Hayato Araki's 34th-minute header proved to be the only goal of the game as Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat South Korea's Daegu FC 1-0. The victory at Forest Arena lifted Sanfrecce to the top of Group F.
After going ahead through captain Yu Kobayashi in the eighth minute, Kawasaki needed an 82nd-minute equalizer by Kei Chinen to ensure it finished with a share of the points.
"We were playing at home, so it was a match that we had to win. I'm frustrated that we drew," said Kobayashi, whose goal was his first of the season.
"The first goal was good, but it didn't result in a win so we need to practice more."
After Kobayashi's opener, the visitors leveled less than 10 minutes later when Park Yong-woo drove in a left-side corner kick from Sin Jin-ho, before Brazilian striker Junior Negrao put the South Korean side ahead in the 31st minute.
Toru Oniki's men dominated possession and took 21 shots to Ulsan's four, but struggled to find a breakthrough with Chinen missing a golden opportunity in the second half.
Frontale were eliminated from the group stage last year without posting a single win.