First-half goals from Marcus Tulio Tanaka and Ponte earned Reds a victory at Komaba Stadium which cut the gap to five points after the north Osaka club were held to a scoreless draw at Yokohama F. Marinos.

Reds were in complete control from the kick-off and got their opening goal from one of eight corners in the first half as Japan international defender Tulio ghosted into the box to head home Ponte's set-piece in the 39th minute.

Six minutes later Reds extended the lead as Ponte converted a penalty, awarded after Tatsuya Tanaka was brought down in the box by Kobe right-back Yosuke Ishibitsu.

Tanaka had won an earlier penalty in the game but Washington saw his 28th-minute spot-kick saved by Kobe goalkeeper Tatsuya Enomoto.

Despite being given more room to play in the second half as the home team slowed down the game, Kobe were unable to pull a goal back and suffered their third straight defeat.

Reds boss Holger Osieck said: "We played very good football in the first half and I'm satisfied with the way we defended and built up the game.

"But we could have scored more goals if we had made the most of the chances we created. That's something we have to work on to improve."

Elsewhere, Kawasaki Frontale were held to a 1-1 draw by Sanfrecce Hiroshima as they slid from third to fifth in the standings.

Brazil forward Juninho's 13th-minute opener for Kawasaki was cancelled out by a 42nd-minute penalty converted by compatriot Ueslei.

Antlers moved up to third place after edging 10-man Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 thanks to Brazilian striker Marquinhos' last-minute strike.

Albirex's Edmilson also joined the Brazilian scoring fiesta with a first-half brace, one from the penalty spot, as Albirex Niigata downed struggling Yokohama FC 3-1 to move up to fourth.

Finally, Jubilo Iwata were held to a scoreless draw by Omiya Ardija, Shimizu S-Pulse defeated hosts Nagoya Grampus Eight 2-1, JEF United Chiba beat Oita Trinita 1-0 and FC Tokyo downed Ventforet Kofu 2-1.