URAWA Reds snapped a five-game losing run and moved a point clear at the top of the J.League as goals by Edmilson and substitute Yuichiro Nagai earned the Asian champions a 2-0 win over FC Tokyo on Saturday night.
Urawa had been in a poor run of form, losing their last two J.League matches against Gamba Osaka and Kashiwa Reysol and bowing out of the Nabisco Cup after three consecutive defeats, but they enjoyed the perfect start at Saitama Stadium, taking the lead after only three minutes.
Making his first start of the season after being sidelined by injury, Reds forward Tatasuya Tanaka made an immediate impact, latching on to a long ball by Tadaaki Hirakawa and cutting into the box before squaring to Brazilian forward Edmilson, who blasted in the opening goal.
Reds nearly extended their lead in the 19th minute when defender Sataoshi Horihouchi saw his header off a Robson Ponte corner stopped by Tokyo goalkeeper Hiroshi Shiota, while Marcus Tulio Tanaka put a header wide for the home side just before half-time.
FC Tokyo went close to an equaliser on the stroke of half-time when Japan international defender Yasuyuki Konno hit the post and the visitors had the better of the second half with substitute forward Nobuo Kawaguchi heading on target in the 72nd minute, only for Reds goalkeeper Ryota Tsuzuki to claw away the ball before it could loop into his net.
Urawa secured all three points with two minutes remaining as Nagai ran on to a long ball from Horinouchi and outpaced his marker before firing a fierce drive past Shiota.
"We played with a good rhythm from the start of the game and put in an almost perfect performance in the first half," said Reds boss Gert Engels.
"It would have been much easier for us if we could have scored our second goal sooner but overall, each of our players fought hard and concentrated well to the end of the game."
The win helped Reds to remain a point ahead of defending champions Kashima Antlers, who recorded their third consecutive J.League victory with a 2-1 win at Jubilo Iwata.
Mitsuo Ogasawara opened the scoring after three minutes and Masashi Motoyama added a second in the 34th minute and Kashima hung on for the three points despite Robert Cullen pulling a goal back for Jubilo just after the hour mark.
Nagoya Grampus dropped three points behind Urawa after going down 2-1 at Albirex Niigata.
Toshihiro Matsushita opened the scoring for the hosts in the 58th minute and although defender Takahiro Masukawa cancelled it out with a 74th minute header, Japan forward Kisho Yano struck nine minutes later to give Albirex victory.
In other matches on Saturday, bottom side JEF United Chiba suffered a crushing 3-0 loss at Tokyo Verdy, struggling Consadole Sapporo battled to a 2-2 draw with Shimizu S-Pulse and Vissel Kobe downed Omiya Ardija 1-0.
Making his first start of the season after being sidelined by injury, Reds forward Tatasuya Tanaka made an immediate impact, latching on to a long ball by Tadaaki Hirakawa and cutting into the box before squaring to Brazilian forward Edmilson, who blasted in the opening goal.
Reds nearly extended their lead in the 19th minute when defender Sataoshi Horihouchi saw his header off a Robson Ponte corner stopped by Tokyo goalkeeper Hiroshi Shiota, while Marcus Tulio Tanaka put a header wide for the home side just before half-time.
FC Tokyo went close to an equaliser on the stroke of half-time when Japan international defender Yasuyuki Konno hit the post and the visitors had the better of the second half with substitute forward Nobuo Kawaguchi heading on target in the 72nd minute, only for Reds goalkeeper Ryota Tsuzuki to claw away the ball before it could loop into his net.
Urawa secured all three points with two minutes remaining as Nagai ran on to a long ball from Horinouchi and outpaced his marker before firing a fierce drive past Shiota.
"We played with a good rhythm from the start of the game and put in an almost perfect performance in the first half," said Reds boss Gert Engels.
"It would have been much easier for us if we could have scored our second goal sooner but overall, each of our players fought hard and concentrated well to the end of the game."
The win helped Reds to remain a point ahead of defending champions Kashima Antlers, who recorded their third consecutive J.League victory with a 2-1 win at Jubilo Iwata.
Mitsuo Ogasawara opened the scoring after three minutes and Masashi Motoyama added a second in the 34th minute and Kashima hung on for the three points despite Robert Cullen pulling a goal back for Jubilo just after the hour mark.
Nagoya Grampus dropped three points behind Urawa after going down 2-1 at Albirex Niigata.
Toshihiro Matsushita opened the scoring for the hosts in the 58th minute and although defender Takahiro Masukawa cancelled it out with a 74th minute header, Japan forward Kisho Yano struck nine minutes later to give Albirex victory.
In other matches on Saturday, bottom side JEF United Chiba suffered a crushing 3-0 loss at Tokyo Verdy, struggling Consadole Sapporo battled to a 2-2 draw with Shimizu S-Pulse and Vissel Kobe downed Omiya Ardija 1-0.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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