Sho Inagaki scored the winner as Nagoya Grampus saw off Gamba Osaka 1-0 at home in the J-League first division on Saturday, moving level on points with Vissel Kobe a day ahead of the J1 leaders' fixture.
The 67th-minute goal from captain Inagaki secured a dominant Nagoya their first win after three straight draws and moved them up to 23 points. Struggling Gamba remain second from the bottom on seven points after their third straight defeat.
Ryoya Morishita volleyed over the best chance of the first half in the 37th minute at Toyota Stadium for Nagoya following a superb cross-field ball from Inagaki, who got on the scoresheet himself after the break.
Defender Haruya Fujii, who hit a late leveler on Wednesday against Kobe, drove into the right side of the box and crossed through the legs of a Gamba defender. Although forward Kasper Junker failed to control, a desperate clearance by Shota Fukuoka bounced off Inagaki and into the net.
"Forward players contributed defensively too and it's great to have kept a clean sheet," said the midfielder. "We hope to keep winning and putting them (Kobe) under pressure."
In the day's other match, Daiki Suga and Takuro Kaneko each hit a brace as Consadole Sapporo thumped FC Tokyo 5-1 at home to move up to 16 points, one point above the visitors.
