Third-place Nagoya Grampus maintained their unbeaten home record and kept up the pressure on the teams ahead of them in the J-League first division with a 1-0 win over Kashima Antlers on Sunday.
Yuki Nogami's 37th-minute goal proved the difference at Toyota Stadium, where visiting Antlers were aiming to win their third straight league game and extend their unbeaten streak to five.
The win took Nagoya's tally to 45 points, two behind second-place Yokohama F Marinos and leaders Vissel Kobe, who hold the top spot on goal difference.
Kenta Hasegawa's side took the lead through a sharp three-man movement, with Kensuke Nagai sending a vertical pass into the box for Kasper Junker, whose first-time cross found center-back-cum-winger Nogami sliding in for his first J1 goal since transferring from Sanfrecce Hiroshima in January.
"The fans really lifted us by creating such an intense atmosphere inside the stadium," Nogami said after the win, which avenged a 2-0 defeat away to Kashima on May 14 at Tokyo's National Stadium.
Nogami's former team Sanfrecce were victorious in the day's other J1 contest, coming from behind to defeat fourth-place Urawa Reds 2-1 on Nassim Ben Khalifa's 93rd-minute strike at Edion Stadium Hiroshima.
