Jose Kante scored the 11th-minute opener and fourth-placed Urawa Reds held on for a 1-0 win over Nagoya Grampus in the J-League first division on Friday.
Reds' first win in five games moved them to within four points of third-place Grampus, who came into Saitama Stadium having won their previous two games.
The visitors coughed up the ball in the center of the pitch and defended Reds' counter well, blocking one cross and one shot before Kante got the ball on the edge of the area.
The Spaniard turned toward the goal, fired between two defenders. Keeper Mitch Langerak's view was blocked by his teammates, and he was unable to respond to the missile off Kante's boot.
"The action was very fast. We made a counterattack...it was quite smooth. The shot, sometimes it goes in, sometimes not, but that was close, and it was perfect," Kante said. "
Elsewhere, Avispa Fukuoka's five-match winning streak ended at home 1-0 on an own goal against Albirex Niigata.
