Relegation-threatened Kashiwa Reysol were held to a damaging 1-1 draw at home against 10-man Kawasaki Frontale on Sunday in the J-League first division.
Despite taking a first-half lead and seeing the visitors have a player sent off after the break, Kashiwa conceded a 70th-minute leveler to Kento Tachibanada at Sankyo Frontier Stadium and threw away two points that would have been a big boost to their survival hopes.
The result leaves Kashiwa on 30 points, two clear of 17th-place Shonan Bellmare and four clear of bottom club Yokohama FC with three matches left to play for all sides. Only one team will be relegated to J2 this season.
Kashiwa striker Mao Hosoya hit the post on the half-hour mark before Yuto Yamada struck the 40th-minute opener on a counter, set up by a long diagonal pass into space by fellow midfielder Matheus Savio.
Kawasaki were dealt a further blow in the 54th minute when half-time substitute Daiya Tono was shown a red card following a wild lunge on Hosoya near the halfway line. The referee initially issued no card but had a change of mind following an on-field review.
Yamada wasted a huge opportunity five minutes later when he shot over from just meters out and the home side were made to pay for their wastefulness when Kawasaki right-back Miki Yamane's cross was swept home by midfielder Tachibanada.
Things could have gone worse for Kashiwa, with former Lyon striker Bafetimbi Gomis striking the post with a powerful effort from inside the box five minutes later for the visitors.
"I think it's a bit of a blow for players to concede a leveler and settle for a point against 10 men, but we achieved the minimum by getting one point," Kashiwa manager Masami Ihara said. "We should've continued the same way regardless of the opponents playing with 10 or 11."
