Leaders Machida Zelvia were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Avispa Fukuoka on Saturday as the J-League first-division season reached its midway point.
The J1 debutants Machida had a tough test against a battling Fukuoka side who had won their last three games, but did enough to secure a point at western Tokyo's Machida Gion Stadium that lifted them up to 39 points from 19 games.
"We've been giving away lots of goals lately, so I want to take positives from not conceding," captain and former Japan defender Gen Shoji said after Machida's first clean sheet in four games. "It's not a coincidence we're where we are in the table."
Machida midfielder Hokuto Shimoda's low, second-minute free-kick from 30 meters out was denied by Fukuoka keeper Masaaki Murakami, while the first-half's best chance fell to the visitors with Itsuki Oda's near-post header off a 38th-minute corner scraped off the line by Machida keeper Kosei Tani.
Fukuoka forward Wellington headed over Douglas Grolli's cross in the 57th minute, while the visitors were fortunate on the hour mark, when an awkward clearance by Oda hit Machida attacker Yu Hirakawa's head, with the ball flying narrowly over the bar from meters out.
Avispa matched Machida's renowned intensity throughout and Shahab Zahedi had a glorious chance to net the winner in the 78th minute, but the Iranian forward sent a free header wide at the far post. They nevertheless kept their third straight clean sheet and moved up to 29 points.
