TOKYO (AP) Shinzo Koroki scored in the second half on Saturday as Urawa Reds beat Albirex Niigata 1-0 to move within one point of first place in the J-League.
Koroki's right-foot shot in the 62nd minute was enough to secure the win for Urawa, which improved to 46 points, one behind Yokohama F Marinos, which lost 1-0 to Omiya Ardija.
Daigo Watanabe's first-half strike helped Omiya Ardija stop an eight-match losing streak and give manager Tsutomu Ogura his first win since taking over from Zdenko Verdenik, who was fired last month.
Defending champion Sanfrecce Hiroshima lost 2-1 to FC Tokyo and is in third place with 44 points, while Juninho scored twice as Kashima Antlers beat Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 to move into fourth on 41 points with 10 matches of the campaign left to play.
Elsewhere, Shimizu S-Pulse beat Oita Trinita 3-2 while Shonan Bellmare defeated Vegalta Sendai by the same score. Jubilo Iwata and Venforet Kofu finished 1-1 while Cerezo Osaka and Kawasaki Frontale played to a 0-0 draw.
