OITA, Japan (AP) Shunsuke Nakamura scored late in the first half on Sunday as Yokohama F Marinos reclaimed top spot in the J-League standings with a 1-0 win over Oita Trinita.
Nakamura's free kick from 27 meters in the 45th minute allowed Yokohama to beat relegated Oita and improve to 59 points, two ahead of Urawa Reds, which beat Kashiwa Reysol 2-1 thanks to a pair of goals by Yosuke Kashiwagi.
Kashiwagi beat Kashiwa goalkeeper Takanori Sugeno with a header just four minutes in and doubled the lead in the 11th minute with his eighth goal of the season. Masato Kudo pulled one back for Kashiwa three minutes later but the visitors couldn't equalize.
Defending champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat Vegalta Sendai 1-0 on Saturday and are in third place on 56 points with four games left.
In other games, Kengo Kawamata scored a hat trick as Albirex Niigata beat Shonan Bellmare 3-2 while Kashima Antlers thrashed Kawasaki Frontale 4-1 to move into fourth place on 53 points.
