Brazilian striker Emerson struck a late winner as Urawa Reds continued their march toward the second-stage title after edging Kashima Antlers 3-2 away in the J. League first division on Saturday.
KASHIWA, Chiba Pref. - Tomokazu Myojin (right) of Reysol and Akinori Nishizawa of Cerezo Osaka compete
for the ball during Saturday's game in Kashiwa. The teams played to a 1-1 draw.
Emerson's superb 85th-minute strike in front of a bumper crowd of almost 32,000 at Kashima Stadium maintained Urawa's five-point lead at the top of the table with five games left while JEF United Ichihara stayed in touch with a 2-0 win at Nagoya Grampus Eight.
Athens Olympian Tatsuya Tanaka put Urawa in front after 11 minutes when he ran on to a clever pass from Yuichiro Nagai and clipped the ball over the onrushing Hitoshi Sogahata but poor defending allowed Kashima hit back.