JEF United Chiba registered their first league home win of the season with a 2-1 defeat of struggling Cerezo Osaka on Saturday, increasing the pressure on Cerezo manager Shinji Kobayashi in the process.
Yasuhito Endo (left) of Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers' Mitsuo Ogasawara compete for the ball during their J. League match in Osaka.
Early goals from Naotake Hanyu and Satoru Yamagishi did the damage at Fukuda Denshi Arena and kept Kobayashi's men rooted at the foot of the table with just three points taken from seven games played so far this term.
A pale shadow of the team that came within a whisker of capturing their first J. League title last year, Cerezo was left chasing the game after Chiba raced into a 2-0 lead after just eight minutes.