Goals in each half from Keita Sugimoto and Shosuke Katayama provided Nagoya with a tonic as Grampus Eight recorded a morale-boosting 2-0 win at Yokohama F. Marinos in the J-League on Saturday.
Sugimoto put Nagoya in front with a fine individual effort early on and Seigo Narazaki saved a crucial penalty to protect the visitors' lead in the second half. Substitute Katayama completed a deserved win at Nissan Stadium.
Having lost seven out of its last eight matches in all competitions, few would have backed Nagoya taking three points off a team that crushed Kashiwa Reysol 3-0 in the Nabisco Cup in midweek and extended its unbeaten streak to five games.