Nagoya Grampus took another step toward their first J-League championship by beating Montedio Yamagata 1-0 away on Sunday evening, opening up a seven-point lead at the top of the table.
World Cup striker Keiji Tamada scored the lone goal of the match at ND Soft Stadium in the first half as Nagoya pulled away from second-place Cerezo Osaka with their third consecutive victory, improving to 47 points from 22 games.
"We've been playing in the heat recently, but it was a bit chilly today and that kind of made it difficult," the 30-year-old Tamada said of the 21 C temperature in the rain.
"I just happened to be in the right place at the right time," he said of his 27th-minute strike, his seventh of the season.