Shimizu S-Pulse missed a golden opportunity to move into the J. League first division lead as Afshin Ghotbi's side had yet another man sent off and went down 1-0 at the hands of Urawa Reds on Saturday.
S-Pulse might have wrested first place from Vegalta Sendai with what would have been their fifth win in six matches, and outplayed Reds for the most part in an intense affair at Saitama Stadium.
But Shimizu had to brave the premature departure of Australian international Alex Brosque early in the second half before succumbing to their fourth defeat of the season.