League leaders Vegalta Sendai fell to a shock 2-1 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Consadole Sapporo on Saturday through a last-minute own goal, leaving Sanfrecce Hiroshima to take advantage with a 2-1 win at Omiya Ardija to climb back to the top of the J. League.
Sendai had taken a 12th-minute lead at Sapporo in an afternoon kickoff through defender Kodai Watanabe, but failed to turn the screw on the hapless Hokkaido outfit, which had won just twice in 20 games this season. A couple of second-half substitutions gave Consadole fresh legs and they pulled level in the 79th minute through Takuma Hidaka, before Vegalta gifted their hosts the points from midfielder Yasuaki Okamoto's cross in the fourth minute of time added on.
At Omiya, Ardija gave their visitors Hiroshima the lead in similar fashion in the 24th minute before Slovenian striker Zlatan Ljubijankic evened the score shortly before halftime. But midfielder Kohei Shimizu put Sanfrecce back in front four minutes after the break and Hiroshima held on for the points to climb back above Sendai at the top of the table.