Urawa Reds salvaged a point but lost ground on J. League leaders Omiya Ardija after a 2-2 draw with FC Tokyo on Wednesday night.
Second-place Reds went into the match at Saitama Stadium knowing that a win would send them top if local rivals Ardija lost their game against Nagoya Grampus, but goals either side of halftime from Tokyo's Hirotaka Mita and Ariajasuru Hasegawa left the home side staring down the barrel of a first defeat in seven matches instead.
Shinzo Koroki pulled one back in the 81st minute before Genki Haraguchi slammed home the equalizer to spare Urawa's blushes five minutes later, but it was not enough to prevent Omiya from opening up a five-point gap at the top after goals from Milivoje Novakovic and Yu Hasegawa secured a 2-1 win over Grampus.
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