Former Asian champions Urawa Reds squandered the chance to reclaim top spot in the J-League on Saturday after going down 2-1 at third-placed Kawasaki Frontale.

Sagan Tosu, who fired manager Yoon Jung-hwan 24 hours earlier, remain top on goal difference despite having their game at champions Sanfrecce Hiroshima postponed because of Typhoon Halong.

Japan striker Yoshito Okubo squeezed home the winner for Frontale from the edge of the box with 12 minutes left to send the visiting Reds home empty-handed in an absorbing game in Kawasaki.

This season's surprise package Sagan lead the Japanese first division with 37 points from 18 games, having played one less game than Urawa, with Frontale a further point back on 36.

"It's probably good I didn't think too much about it," Okubo told reporters about his winner. "It didn't have all that much power but it went exactly where I was aiming to put it."

Once-mighty Kashima Antlers moved to within four points of the top two after Yasushi Endo's dramatic last-minute strike gave the seven-times champions a 3-2 victory at Nagoya Grampus.

Gamba Osaka, who won the Asian Champions League in 2008, the year after Urawa became the first Japanese winner, won 2-0 at struggling Omiya Ardija to keep themselves in the mix on 30 points.

Bottom club Tokushima Vortis looked doomed already as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Shimizu S-Pulse, leaving them on just nine points from 19 games, seven adrift of Omiya above them.

Elsewhere, Yokohama F-Marinos were held 2-2 at home by Kashiwa Reysol while Vissel Kobe beat visiting Albirex Niigata 1-0 in mid-table games.