Summary Yamamoto's 32nd-minute goal lifted the Antlers into second place behind table-topping Hiroshima
TOKYO (AFP) - Defender Shuto Yamamoto headed the winner as Kashima Antlers ended Sanfrecce Hiroshima s unbeaten record in the J-League second stage with a 1-0 win on Wednesday.
Yamamoto s 32nd-minute goal lifted the Antlers into second place behind table-topping Hiroshima, who have 15 points from six games. Kashima improved to 13 points, with Kashiwa Reysol climbing to third on 12 points after beating Vissel Kobe 2-0 at home.
There was little to lift a glum mood at football grounds around the country as the J-League resumed following an international break which saw Japan finish last at the East Asian Cup and left coach Vahid Halilhodzic under pressure.
First-stage winners Urawa Reds returned to winning ways, however, with midfielder Tsukasa Umesaki smashing a long-range winner 14 minutes from time in a 2-1 win at northern club Albirex Niigata.
Urawa, Japan s best-supported club, cruised to the first-stage title after collapsing in last season s championship run-in, but have managed just two wins in six since.
Shimizu S-Pulse, meanwhile, fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Shonan Bellmare in their first game under new boss Kazuaki Tasaka, who was hopping mad that his side were still stuck in the relegation zone.
"I m bitterly disappointed," he fumed. "At a time when we have to fight, there are players out there clearly not showing the will to fight."
Yokohama F-Marinos, one of Japan s richest clubs and part-owned by Manchester City, registered only their first win of the second stage with a 3-0 victory over Nagoya Grampus, another club guilty of under-performing this year.
Fourth-placed Kawasaki Frontale missed the chance to go second in the Japanese first division after they were held to a goalless draw at home by promoted Montedio Yamagata.
