Roasso Kumamoto took the lead in the MEIJI YASUDA J2 League on Saturday with a 2-0 win at V-Varen Nagasaki, as Cerezo Osaka were held by Zweigen Kanazawa.
Koki Kiyotake’s ninth-minute goal put the visitors in the lead just two days after his elder brother Hiroshi scored for the Samurai Blue against Afghanistan in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
His team-mate Ryuichi Hirashige doubled the advantage shortly before the break as Roasso’s record stretched to four wins this season.
Second-place Cerezo Osaka saw their four-game winning streak end as Zweigen Kanazawa midfielder Kenta Yamafuji forced a 2-2 draw with his dramatic stoppage time goal.
Indonesia international Irfan Bachdim made his season debut for Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo with two minutes of relief in their 3-1 win over Kyoto Sanga.
Ken Tokura, who netted a brace, raised his total to six goals, leading the J2 League scoring charts.
In the first-ever “Tokyo Classic,” a 90th-minute Koji Suzuki goal gave visitors Machida Zelvia a 1-0 win over Tokyo Verdy.