A late Kenta Uchida goal spared Nagoya Grampus blushes as they drew 1-1 with FC Gifu in the J2 League’s first-ever Meigi Derby, an encounter that had previously only taken place in the Emperor’s Cup.
The visitors controlled the flow of the game at Toyota Stadium, taking the lead in the 79th minute when Paulo Junichi Tanaka’s effort grazed veteran goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki’s hand before going into the net.
But Uchida headed in Kohei Hattanda’s corner kick in the 90th minute to preserve a point in front of the home crowd, which numbered 21,878.
Elsewhere, Mito Hollyhock dominated with a 4-0 win over Zweigen Kanazawa. Koji Hashimoto opened scoring in the 35th minute, with a pair of goals shortly after the hour mark putting the game away and 19-year-old Daizen Maeda netting for good measure in the 84th minute.
Shonan Bellmare also earned a comfortable home victory, with Kaoru Takayama snatching a brace in their 3-1 result over Thespa Kusatsu Gunma.
[Full March 4 Results for J2]
Mito Hollyhock 4-0 Zweigen Kanazawa
JEF United Chiba 1-1 Montedio Yamagata
Nagoya Grampus 1-1 FC Gifu
Kyoto Sanga 1-0 Tokushima Vortis
Shonan Bellmare 3-1 Thespa Kusatsu Gunma