An emotional 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J2 League Round 14 saw Roasso Kumamoto take the pitch for the first time since their hometown was devastated by severe earthquakes.
Despite a gutsy first half by the visitors, who walked onto the pitch to cheers from both ends of Fukuda Denshi Arena, they were unable to maintain their pace for 90 minutes and were undone by a double from JEF midfielder Yamato Machida to finally lose 2-0.
In a wild Kincho Stadium encounter, Cerezo Osaka fell 4-2 to Renofa Yamaguchi despite early goals from Bruno Meneghel and captain Yoichiro Kakitani.
Ryuta Koike and Yuya Torikai each scored twice for the visitors, who in third place have made a splash in their debut J2 season.
Meanwhile, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo climbed back to the top of the table with a 1-0 road win against Mito Hollyhock.
Yoshihiro Uchimura waited until the closing minutes to score his game-winner at K’s Denki Stadium.
Consadole’s Indonesian attacker Irfan Bachdim as well Hollyhock’s Vietnamese striker Nguyen Cong Phuong were selected for the bench, but neither made an appearance.
Shimizu S-Pulse suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Tokushima Vortis, as 23-year-old Ryogo Yamasaki found the back of the net in the 65th minute.