Urawa Reds rally to beat Jubilo Iwata 3-1

Tadaaki Hirakawa and Naohiro Takahara scored second-half goals Saturday as the Urawa Reds rallied to defeat Jubilo Iwata 3-1 and take first place in the J-League standings.

Robert Cullen put Iwata ahead in the 42nd minute but Robson Ponte leveled for the home side just before the interval at Saitama Stadium.

Hirakawa put the Reds ahead in the 57th and Takahara added a third in the final minute.

Urawa has 40 points from 22 games, one clear of Nagoya Grampus.

Nagoya got goals in each half from Maya Yoshida and Frode Johnsen in a 2-1 win over the Kashima Antlers, who dropped to third place with 38 points.

Japan international Masashi Oguro and Daisuke Nasu scored to rally Tokyo Verdy to a 2-1 victory over crosstown rivals FC Tokyo.

Shimizu S-Pulse beat Kashiwa Reysol 3-2 thanks to two goals from Shinji Okazaki.

Former Japan forward Atsushi Yanagisawa scored the only goal to lead Kyoto Sanga to a 1-0 win over Albirex Niigata.

Gamba Osaka drew at home with Vissel Kobe 1-1 with Yoshito Okubo equalizing for Kobe in the final minute.