Kawasaki Frontale beats J-League leaders Kashima 3-1

TOKYO (AP) — Hiroyuki Abe and Akihiro Ienaga scored in the second half as Kawasaki Frontale beat J-League leaders Kashima Antlers 3-1 Sunday.

Kawasaki took a 1-0 lead in first-half stoppage time on an own goal by Kashima defender Daigo Nishi.

Abe doubled Kawasaki's lead in the 46th minute and Ienaga gave Frontale an insurance goal in the 72nd.

Kashima remained in first place on 46 points, two ahead of idle Cerezo Osaka.

Frontale improved to 42 points along with Kashiwa Reysol, which hammered Shimizu S-Pulse 4-1 away behind a Cristiano double.

Yokohama F Marinos are third on 43 points following a 1-0 win against Sagan Tosu that stretched their unbeaten streak to 12 games.

Elsewhere, FC Tokyo edged Vissel Kobe 1-0 thanks to Peter Utaka's 88th-minute winner, while Jubilo Iwata defeated Gamba Osaka 2-0.