Urawa Red Diamonds kept their title hopes alive when they came back from a goal down to beat second-division-bound Consadore Sapporo 2-1 in the J-League on Saturday.

Japan international striker Tatsuya Tanaka struck home an equalizer in the 28th minute and Brazilian forward Edmilson scored the decider from close range on a pass from international defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka in the 54th.

"I'm glad that we won," said Urawa's German coach Gert Engels. "I was disappointed when we lost a goal after their counter-attack, but we continued to take the initiative and Robbie's (Ponte) shot hit the post, allowing Tanaka to score for 1-1.

"Everybody knew that a draw was not enough for us. I told my players that 'we can win if we continue to attack,' and Edmilson scored. However, we still have one more step to improve," he added.

It was Urawa's 15th win, sitting alongside eight draws and eight defeats for 53 points to pull them level with defending champions Kashima Antlers, who were to play Albirex Niigata on Sunday.

Nagoya Grampus, who failed to take the top spot after losing to Kashiwa Reysol 2-1, trail with 52 points, followed by Kawasaki Frontale, Oita Trinita and FC Tokyo on 51 points.

Things had looked good for Nagoya when Brazilian Magnum set up Norwegian striker Frode Johnsen's goal in the 12th minute, only for it to be ruled offside.

But the pair combined again 20 minutes later for some fine passing that set up Yoshizumi Ogawa's goal, which appeared to have settled the match for Nagoya. However, Kashiwa made it 2-1 in the space of a couple of minutes when Minoru Suganuma and Brazilian Popo scored in the 79th and 81st minutes respectively.

Kawasaki crashed to a 2-1 defeat to Omiya Ardija, while FC Tokyo cast a shadow over Gamba Osaka's challenge in the AFC Champions League final with a 3-1 victory. Oita were set to play JEF United Chiba on Sunday.

In other games, Jubilo Iwata pulled off a crucial win to avoid a relegation scare by beating Shimizu S-Pulse 1-0, while Kyoto Purple Sanga outclassed Yokohama Marinos 3-1.