Renatinho provided table-topping Kawasaki Frontale with the perfect tonic for their Nabisco Cup hangover with a hat-trick in a thrilling 3-2 win over JEF United Chiba on Sunday. Chiba took a surprise lead through Kohei Kudo's first-half strike but Renatinho equalized from the penalty spot before the Brazilian striker's deflected second put the home side in front with 20 minutes left. Takumi Wada scrambled home two minutes from time to give the visitors a flicker of hope but Renatinho completed his hat-trick with a dramatic injury-time winner to condemn Chiba to relegation to the second division. The result kept Kawasaki (58) a point clear of reigning champions Kashima Antlers, 2-0 winners over Montedio Yamagata, with three games of the season left to play. Gamba Osaka (54) also remained in contention for the title after a Pedro Junior double helped lift the former Asian club champions to a 4-1 win over Kyoto Sanga but Shimizu S-Pulse (50) suffered a stunning 5-0 defeat at relegation-threatened Kashiwa Reysol. Reysol moved to within six points of safety after fourth-from-bottom Omiya Ardija were sunk by a late Tomoaki Makino goal in a 1-0 defeat at home to Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

At Todoroki Stadium, chances were at a premium in a scrappy first half although Kawasaki were unlucky not to go in front after 20 minutes. Chong Tese rose to meet Juninho's left-wing cross but the North Korean striker's header came back off the post before Chiba managed to steer the ball to safety. Masaki Fukai forced Eiji Kawashima into an important block at the other end and it was the visitors who took the lead against the run of play on 35 minutes. Fukai's cross was headed against the bar by Seiichiro Maki and Kudo was on hand to prod the ball home from close range. Kudo should have doubled Chiba's lead shortly before halftime but was left holding his head in his hands after blasting Tatsuya Yazawa's pass into the side netting. That miss was to prove costly as Kawasaki drew level 10 minutes after the break. Eddy Bosnar was adjudged to have tripped Kengo Nakamura in the box and Renatinho gave Chiba keeper Masahiro Okamoto no chance with the ensuing spot kick. Kawasaki moved up a gear and went in front when Renatinho's shot clipped veteran defender Masataka Sakamoto and beat stranded Okamoto. Frontale looked to have squandered the chance to take maximum points when Wada snatched Chiba's equalizer but Juninho raced up the other end and picked out Renatinho to seal victory in the dying seconds.

"The players did ever so well to win it in injury time and we are grateful to the supporters for the way they got behind the team," said Frontale manager Takashi Sekizuka.
"JEF had to win this match and they never stopped fighting and pushing forward until the end and that was something that we expected. They are obviously disappointed that they won't be playing in J1 anymore. Hopefully they can bounce back in the next game."
Chiba manager Atsuhiko Ejiri said, "We have still got three more games and the Emperor's Cup and we just have to keep our heads up, crack on and act like professionals."

At Kashima Stadium, Shinzo Koroki latched onto a perfectly weighted pass from Mitsuo Ogasawara to fire Kashima in front on 20 minutes. Yamagata failed to muster a single shot in the 90 minutes and Marquinhos bagged his 13th league goal of the season from the penalty spot four minutes into the second half to keep the pressure on Frontale.
"There are only a few matches left so it is very pleasing to see the way we are moving forward," said Kashima manager Oswaldo Oliveira.
"We pretty much controlled the whole game and Yamagata hardly created a single chance. I am very pleased that my team is improving," said the Brazilian.
Koroki, whose parents had come to watch the game from Miyazaki, was pleased with his contribution.
"My parents came from Miyazaki to watch the game so I put in an extra bit of effort. It was a nice ball from Mitsuo and I was able to keep calm and put it away," said Koroki, whose goal took his tally for the season to nine.
"My squad number is 13 so that is the number of goals I am aiming for this season. It won't be easy but I am going to do my best to reach that target."

Elsewhere, FC Tokyo, 2-0 winners over Frontale in Tuesday's Nabisco Cup final, were brought back to earth with a 1-0 defeat at home to Urawa Reds, Edmilson clinching victory for the Reds, who had Genki Haraguchi sent off after 53 minutes. Igor Burzanovic gave Nagoya Grampus a 1-0 win over 10-man Vissel Kobe while Hideo Oshima scored both goals as Albirex Niigata won 2-0 at Jubilo Iwata. Already relegated Oita Trinita pulled off a surprise 2-1 win away to Yokohama F Marinos thanks to goals from Fernandinho and Hiroshi Kiyotake.