Shingo Hyodo pounced in the 81st minute to give Yokohama F. Marinos their first win of the J. League season with a 1-0 victory over Sagan Tosu on Sunday.

Marinos went into the match at Mitsuzawa Stadium having taken only one point from their opening two games under new French manager Erick Mombaerts, in stark contrast to high-flying Tosu’s perfect start of two wins from two.

But Hyodo cut the visitors down to size with an opportunist’s strike nine minutes from time, leaving Mombaerts relieved to chalk up his first victory having been hand-picked for the job over the winter by Manchester City’s owners, who last year bought a 20 percent stake in Marinos.

“There was a lot of emotion,” said former France Under-21 manager Mombaerts. “It’s not easy. I came here from overseas and there have been a lot of challenges. We have put in a lot of hard work on the training ground and we have tried out a lot of styles. The only thing missing has been the results, but to get this win today will give the team great confidence.

“It was a very difficult game physically because Tosu are a tough team to deal with. We were trying to pass the ball and string attacks together and we had chances to score in the first half. But we stuck to the task and got there in the end.”

A 0-0 draw between Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Urawa Reds earlier in the afternoon meant Tosu had the chance to end the day with the division’s only perfect record, but instead Hyodo’s goal delivered the win for a Marinos side featuring new Brazilian striker Ademilson in the lineup for the second straight weekend.

“We wanted to win at all costs today but we are still lacking quality and need to keep improving,” said Hyodo. “If you look at our first game of the season, we have improved since then. We created some good chances today. Ademilson understands my movements well, and the more we play together the better it will get.”

Marinos looked the livelier team in a scrappy first half, but Manabu Saito failed to convert a trio of chances that came his way, including an overhead kick attempt that sailed harmlessly over the bar in the 28th minute.

Marinos goalkeeper Tetsuya Enomoto thwarted Kei Ikeda from close range as Sagan ventured further forward in the second half, before Yokohama’s Yuta Mikado blasted a shot high over the bar at the other end five minutes later.

But just as it looked as if the game was limping toward a stalemate, Hyodo popped up to break the deadlock. The ball found its way to Takumi Shimohira unmarked on the left during a Marinos break forward, and the 26-year-old uncorked a shot that hit a Sagan defender and allowed Hyodo to swoop in and finish off the rebound.

Kim Min-hyeok fired a shot into the side-netting as Tosu threw caution to the wind in search of an equalizer, before Enomoto pulled off a remarkable point-blank save to deny Yohei Toyoda in injury time.

“We switched off for just one moment,” said Sagan manager Hitoshi Morishita. “It’s very disappointing but over 90 minutes we continued to do the right things. Now we have to step up so that we can play the same way away as we do at home and be brave.”

Elsewhere in the J. League, defending champions Gamba Osaka picked up their first win of the season, 2-0 away to Ventforet Kofu. Hiroyuki Abe opened the scoring before forward Takashi Usami, who was called up to the national team this week by new manager Vahid Halilhodzic, added a second.

Promoted Matsumoto Yamaga secured their first-ever victory in the top flight, 1-0 over Shimizu S-Pulse, Albirex Niigata beat Kashiwa Reysol 3-2, while Shonan Bellmare and Vegalta Sendai drew 0-0.

National team call-ups Masato Morishige and Yoshinori Muto were both on target as FC Tokyo beat Vissel Kobe 2-0, Kashima Antlers and Nagoya Grampus drew 1-1, and in the day’s late game, promoted Montedio Yamagata picked up their first points of the season with a 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale.