Urawa Reds won the J. League first-stage title after drawing 1-1 against Vissel Kobe and stretching their record unbeaten run to 16 games on Saturday.

Tsukasa Umesaki opened the scoring midway through the first half for Mihailo Petrovic’s men, who had to weather the second-half expulsion of Tomoya Ugajin and six minutes of injury time in improving to 38 points with one game left.

Substitute Kazuma Watanabe equalized late for Kobe.

Reds, though, could have won the stage even with a defeat as second-place Gamba Osaka, the only other team with a mathematical chance of winning, drew 1-1 at home to Vegalta Sendai. Urawa only needed a point or for Gamba to draw to seal the deal.

By capturing the stage, the 2006 league champions booked a spot in the playoffs starting on Nov. 25. The second stage begins July 11.

“Every game is difficult for us and today was no different,” Reds manager Mihailo Petrovic said. “We have yet to be beaten and every team want to be the first one to beat us.”

“I’m not ecstatic about the draw, but I can live with this result given the circumstances. I’ve been in the J. League for 10 years and I can’t recall too many games with six minutes of additional time, which was not easy to get through with 10 men.”

“To win the first stage without a single defeat in 16 games is impressive if you ask me, and I think this feat says a lot about the kind of team we are. Our main goal, though, is to be at the top at the end of the entire season.”

Urawa picked up where it left off before the international break, going ahead in the 28th minute through Umesaki’s sixth goal of the season.

Japan defender Tomoaki Makino keyed the sequence with a surging run down the middle of the park before laying off left to Yuki Muto, who cut back across the penalty area.

Shinzo Koroki let the ball go through to Umesaki, who came charging in for the far post and poked home off the woodwork, giving Reds the crucial lead.

Kobe nearly restored parity four minutes later, when Keijiro Ogawa hit the bar on the counterattack, and was within inches again in the 39th minute when Takahiro Masukawa headed off the left-hand post from a corner.

The game intensified with a quarter-hour remaining Ugajin was given his marching orders after drawing a second yellow, and Vissel promptly capitalized in the 84th minute through Watanabe’s header from a cross by former Urawa man Takahito Soma.

Vissel continued to pressure the visitors but Reds held on for a point, their supporters erupting with joy at the final whistle over the club’s first title of any kind since the 2007 Asian Champions League.

Ugajin admitted to thinking his red card had doomed Urawa, evoking memories of last season, when it had just one point from its final three games to end up a point behind champion Gamba.

“It’s disappointing I couldn’t be on the pitch to celebrate,” Ugajin said. “At least I’ve got motivation for the second stage now. I was watching everyone celebrate on TV in the dressing room like some viewer.

“I feel terrible because I put everyone through a lot of hard work for the last 20 minutes. It was my fault.”

Urawa wraps up the stage next weekend at home to Albirex Niigata in a bid to become the first team to win a stage without losing once.

“Despite having to battle against Asia’s heavyweights in the AFC Champions League, which ran concurrently with the J. League, they fought as a team throughout the first stage,” J-League Chairman Mitsuru Murai said.

“To win the title while never relinquishing first place from the first weekend behind their unmatched competitiveness was nothing short of remarkable.”