Zlatan Ljubijankic scored with six minutes remaining to keep Urawa Reds on top of the J. League with a 1-0 win over closest rival Gamba Osaka on Saturday.

Urawa went into the game one point ahead of Gamba, who reeled in Reds to win last year’s title, but both sides struggled to find a way through in front of 53,148 at Saitama Stadium.

Slovenian striker Ljubijankic eventually broke the deadlock as time ticked away, however, converting a cross from close range to land a heavy blow for Urawa with more than half of the season’s first stage now completed.

“I think we wanted this win more than our opponent and we deserved it,” said Ljubijankic, who joined Urawa from local rival Omiya Ardija over the offseason.

“As a striker, you have to be patient and wait for this one chance. You have to concentrate and try to score. I scored this goal but my part was easy. The cross was perfect and I was just in the right place at the right time. The whole team deserved this goal.”

Gamba went into the game with forward Takashi Usami in red-hot form having scored nine goals in eight games so far this season, but neither he nor strike partner Patric could make an impact against Urawa’s impressive defense.

“Usami didn’t have such a good game today but I think we should give credit to the Reds defense for that,” said Gamba manager Kenta Hasegawa. “If Usami can play against a defense as good as that every week, he can raise his level even higher.

“He has become a different type of player already this season. He has been playing the full 90 minutes in a lot of games recently, and usually I would have taken him off after 70 minutes today. But he has been playing with so much determination recently.”

Usami got his first sight of goal in the 12th minute with a shot that flew over the crossbar, before Patric also tried his luck two minutes later.

Ryota Moriwaki almost gave Reds the lead after some nice work by Tomoaki Makino in the 22nd minute, but neither side could find the target in the first half, with Ljubijankic spurning an opportunity minutes before the interval.

Chances were even harder to come by after the restart, with Ljubijankic sliding a shot straight at goalkeeper Masaaki Higashiguchi before Gamba’s Yasuhito Endo rattled the crossbar with a 76th-minute free kick.

But Reds kept going and got their reward in the 84th minute when Tomoya Ugajin raided down the left before sending in a low cross that Ljubijankic smashed home.

Urawa goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa then denied Usami in injury time to secure the three points for the home side, giving manager Mihailo Petrovic a measure of revenge having seen Gamba overtake his side to win the title at the death last season.

“The thing that has changed for us this season is that we are conceding fewer goals,” said Petrovic, whose team blew a five-point lead with three games to play last season.

“We let the title slip away from us last year. This season we have changed our mentality and have a new attitude, but the memory of our defeats last year stays with us. The frustration is still there. You never know what is going to happen and football can be a cruel game.”

Elsewhere in the J. League, Japan strikers Kensuke Nagai and Kengo Kawamata both hit the target as Nagoya Grampus beat Shonan Bellmare 3-0, while Montedio Yamagata picked up their second win of the season, 1-0 over Yokohama F. Marinos.

Bottom side Ventforet Kofu snapped a run of six straight defeats with a 1-0 win over Kashima Antlers, Kashiwa Reysol drew 0-0 with Albirex Niigata, and Yoshinori Muto hit an 87th-minute winner as FC Tokyo downed Kawasaki Frontale 2-1.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat Vegalta Sendai 2-0, Albirex Niigata claimed a 2-1 away win over Matsumoto Yamaga, while in the day’s final game, Sagan Tosu and Vissel Kobe drew 1-1.