Nagoya Grampus edged past Fagiano Okayama 2:1 at Toyota Stadium in the fourth round of J-League 1 on Friday evening. The hosts took the lead through Yoshitake Suzuki before Ryuji Izumi's penalty after a VAR review restored parity. Katsuhiro Nakayama then stepped up to score the winner in stoppage time.
Suzuki opened the scoring in the 38th minute, his finish giving Nagoya the advantage. By then the game had settled into something more measured. Okayama had more corners but Nagoya held possession comfortably.
The penalty incident came in the 40th minute following a VAR check. Sho Inagaki converted from the spot in the 43rd minute, and suddenly the match was level. Nagoya had to respond, and they did not need long.
Nakayama curled home the decisive penalty in the 90th minute plus one. It was a moment that changed everything, and Nagoya held on. The away side threw bodies in the way but could not find an equaliser.
Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half. Sang-Ho Na was replaced in the 62nd minute, while Nagoya brought on Yuki Nogami at the hour. The hosts then brought on Ataru Esaka and Lucão together, before a flurry of changes on the 83rd minute.
Discipline was not perfect on either side. Sang-Ho Na picked up a yellow card in the 60th minute, and Yuya Asano followed in the 66th. Léo Gaúcho and Eiji Miyamoto also went to the referee, while Yuya Yamagishi was cautioned before being substituted.
Nagoya dominated possession at 65 per cent and completed 391 of 485 passes. They took 17 shots, though only four found the target. Okayama managed two shots on target from 14 attempts, and their accuracy was well below five per cent.
The result leaves Nagoya eighth with six points from four games. Okayama sit 13th on four points after one win, one draw and two defeats.
