Tampines Rovers moved a step closer to the 2016 Singapore Cup final after claiming a 2-1 win over Ceres La Salle in an ill-tempered semifinal first leg at Jurong West Stadium on Sunday night.
Captain Fahrudin Mustafic fired Tampines ahead with a sublime free kick after 12 minutes, only for Bienvenido Maranon to level the scores for the Philippine outfit five minutes later.
The Stags managed to reclaim the lead four minutes into the second half through Sufian Anuar's opportunistic strike and were ultimately able to hold out for the win ahead of Wednesday's second leg, although they had to endure a nervous ending after they had Shakir Hamzah sent off in the closing stages.
Nonetheless, they will be satisfied with the way they managed to come away with the win in a feisty clash that threatened to boil over on numerous occasions, especially given they were missing a number of key players in Fazrul Nawaz, Shahdan Sulaiman and Yasir Hanapi.
Following a 2-1 S.League defeat to Hougang United in their previous outing, Tampines coach Akbar Nawas decided to make a couple of tactical changes, one of which being the deployment of Mustafic in defensive midfield as opposed to his usual centre-back role.
Just 12 minutes in, it was the Serbian-born skipper who handed the hosts the lead after Billy Mehmet was felled outside the box. He lined up the subsequent free kick and unleashed a stunning 25-yard effort into the top corner.
Ceres could have equalised in the 15th minute when Patrick Reichelt broke free inside the box, but alert goalkeeping from Izwan Mahbud saw him rush out to deny the Philippines international one-on-one.
However, more slack defending from the Stags allowed Ceres to pull level just two minutes later, when Maranon somehow received possession inside the area and forced his shot past Izwan.
With two goals inside the opening 20 minutes, the match did look as though it could be a real thriller. But, instead, most of the action started to take place away from goals, as tackles began to fly in from both sides.
The next real chance fell to Sufian in the 42nd minute when he beat the offside trap to race through on goal. But, just as he was about to pull the trigger, Louie Casas raced off his line to halt the threat.
Still, there was to be no denying Sufian shortly after the restart as he reacted quickest to Izzdin Shafiq's deflected shot, getting a toe on it to divert it into the back of the net.
Again, Ceres had an opportunity to respond immediately as they were awarded a penalty less than a minute later when Irwan Shah's mistimed tackle fell Reichelt inside the box. It was Maranon who stepped up to the spot but, unlike his earlier strike, his penalty was tame and too central, allowing Izwan to make the save having gone the right way.
Another chance went begging for the visitors eight minutes after the hour mark, with Jason Sabio the culprit on this occasion as he sent a free header inches wide after being picked out by Jeffrey Christiaens' sublime delivery.
The heated nature of the contest intensified as it entered its closing stages and Ceres had coach Risto Vidakovic sent to the stands in the 80th minute after he appeared to abuse the match officials.
Right at the death, the Stags were reduced to 10 men when Shakir's late challenge saw him pick up his second booking, although his side were able to hold out to secure the slimmest of advantages ahead of their return encounter.
Mustafic curls a stupendous 25-yard free kick to top corner! #rhbsingaporecup
A video posted by Tampines Rovers FC (@tampinesroversfc) on
"It's most definitely a disappointing result because we wanted more than a one-goal margin for the second leg," said Tampines coach Akbar Nawas.
"It was a tough game as it always is against Ceres because they're a good team, and the second leg will be a bit tough because we'll know be missing Farra [Mustafic], Shakir and Yasir [Hanapi].
"We have a couple of Prime League boys that can step up so we'll just have to stick together, keep fighting and who knows what can happen?"
Meanwhile, Ceres technical director Ali Go, filling in for Vidakovic at the post-match press conference, did not bother to hide his unhappiness at the officiating.
"We look up to the S.League as a really good league but the officiating was a shame," he said. "Maybe they had a bad day but it was the same in the previous round against [Brunei] DPMM.
"Our coach came Spain and has played eight seasons in La Liga, while coaching in both the first and second division there and it's the first time he's seen such one-sided calls.
"The referees come from Singapore but you can't show it like that... it was overboard."
Tampines Rovers: Izwan Mahbud, Ismadi Mukhtar, Jufri Taha, Shakir Hamzah, Irwan Shah, Fahrudin Mustafic, Izzdin Shafiq, Jordan Webb, Sufian Anuar (Jermaine Pennant 75'), Hafiz Abu Sujad, Billy Mehmet
Ceres La Salle: Louie Casas, Carli de Murga (Jalsor Soriano 72'), Jason Sabio, Kim Sang-min, Son Yong-chan, Paul Mulders, Martin Steuble, Arnie Pasinabo Jr. (Marwin Angeles 83'), Bienvenido Maranon, Jeffrey Christiaens, Patrick Reichelt