Rafael Ramazotti grabbed a quick-fire brace to hand Brunei DPMM a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Hougang United in the S.League on Friday night.
It initially looked as though Hougang would extend their winning run to three games after Stipe Plazibat fired them ahead in the ninth minute.
But Ramazotti then emerged as DPMM's hero at Jalan Besar Stadium, netting twice in as many minutes early on in the second half to hand them maximum points and consolidate their place in the top three. With the win, the Bruneian outfit are now four points clear of both Geylang International and Hougang, although a different outcome looked on the cards given the Cheetahs' fast start.
They took the lead with their first meaningful foray forward in the ninth minute when Iqbal Hussain found space inside the box. He cut the ball back to Plazibat, whose low drive took a wicked deflection and looped over a stranded Wardun Yussof.
Four minutes later, the Croatian almost made it 2-0 when he beat the offside trap to race through, only to lash a powerful shot off the bar.
Stirred by that close shave, DPMM started to show more endeavour going forward. Azwan Ali was also denied by the woodwork after his deflected effort had beaten Ridhuan Barudin.
Nonetheless, six minutes after the restart, the visitors pulled level. Ramazotti latched onto a looping pass from Azwan Saleh and, although his initial shot drew a fine stop from Ridhuan, the Brazilian was on hand to fire home the rebound.
Just a minute later, the same combination worked again for DPMM. Ridhuan made the wrong decision to race out to claim Azwan Saleh's long pass, allowing Ramazotti to head it over him and into the unguarded net.
The Cheetahs did have their chances to equalise. Kogure wasted a golden opportunity four minutes after the hour mark by blazing over when Plazibat had miscued Jozef Kaplan's cross straight into his path.
The visitors then had Wardun to thank in the 81st minute when he parried a low shot from Iqbal before reacting well to deny Kogure on the follow-up.
With seven minutes remaining, they had one final opportunity. M. Anumanthan found space inside the box but whipped the ball dangerously across the face of goal without any of his teammates being able to get on the end of it.
FULL TIME at JBS - Hougang United 1-2 Brunei DPMM (Stipe Plazibat 9' | Rafael Ramazotti 51', 52' ) #HOUDPM pic.twitter.com/sLZs4Pie52
- S.League (@FootballSLEAGUE) August 26, 2016
"We couldn't be much worse than we were in the first half and I didn't have enough time at half-time to correct our mistakes," said DPMM coach Steve Kean. "We were fortunate with the scoreline at the break, but the players deserve the credit.
"I can say all I want at half-time but it was up to them to go out and deliver in the second half and they did.
"We're not giving up on second place just yet and I've challenged the players to finish the season on an unbeaten run."
Meanwhile, Hougang coach K. Balagumaran lamented the errors that ultimately cost his side a positive result.
"I think the first 10 minutes of the second half we were a little disorganised and the two goals were down to individual mistakes," he explained. "As a whole, the team did show fight up till the last minute and I have to give credit to the boys.
"They really wanted to come back and I think we created enough chances and we would have won if we had taken them."
In Friday's other game, Warriors FC claimed a 5-2 victory over bottom side Garena Young Lions.
Hougang United: Ridhuan Barudin, Nazrul Nazari (Nur Ridho 74'), Delwinder Singh (Fairoz Hasan 44'), Raihan Rahman, Huzaifah Aziz, M. Anumanthan, Afiq Noor, Fumiya Kogure, Jozef Kaplan, Stipe Plazibat, Iqbal Hussain
Brunei DPMM FC: Wardun Yussof, Rosmin Kamis, Reduan Petara (Awangku Fakharrazi 90'), Brian McLean, Aminuddin Zakwan (Abdul Aziz Tamit 87'), Hendra Azam, Azwan Saleh, Najib Tarif, Paulo Sergio, Azwan Ali (Maududi Hilmi 58'), Rafael Ramazotti