Home United were unable to pick up maximum points for the second successive S.League game as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Hougang United at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday.
It could have been even worse for the Protectors as the Cheetahs took a 34th minute lead through a Yuki Uchiyama strike. But Philippe Aw's side hit back eight minutes later when Denmark born striker Ken Ilso converted a spot kick thereby rescuing a point.
Aw opted to make four changes to the starting XI which had played out a 1-1 draw against Geylang International in Tuesday's opening game of the 2015 season.
However, Hougang started the game brighter. Striker Chupe issued the first warning after 14 minutes when he lashed a half volley just over the bar after a smart turn at the edge of the box.
The visitors, however, found their rhythm and came close to breaking the deadlock ten minutes later when Sirina Camara's corner was missed by Hougang goalkeeper Ridhuan Barudin, but Faizal Amir came to the Cheetahs' rescue as he cleared Nur Hizami's goal bound header off the line.
Hougang drew first blood after winning a free kick on the right side of the area in the 34th minute. Midfielder Shunsuke Nakatake floated in a ball that found its way to centre-back Yukiu Uchiyama, who made no mistake in rifling his shot into the back of the net.
Just when it appeared that Salim Moin's side would hold on to the slender advantage at the break, the Protectors were awarded a penalty in the 41st minute after Ilso was brought down by Nakatake's tackle from behind inside the box.
The Dane stepped up to the spot, and although Ridhuan dived the right way the striker's shot was beautifully placed and found the bottom corner.
Ilso then had a gilt-edged chance to put his side ahead seven minutes after the restart when he was picked out unmarked inside the box by Camara's left-wing cross, only to inexplicably head wide from five yards.
Three minutes before the hour mark, Home looked destined to score when it was midfielder Kamel Ramdani's turn to be left unattended inside the area. The Frenchman met Ang Zhiwei's delivery with a deft header, but Ridhuan produced a fantastic one-handed save to deny him.
In the closing stages, both teams had their fair share of half chances but were unable to find the winner.
In his post-match news conference, Aw was once again left to bemoan his side's profligacy but was heartened by the displays of youngsters such as Nur Hizami and Stanely Ng."This is definitely two points dropped, considering the number of clear chances we created," said Aw. "In the second half, there was a 20 minute spell where we really dominated. But this is football -- if you don't convert your chances, you don't win the game.
"But the one positive was the performance of the youngsters. I put Hizami in for the first start of his S.League career and he did well. Likewise, I felt Stanely changed the game for us when he came on."
Hougang boss Salim praised his team after they maintained their unbeaten start to 2015. "The team performance was awesome and everyone played according to our game plan," said Moin. "Hopefully, we can maintain our consistency and more goals will come our way. I'm satisfied with one point but if the penalty kick hadn't been awarded, the score would have remained at 1-0 and we would instead be celebrating a win."
Hougang take on Geylang on March 12, while Home lock horns with leaders Tampines Rovers a day later.
Hougang United Starting Lineup: Ridhuan Barudin, Faizal Amir, Yuki Uchiyama, Kunihiro Yamashita, Lau Meng Meng, Shunsuke Nakatake, Fairoz Hasan, Matthew Abraham (Ruzaini Zainal 68'), Nurhilmi Jasni, Manato Takahashi, Chupe (Muhaymin Salim 82').
Home United Starting Lineup: Hyrulnizam Juma'at, Ang Zhiwei, Noh Rahman, Abdil Qaiyyim, Redzwan Atan, Ambroise Begue (Stanely Ng 36'), Azhar Sairudin, Song Ui-young, Sirina Camara (Kamel Ramdani 54'), Nur Hizami (Yasir Hanapi 73'), Ken Ilso.