Captain Amirul Hisyam put in a man-of-the-match performance to help Harimau Muda to a 1-0 win over Courts Young Lions at the Jalan Besar Stadium in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League on Friday night.
Substitute striker Ridzuan Abdunloh Pula got the only goal of the game in the 76th minute as the hosts plunged to bottom spot after another poor outing on home soil.
It was the visitors who seized the initiative in the opening period when Syazwan Andik almost scored in the first minute when he drilled his shot across goal to ring the alarm bells.
Six minutes later, Andik was in the thick of the action again when Young Lions right-back Al-Qaasimy Rahman hacked him down from behind to earn himself the first caution of the game.
The home side finally woke up from their slumber in the 12th minute when Shahfiq Ghani got his free-kick on target, only to see Ramdhan Hamid save it with ease.
Harimau Muda had the best chance of the first half when Shahrul Igwan's 16th minute cross was miscued by Irfan Fandi, allowing Adam Nor a free shot at goal that he volleyed wide.
Shahrul had a glorious opportunity to score in the 24th minute but with his teammates charging up the pitch on a quick counter, the winger opted to cut in and take a shot on his weaker foot.
The Young Tigers continued to seek a breakthrough and it was captain Amirul Hisyam's turn to try his luck from 30 yards some seven minutes later to no avail.
Four minutes before the break, the home side finally decided to push further up the pitch, resulting in Amy Recha stinging stopper Ramdhan's palms with his speculative effort.
Young Lions had one final chance just before the break when Shamil Sharif sent a lovely chip over the defence but Iqbal's firm volley was kept out by Ramdhan who was having a good game in goal.
A drab affair continued in the second half and the Jalan Besar fans had to wait till the 54th minute for the first chance by the home side.
Shakir Hamzah made a barnstorming overlap down the left before putting in a dangerous cross that narrowly missed Iqbal before Ramdhan palmed it away to safety.
Razip Ismail's men almost made the hosts pay in the 67th minute when Ariff Farhan's diagonal pass found a lurking Andik who cut in and rifled a shot straight at Syazwan Buhari in goal.
As both teams began to lose their cool with tackles flying in, it was down to the cool headed captain Hisyam who split the defence in the 76th minute to put Faizat Ghazali through on goal and he laid it onto a plate for Ridzuan to tap in.
Aide threw on Adam Swandi as the home team went in search of the equaliser and were almost rewarded in the final three minutes with two quick chances in succession.
Shahfiq Ghani's 87th minute corner found an unmarked Shakir whose header was destined for the back of the net, only to see Hisyam clear it off the line.
Confusion ensued and on the next attack, substitute right-back Fadli Kamis found space in the box but with only the keeper to beat, the defender blazed his shot into the Jalan Besar floodlights.
Referee Sukhbir Singh blew the final whistle to give Harimau Muda their first win, which also saw the Young Lions banished to cellar-dwelling status.
Courts Young Lions: Syazwan Buhari (GK), Shakir Hamzah, Amirul Adli, Irfan Fandi (Sheikh Abdul Hadi 59'), Al-Qaasimy Raman (C) (Fadli Kamis 68'), Pravin Guanasagaran (Adam Swandi 81'), Safirul Sulaiman, Shamil Sharif, Amy Recha, Shahfiq Ghani, Iqbal Hussain
Harimau Muda: Ramdhan Hamid (GK), Asri Mardzuki, Syazwal Nordin, Annas Rahmat, Ariff Farhan, Amirul Hisyam (C), Shahrul Igwan (Faris Shah 90'), Adam Nor, Faizat Ghazali, Syazwan Andik (Ridzuan Abdunloh Pula 72'), Arif Anwar (Kenny Pallraj 90')