Miroslav Kristic was the hero for Balestier Khalsa as he struck a late equaliser against Tampines Rovers in their Great Eastern Yeo's S.League clash at the Toa Payoh Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Croatia born striker scored from the spot in the 88th minute to salvage a 1-1 draw against the Stags after Rodrigo Tosi had opened the scoring midway through the first half.
The match was marred by a two-hour delay due to poor weather after 15 minutes had been played. When the game resumed, it was Tampines who settled down faster and they duly took the lead in the 27th minute.
A superb free kick delivery from Roberto Alviz was met by Tosi, who beat goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam to the ball and headed into the empty goal.
Stung, the Tigers responded through efforts from Ho Wai Loon and Tarik Cmajcanin, with the latter forcing goalkeeper Joey Sim to tip over a 35-yard free kick that had bounced through a crowded box.
The visitors looked content to sit back on their lead after the break. This approach invited Balestier to pile on the pressure, although they struggled to break down Tampines' three-man defence led by captain Fahrudin Mustafic.
When they did, Sim was there to deny them, first making a fine parry off Kristic's volley in the box, before comfortably fielding Robert Pericic's curler.
But disaster struck in the dying minutes when left-back Zulfadli Zainal inexplicably handled a cross after misjudging it. Up stepped Kristic to send Sim the wrong way from the spot for his fifth goal of the season as both teams shared the spoils eventually.
Tampines coach V. Sundramoorthy rued their inability to hold on to the lead for the third time in as many games, having lost their last two. "We were holding up well until the 85th minute," he said. "I am very disappointed that we did not manage to get the three points.
"We have had our share of bad luck not only for this game. We conceded late against Geylang International after equalising. Then, against Warriors FC, we took the lead and conceded in the last few minutes. So I think we need an element of luck to change the season around."
Balestier coach Marko Kraljevic was a much happier man and he insisted that his side deserved the point.
"In the second half, we were pushing very hard. We created many chances and played much better than our opponents. It was a matter of time before we scored the goal, which came at the right time."
Balestier Khalsa: Zaiful Nizam (C), Ahmad Syahir, Igor Cerina, Nurullah Hussein, Ho Wai Loon, Zulkiffli Hassim (Ignatius Ang 68'), Jonathan Xu (Ridwan Jamil 68'), Emir Lotinac, Tarik Cmajcanin (Hazzuwan Salim 90+1'), Robert Pericic, Miroslav Kristic
Tampines Rovers: Joey Sim, Predrag Pocuca, Fahrudin Mustafic (C), Eddy Viator, Ismadi Mukhtar, Fabian Kwok, Roberto Alviz, Zulfadli Zainal, Firdaus Idros, Indra Sahdan (Ridhuan Muhammad 90+1'), Rodrigo Tosi