Courts Young Lions registered their first win of the 2015 Great Eastern Yeo's S.League season after stunning Home United 1-0 on Tuesday night.
The kick-off at Yishun Stadium was delayed for an hour and a half due to inclement weather. The torrential downpour before the game led to the pitch getting increasingly cut up with every passing minute of subsequent play.
Therefore, both sides struggled to establish any sort of rhythm, with the solitary goal coming through Shamil Sharif's dramatic late winner in the 88th minute.
A drab first half saw little goalmouth action, with Home United creating the few opportunities.
Kamel Ramdani threatened after just two minutes with a curling free kick that went narrowly over. Later in the half, he hit another set piece from further straight at the Young Lions goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari.
Nur Hizami also tested Syazwan with a weak header, while Juma'at Jantan blasted over from 35 yards.
The Young Lions, who had one point from six games and were bottom of the table before the game, were the bigger threat after the break.
Shamil forced Hyrulnizam Juma'at into a good save down low after winning possession just outside the box in the 46th minute.
At the hour mark, Fadli Kamis wasted the Young Lions' easiest opening -- he side-footed well over from six yards after Shamil whipped a low free kick across from the right.
Philippe Aw brought on Sirina Camara to give his team an attacking boost. In the 70th minute, the Frenchman nearly repaid his faith when he stabbed Ramdani's free kick just wide from a narrow angle.
Ten minutes later, a fantastic last-ditch block from Amirul Adli denied substitute Muhaimin Suhaimi from tapping a loose ball into an empty net for a debut goal.
That was to prove vital as the Young Lions staged a smash-and-grab in the closing stages. A quick throw-in caught out the Protectors and Adam Swandi latched on to the ball. In an instant, he played in Shamil, who coolly curled it beyond Hyrulnizam and into the far bottom right corner to seal a long-awaited first win of the season.
Young Lions assistant coach S. Subramani, standing in for head coach Aide Iskandar -- who was down with dengue fever -- was understandably delighted with his team's efforts. "The boys worked their socks off, they played as a unit and finally we have a well-deserved win," he said. "The boys would also like to dedicate the win to coach Aide."
Home United coach Aw lamented his team's failure to finish their chances, which has become a recurring problem for them. "We haven't scored in the last three games," he said. "Today is like déjà vu; it was like this against Harimau Muda and again it happened today. We did not finish our chances, the opponents hit us late in the game and we didn't have time to respond."
Aw pointed out that the "very difficult" pitch conditions affected their usual style of play built on passing, but acknowledged the need for his team to be more patient against defensive opponents.
"We were a bit impatient at times," he said, referring to the long balls which were resorted to. "We need to learn that against a team that is sitting deep, we need to be patient and carve out our chances."
Home United: Hyrulnizam Juma'at, Redzwan Atan, Abdil Qaiyyim, Juma'at Jantan (C), Ang Zhiwei (Syahiran Mizwan 79'), Song Ui-young, Yasir Hanapi, Fazli Ayob (Muhaimin Suhaimi 66'), Stanely Ng, Nur Hizami (Sirina Camara 52'), Kamel Ramdani.
Courts Young Lions: Syazwan Buhari (C), Fadli Kamis, M. Anumanthan, Amirul Adli, Farhan Rahmat, Shameer Aziq, Pravin Guanasegaran, Afiq Mat Noor (Taufiq Muqminin 90+2'), Adam Swandi, Shamil Sharif, Amy Recha.