Balestier Khalsa had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Geylang International after Bruno Castanheira scored a last-gasp stunner in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday evening.
The Eagles put on a confident display in the opening minutes, having beaten Warriors and Home United in the past fortnight. But, the Tigers showed deadly accuracy in front of goal early on.
A Robert Pericic brace in the ninth and 38th minutes gave Balestier a two-goal advantage. But Jozef Kaplan and Castanheira helped Geylang to a second half comeback with two stunning goals.
Tarik Cmajcanin fired in an eighth minute free kick that took a deflection off Kaplan, but Yazid Yasin pushed it out for a corner.
Balestier went on to take the lead from the resulting corner when Robert Pericic outjumped Yazid to nod the ball into an empty net.
Geylang refused to buckle under the pressure and almost pulled level in the 14th minute when Syed Thaha found Kaplan who rifled his shot into the side netting from a tight angle.
Tatsuro Inui almost made it one apiece some three minutes later when he found space in the box only to see Zaiful Nizam pull off a brilliant flying save.
Inui combined with Castanheira in the 20th minute. But the Japan-born midfielder's shot went narrowly over the bar as Zaiful heaved a sigh of relief.
The Tigers had an opportunity to double the lead on 31 minutes after Poh Yi Feng sent a lovely cross-field pass to find an onrushing Fadhil Noh. But Kento Fukuda made a last-ditch tackle to deflect it out for a throw-in.
The Tigers doubled their lead in the 38th minute when Miroslav Kristic's accurate cross was headed in at the far post by an unmarked Pericic for his second goal of the game.
Kaplan almost gave his side a lifeline a minute before the break when he was left in acres of space in the box. But Zaiful came to his side's rescue once again.
Both teams came out unchanged for the second period. Within five minutes of the restart, Thaha's quick throw-in found Kaplan who turned and volleyed an unstoppable shot past a stranded Zaiful for his seventh goal of the season.
Three minutes later, Castanheira pierced the defence and Inui's goal-bound shot rattled the crossbar with Geylang in command of the game.
The pressure continued to mount on Zaiful's goal and the stopper denied Hafiz Noh with another instinctive save in the 60th minute.
Another well worked move in the 72nd minute resulted in Inui drilling a ball into the middle. But Castanheira's flick nestled safely in the arms of the keeper.
Man-of-the-match Zaiful was in action again with ten minutes left on the clock when he dived to palm away substitute Shawal Anuar's stinging shot.
Just when it seemed that a fifth win was within grasps for Balestier, Castanheira stunned the crowd into silence when he turned and volleyed a stunner straight into the net to make it 2-2 as both sides had to settle for a point.
Speaking after the game, Balestier coach Marko Kraljevic felt that it was a fair result although his side should have held on for the win. "I feel that we could have won it," said Kraljevic. "Our first half performance was not bad but we came under a lot of pressure in the second half. Yet we still defended quite well. Overall, it was a fair result."
The 2014 S.League coach of the year also lauded praise on striker Pericic who netted a first half brace and refused to blame his captain for Castanheira's late equaliser.
He added: "Pericic's goals were all about positioning and timing. He was at the right time at the right place.
"Geylang's goals were excellent. Kaplan placed his in the far corner. The second from Castanheira had good control and first touch and was beautiful as well. Zaiful couldn't do anything about it."
Geylang's next game will be against Hougang United on May. 19 while Balestier will resume league duty on Jul. 20 away to Harimau Muda.
Geylang International: Yazid Yasin (GK), Syed Taha (Shawal Anuar 79'), Hafiz Osman, Kento Fukuda, Yuki Ichikawa, Hafiz Nor, Shah Hirul, Tatsuro Inui, Nor Azli, Bruno Castanheira, Jozef Kaplan (C)
Balestier Khalsa: Zaiful Nizam (GK)(C), Yusiskandar Yusop (Jonathan Xu 63'), Igor Cerina, Nurullah Hussein, Ahmad Syahir, Emir Lotinac, Fadhil Noh (Hanafi Salleh 63'), Tarik Cmajcanin, Poh Yi Feng, Miroslav Kristic (Ridwan Jamil 69'), Robert Pericic