In a real shocker in The New Paper (TNP) League Cup on Tuesday night, Hougang United edged holders Brunei DPMM 1-0 in a Group A clash at the Hougang Stadium.
Vuk Sotirovic's goal midway through the first half sunk the visiting Wasps, who dominated for most of the 90 minutes without managing to put the ball in the net.
Hougang started with five of the six new signings they made during the June transfer window, including the new strike pairing of Sotirovic and Diego Gama.
However, DPMM settled in better with Rafael Ramazotti and Paulo Sergio both sending their headers off target inside the first 15 minutes.
Ramazotti was then teed up by Sergio for an excellent opportunity inside the box. But his grounder was well dealt with by Hougang keeper Ridhuan Barudin.
Brunei were made to pay for their profligacy in the 21st minute when captain Rosmin Kamis' attempted clearance took a ricochet off a Hougang attacker.
The loose ball fell to Sotirovic, who held off a couple of challenges at the edge of the box before unleashing a sizzling low strike past the rooted Wardun Yussof in the DPMM goal.
Steve Kean's men could have levelled matters just a minute later through Ramazotti. But the lanky Brazilian, positioned in front of goal, inexplicably tapped a cross from the left wide.
DPMM continued to pile on the pressure for the rest of the half. But Hougang's central defensive pairing of Kenneth Chang and Tengku Mushadad stood up well to deal with crosses that were fired in.
The Cheetahs could have doubled their advantage six minutes after the restart. Gama was inches away from connecting with Sotirovic's cross from the right wing into the six-yard box.
Desperate to turn things around, DPMM coach Steve Kean changed his wide men on the hour mark -- bringing on Azwan Saleh and Aminuddin Zakwan for Azwan Ali and Adi Said respectively.
However, the delivery from the wings remained weak with Ramazotti and Sergio struggling to get any proper service up front.
On the other hand, Hougang seemed content to run the clock down. Ridhuan was booked midway through the second half for dwelling too long on his goal kick.
The slowing down tactics worked as they eventually ground out the victory which enabled them to go second in Group A behind Geylang International who thrashed Singapore Recreation Club (SRC) 4-0 in a concurrent game.
Speaking after the game, a clearly delighted Hougang coach Salim Moin called on his new-look side to build on the momentum from the win and qualify for the last four. "I'm very pleased with tonight's result and performance," said Salim. "When I brought in the new signings, I told them that it's simple -- I expected them to get results -- and they have got one.
"DPMM are full of runners who have lots of desire. But anywhere in the world, a big team can be beaten by a lower team. I saw a lot of positives from the new players, especially Vuk who was very strong up front.
"Now it's all about maintaining consistency and I hope we can beat Geylang next to achieve our target of reaching the semifinals."
Hougang United: Ridhuan Barudin (GK), Yuki Uchiyama, Kenneth Chang, Tengku Mushadad, Delwinder Singh, Fairoz Hasan (C) (Nurhilmi Jasni 71'), Carlos Delgado, Atsushi Shimono, Fareez Farhan (Fazli Jaafar 55'), Vuk Sotirovic, Diego Gama.
Brunei DPMM: Wardun Yussof (GK), Hendra Azam (Maududi Hilmi 82'), Brian McLean, Boris Raspudic, Sairol Sahari, Paulo Sergio, Joe Gamble, Rosmin Kamis (C), Azwan Ali (Azwan Saleh 61'), Adi Said (Aminuddin Zakwan 61'), Rafael Ramazotti.