Balestier Khalsa issued a warning to their Great Eastern Yeo's S.League title rivals on Saturday after recording an impressive 2-1 win over Brunei DPMM FC at the Toa Payoh Stadium.
Goals from Robert Pericic and Miroslav Kristic put the Tigers firmly in control of proceedings. Although Paulo Sergio pulled one back for DPMM right at the end, it could not prevent the hosts from claiming maximum points.
The result also helped Balestier overtake Warriors FC to move to third spot in the standings, and the Tigers are now just three points off the top.
The manner in which the hosts caused all sorts of problems for DPMM made the victory all the more impressive.
The Tigers broke the deadlock after 13 minutes when a rampaging run from Yusiskandar Yusop saw him break through and force Wardun Yussof into a smart save, paving the way for Pericic to tap home on the rebound.
They continued to create the better of the chances but were just unable to add to their tally before half-time, with Wardun doing well to tip a ferocious strike by Kristic onto the bar and back out.
However, there was to be no denying the Croat right on the hour mark when he charged towards goal and held off three challenges before clinically placing a left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Things got from bad to worse for the visitors in the 79th minute when Joe Gamble was shown a straight red for stamping on Tarik Cmajcanin, but Sergio managed to reduce the deficit in injury time when he raced through before lifting his shot over Zaiful Nizam.
Still, it proved to be too little too late as the hosts held on to stretch their unbeaten run in the league to eight matches.
Balestier coach Marko Kraljevic was full of praise for his side. "We did a very good job. The players are getting better as the season has progressed," he said. "We're now three points behind the leaders but there's no pressure, we just continue to be confident we can compete against anyone."
"Of course, I'm very disappointed," said DPMM boss Steve Kean. "We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game but we didn't have a good night, while Balestier did.
"Now we'll have to go back and examine all aspects of this defeat and try to regroup on the training ground."
Balestier Khalsa: Zaiful Nizam, Hanafi Salleh, Emir Lotinac, Igor Cerina, Yusiskandar Yusop (Jonathan Xu 82'), Zulkiffli Hassim, Ridwan Jamil (Poh Yi Feng 77'), Zulkiffli Hassim (Hazzuwan Halim 61'), Tarik Cmajcanin, Ignatius Ang, Miroslav Kristic, Robert Pericic.
Brunei DPMM FC: Wardun Yussof, Aminuddin Zakwan, Boris Raspudic, Brian McLean, Sairol Sahari (Maududi Hilmi 69'), Rosmin Kamis, Hendra Azam (Azwan Saleh 46'), Joe Gamble, Paulo Sergio, Shahrazen Said, Rafael Ramazotti.