After a delayed start due to the triggering of the lightning warning system, Albirex Niigata (S) came flying out of the blocks to record a 1-0 victory over Balestier Khalsa in their Great Eastern S.League match held at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday night.
Striker Shotaro Ihata scored the winner in the 15th minute for the White Swans, who clinched their second successive league win following their 6-0 demolition of defending champions Warriors FC on Saturday.
Neither team could dominate possession in the first few minutes. But Tatsuyuki Okuyama's side were slightly on the ascendancy with wingers Rion Taki and Atsushi Kawata looking particularly threatening.
The Japanese side took the lead when Balestier left-back Ho Wai Loon's throw in bounced to a lurking Ihata who unleashed a superb 25-yard lob that sailed into the top left corner beating goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam.
The goal woke Balestier up and forward Robert Pericic almost leveled the game but his long-range screamer off a Yusiskandar Yusop cross rattled the crossbar.
Albirex went storming down the other end and captain Fumiya Kogure's low cross found Kawata whose shot cannoned off the left post even as the linesman raised his flag for off side.
The Tigers had a fantastic opportunity two minutes before half time when striker Miroslav Kristic's defence-splitting pass found Pericic whose shot curled narrowly wide to leave coach Marko Kraljevic up in arms on the bench.
Balestier came out recharged for the second period and it took barely two minutes for them to create their first scoring opportunity of the half. Former LionsXII winger Ignatius Ang went on a mazy run down the middle before playing Pericic in but the Croatian once again missed his target by centimetres.
Kraljevic's men continued to press and Ignatius managed another shot on target only to see a deflection take it out for a corner.
Three minutes later, Albirex captain Kogure sent a well timed lob over the Balestier defence to release Taki but his shot was blocked by an onrushing Zaiful who was alert to the danger.
Albirex's best chance to double their lead came in the 79th minute when Kogure went on a barnstorming run before unleashing a screamer that had Zaiful at full stretch to divert it for a corner.
Kraljevic brought on Fadhil Noh and 18-year-old forward Ahmad Syahir to freshen things up but the home team lacked the creative spark with Tarik Cmajcanin having another lacklustre game as playmaker.
Referee W. Ravisanthiran sent off Ho Wai Loon at the stroke of full time to cap a 1-0 victory for the Japanese team and move them into second spot in the standings, three points behind leaders Tampines Rovers FC.
Kraljevic was full of praise for his men who fought valiantly despite lack of sufficient recovery time following their mid-week AFC Cup win against East Bengal. "The first half was not that great for us and as always it is not easy to play Albirex. But in the second half I was very happy with our performance as we managed to match them," said Kraljevic.
"We only had 72 hours to recover after the tough game against East Bengal and we also had some injuries. Players lose a lot of energy on this pitch and we started late because of the lightning warning system. Albirex worked very hard. But we gave them a good fight and that is important."
Balestier Khalsai Lineup: Zaiful Nizam (GK)(C), Yusiskandar Yusop (Jonathan Xu 66'), Hanafi Salleh, Ho Wai Loon, Emir Lotinac, Zulkiffli Hassim (Fadhil Noh 59'), Tarik Cmajcanin, Ignatius Ang (Ahmad Syahir 75'), Poh Yifeng, Robert Pericic, Miroslav Kristic
Albirex Niigata (S) Lineup: Yosuke Nozawa (GK), Mikiya Yamada, Kento Fujihara, Takahiro Saito, Itsuki Yamada, Hikaru Mizuno, Fumiya Kogure (C), Shun Inaba, Atsushi Kawata, Rion Taki (Rui Kumada 70'), Shotaro Ihata (Kento Nagasaki 56')