10-man Harimau Muda scored twice in the last 11 minutes to hold Hougang United to a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Hougang Stadium on Thursday night.
Hougang's hopes of recording their first win of the 2015 season rose when Nurhilmi Jasni and Kunihiro Yamashita gave them a 2-0 advantage in the first 20 minutes.
Though Amirul Hisyam pulled one back for Razip Ismail's team by converting a penalty at the stroke of half-time, substitute Fairoz Hasan restored the Cheetahs' two-goal lead in the 68th minute.
But the Young Tigers managed to salvage a draw through Shahrul Igwan's penalty and Adam Nor's header in the final 11 minutes.
Having lost four games, Hougang seemed determined to buck the trend from the start and duly broke the deadlock after just nine minutes when captain Nurhilmi rose the highest to head home Shunsuke Nakatake's inswinging corner.
Things got even better for Salim Moin's team eight minutes later as they scored through another set piece, with Yamashita losing his marker to nod home Nakatake's free kick.
Harimau Muda were then reduced to 10 men after Ramdhan was brandished a straight red card by referee Nathan Chan for handling Muhaymin's goal-bound shot outside his area.
However, the Young Tigers managed to find a way back into the contest just before the break. After Faiz Salleh was adjudged to have handled Syafwan Syahlan's cross inside the area, Amirul stepped up to thump home the resulting spot kick.
After the restart, Harimau Muda carried on from where they left off. Syafwan forced Chan to parry his powerful header from Amirul's free kick while Adam failed to put his close-range header on target.
The Malaysian side paid the price for these spurned chances when Hougang reclaimed their two-goal advantage in the 68th minute following a flowing move. Manato got the better of Kenny Pallraj down the left before crossing for Chupe, who laid it off for substitute Fairoz to rifle a first-time shot beyond the reach of Ilham.
That should have been good enough for the home side to seal their first win of the season, but the Young Tigers refused to buckle down and were duly rewarded for their unwavering spirit.
First, it was Shahrul who slotted home from 12 yards after Chan had brought down substitute Syazwan Andik. Then, Adam was left unmarked to nod home Amirul's free kick on the right-hand side of the area.
That levelled the scores at 3-3, although there was still time for a final twist in the tale. However, Ilham ensured the visitors went home with a valuable point by superbly tipping over Nurhilmi's close-range shot.
Speaking after the game, Harimau Muda coach Razip Ismail was pleased with his side's comeback. "I can't believe we managed to come back from two goals down," he admitted. "We were playing our fourth game in 10 days and it was difficult to cope at the start. But we managed to get a goal before half-time. In the dressing room, I told them it's not impossible and we can still match them.
"In the second half, we fought till the final whistle. The players deserve this result and I'm very happy with their performances."
Hougang coach Salim Moin was disappointed at giving away two points late on. "Of course I'm very disappointed," he said. "We got complacent in the last 10 minutes. We stopped playing the ball behind the opponent and our passing got intercepted.
"We then lost concentration which paved the way for the goals being conceded. That is where we need to be strong mentally. We should learn from tonight and improve for the next game against Albirex Niigata."
Hougang United: Basil Chan (GK), Lau Meng Meng, Kenneth Chang, Kunihiro Yamashita, Faiz Salleh, Nurhilmi Jasni (C), Renshi Yamaguchi, Shunsuke Nakatake, Takahashi Manato, Muhaymin Salim (Fairoz Hasan 61'), Francisco "Chupe" Ela (Fareez Farhan 80').
Harimau Muda: Ramdhan Hamid (GK), Amirul Ikmal (Ilham Amirullah 23'), Annas Rahmat, Wan Ahmad Zafran, Nazirul Hashim, Shahrul Igwan (Syawal Nordin 90'), Kenny Pallraj, Amirul Hisyam (C), Ridzuan Abdunloh (Syazwan Andik 71'), Adam Nor, Syafwan Syahlan.