Albirex Niigata (S) got back to winning ways in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League on Friday after toiling to a 2-1 victory over Hougang United at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
The Japanese outfit broke the deadlock after 21 minutes through a Rui Kumada header, although Kunihiro Yamashita nodded home a corner to level the scores three minutes after the half-hour mark.
Nonetheless, the White Swans went on to grab the winner in the 52nd minute when Hikaru Mizuno broke free inside the area and netted with a clinical finish.
The result was enough to send Albirex back on top of the table, while the Cheetahs are still searching for their first win in 2015 after nine matches. Albirex have 19 points from nine matches, one more than Warriors FC who have a game in hand.
Yet, it could have been so different for Hougang had they been able to take their chances, the first of which came after nine minutes when opposition keeper Yosuke Nozawa somehow managed to keep the ball out with his foot after Yamashita had headed a Shunsuke Nakatake corner towards goal.
And in the 21st minute, the hosts opened the scoring as Kumada found space inside the box to meet Shotaro Ihata's cross. He nodded away a firm effort that Ridhuan Barudin was just unable to keep out.
However, the Cheetahs pulled level 12 minutes later by capitalising on their threat from set pieces; Yamashita meeting another excellent delivery from Nakatake with a bullet header into the back of the net.
Hougang nearly pulled off the same trick in the 51st minute when Yamashita once again powered a header past Nozawa, but this time Mikiya Yamada was perfectly positioned to clear off the line.
Barely a minute later, Albirex reclaimed the lead as Nakatake, in a last-ditch attempt to deny Ihata a shooting chance, could only clear the ball as far as to Mizuno, who made no mistake in finishing into the bottom corner.
The visitors had one last chance to earn a share of the spoils in the 80th minute when Fairoz Hasan's excellent right-wing cross found Chupe. But the striker could only head the ball into the ground and back off the bar, paving the way for their opponents to play out the remainder of the contest and claim their sixth win of the campaign.
Although his side were far from at their best, White Swans boss Tatsuyuki Okuyama was proud of their efforts especially considering they were missing two key players in top scorer Rion Taki and playmaker Fumiya Kogure. "Even though we weren't full strength, we managed to win the game. So I'm happy with the result," he said.
"Taki and Kogure both weren't fit enough for selection. But we have many players who can fill in and I'm proud of their abilities. This win was very important for us."
Hougang boss Salim Moin praised his side's industry despite the fact that they are still winless after nine games. "Despite the loss, I'm very happy with the performance," he said. "We had a game plan and the players carried it out very well -- we created many chances but just weren't able to get the second equaliser. "Given we still haven't won this season, I've told the players they have to be mentally strong. I think they showed character today."
Albirex Niigata (S): Yosuke Nozawa, Mikiya Yamada, Takahiro Saito, Kento Fujihara, Itsuki Yamada, Hikaru Mizuno, Shun Inaba, Rui Kumada, Kento Nagasaki (Yusuke Mukai 83'), Atsushi Kawata, Shotaro Ihata (Ryuki Matsuya 90').
Hougang United: Ridhuan Barudin, Faizal Amir (Faiz Salleh 79'), Kenneth Chang, Kunihiro Yamashita, Lau Meng Meng, Renshi Yamaguchi, Shunsuke Nakatake, Nurhilmi Jasni, Muhaymin Salim (Fairoz Hasan 72'), Manato Takahashi (Fareez Farhan 77'), Chupe.