Woodlands Wellington survived a late charge from nine-man Tampines Rovers to edge the Stags 2-1 in the first high-profile clash this season.
In front of a packed 3,201-strong audience at Woodlands Stadium, both teams contributed to a captivating match which lived up to its blockbuster billing.
Visitors Tampines were missing Nazri Nasir, Sead Muratovic and Ibrahim Noh, unable to play without passing the Beep fitness test, as well as Noh Alam Shah through injury and a suspended Zulkarnaen Zainal.
Mustafic Fahrudin, who had deputised for Muratovic in the centre of defence in their AFC Cup tie against Mohun Bagan earlier in the week, partnered Satria Mad and Tan Kim Leng in a cobbled Stags backline.
But this game would be over after just 16 minutes for the combative 26-year-old, part of the Singapore squad which successfully defended their Asean Football Championship gold two months ago.
Fahrudin saw red for a tackle from behind as last man, and barely three minutes later, Tan was retracing his footsteps in the long march off the field, also given his orders by referee Shamsul Maidin.
By then the visitors were already 2-0 down, each of the nine men left standing staring a heavy defeat in his face - surely the last thing they had expected at the start of the evening.
They had started the match positively, their experienced heads screening out the noise from the home side's reputably vocal fans, who dubbed themselves the Rams Army.
Tampines were on the offensive from the get-go and Mirko Grabovac had the ball in the net in the sixth minute, only to have the effort ruled out by assistant referee Eugene Chan's flag.
That shocked the home side into life and for the next 20 minutes, it was all Woodlands, led by their irrepressible skipper “The Phenom” Ahmad Latiff.
The 28-year-old hot-shot was a man on a mission on the night, dictating play in the “hole” and dropping back to challenge one and all.
On one aerial challenge though, Latiff remonstrated his case a little too far with referee Shamsul, earning himself a yellow card early in the 10th minute.
Three minutes later, Fahrudin clipped Latiff’s ankles just outside the Tampines box – perhaps trying his former teammate’s patience knowing he was on a caution.
From the resulting free-kick however, Park Tae Won whipped in a wicked cross which Laakkad Abdelhadi attacked strongly, planting a firm header beyond a stunned Rezal Hassan to give his side the lead.
Latiff though would not forget FahrudinÂ’s earlier challenge easily, and not surprisingly, he made his former teammate pay dearly for it.
In the 16th minute, collecting the ball from a quick counter, “The Phenom” spun Fahrudin with a delightful move which left him for dead, and in a contest of speed, Latiff was always going to come up tops.
Though Fahrudin did well to catch up, he only ended up bundling Latiff over just outside the box.
With the burly Tampines man the last defender, referee Shamsul had no choice but to give Fahrudin his marching orders.
Rezal did well to parry LaakkadÂ’s resulting free-kick, but with his defenders apparently still in shock from the dismissal, the former national custodian could do nothing as Park reacted quickest to the rebound to slot home his first goal of the league campaign.
Things got worse for the visitors barely a minute later, when Tan was adjudged to have elbowed Sazali Salleh and received his signal for an early shower by the man in the middle.
Two goals down and two men short, Tampines faced a gargantuan task to get back into this tie.
But they were aided by a complacent Woodlands side which failed to fully exploit their advantage, losing the ball cheaply and choosing to play the quick long ball instead of keeping possession.
Rafi Ali was also there to provide veteran leadership, and were it not for his outstanding contribution from the centre of the park, Tampines could have been hung out to dry before half-time.
The visitors though entered the much-needed break with the score-line at 2-0, and coach Vorawan Chitavanich was able to reorganise for the second half.
Woodlands coach Jorg Steinebrunner, who would not have been pleased with his sideÂ’s careless play after going 2-0 up, must surely have had harsh words during half-time, for the Rams emerged from the dressing room with more intent.
Twice in the opening ten minutes of the second half, Woodlands created chances but poor finishing undid the good build-up.
Rafi was also simply majestic as he cajoled and organised his team-mates to repel the mounting Woodlands sieges.
On 63 minutes, Tampines received a lifeline when Latiff was penalised for a late tackle on Santi Chaiyaphuak – Shamsul unhesitant in showing him his second yellow card and then the red.
Battling away the entire game, luck finally shone on the visitors in the 82nd minute when WoodlandsÂ’ Bah Mamadou downed Santi in the box.
Peres de Oliveira tucked in a penalty, which had to be taken twice after Woodlands keeper Fadhil Salim saved the first effort, only for the referee to rule that he had stepped off his line.
Suddenly it was Tampines who, after having played over an hour with recovery an unlikely prospect, were pushing their opponents back.
For their puzzling lack of composure and lackadaisical play apart from spells of second half pressure, few would have felt pity for Woodlands had they conceded a second.
But in the end, the Rams hung on for three precious points against a side that will likely feature in the title race along with themselves.
Although disappointed with the two dismissals, Tampines coach Vorawan was greatly encouraged by his chargesÂ’ performance on the night.
“In any game, if we are one man down it is difficult. Down two men and it becomes very difficult,” said the Thai.
“Woodlands played well, but I am proud that the eight outfield players who were still playing kept fighting and not giving up until the very last minute.”
Counterpart Steinebrunner meanwhile was visibly relieved with the victory that almost was not.
“For the first 25 minutes, I thought we played great football. Some of the best. But the players need to learn not to take things for granted,” admitted the German.
“Credit to Tampines. They are a great team. They fought until the very end. They showed my team a wonderful lesson in how to fight and a lesson in never giving up.”
“But I am of course extremely pleased with the three points, against a title contender no less. Both teams gave the fans a thoroughly enjoyable match with all the drama that only a Woodlands-Tampines match can give.”
“I am sure everyone will be looking forward to the time when it will be our turn to visit them,” he concluded.