Balestier Khalsa climbed up to fourth in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League on Monday evening after a 2-0 win over Harimau Muda at the Toa Payoh Stadium.
Goals from Miroslav Kristic and Zulkiffli Hassim put the Tigers firmly in the driving seat before half time, and they were ultimately able to hold out for maximum points despite coming under intense pressure in the second half.
However, the win might have come at a price after both Ho Wai Loon and Fadhil Noh had to be substituted after picking injuries and are doubtful for their next match against Courts Young Lions.
Still, Balestier coach Marko Kraljevic will have plenty to be pleased about given the dominant start they made to the game.
Three minutes before the half-hour mark, they were presented with a golden opportunity to take the lead when Miroslav Kristic was tripped by Syawal Nordin inside the box.
The Croatian forward made no mistake from the spot when he sent Ilham Amirullah the wrong way to give Balestier a one-nil advantage.
The hosts then edged further ahead in the 31st minute after a huge clearance from goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam fell to an open Zulkiffli, who headed straight for goal before clinically firing into the bottom corner.
Harimau Muda did muster a response after the break and piled plenty of pressure on their opponents, with Adam Nor Azlin looking particularly dangerous as he came close with a number of long-range attempts.
But in the end, the visitors failed to finish off their chances, paving the way for the Tigers to hold out for the win.
The result, Balestier's second victory on the trot, was enough to tentatively take them above Tampines Rovers in fourth spot and Kraljevic was a happy man at the final whistle.
"I'm very happy with the result," he said. "Any game where you win and have a clean sheet is excellent.
"It wasn't easy as they put us under a lot of pressure in the second half, but there weren't really too many scares for us in our defensive third."
Meanwhile, Harimau Muda boss Razip Ismail remained upbeat despite the end of a five-game unbeaten run.
"It's disappointing to lose especially given we've been playing well in the last five games," he said.
"But we knew Balestier are a very strong team and they played to their strengths in the first half. We tried our best in the second half and did well, but we just couldn't break through in the end."
Balestier Khalsa: Zaiful Nizam, Yusiskandar Yusop, Emir Lotinac, Igor Cerina, Ho Wai Loon (Ahmad Syahir 15'), Fadhil Noh (Ignatius Ang 54'), Poh Yi Feng, Tarik Cmajcanin, Zulkiffli Hassim, Robert Pericic (Hanafi Salleh 51'), Miroslav Kristic
Harimau Muda: Ilham Amirullah, Ashmawi Yakin, Syawal Nordin, Annas Rahmat, Azrul Nizam Muhammad, Irfan Zakaria, Adam Nor Azlin, Syahrul Azwari (Akhir Bahari 77'), Faizat Ghazli (D. Kenny Pallraj 70'), Shahrul Igwan Samsudin (Arif Anwar 46'), Syafwan Syahlan