Warriors FC continued their unbeaten start to the 2017 S.League on Friday evening as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Geylang International at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium.
It looked as though the Warriors were on their way to a second straight victory after Kento Fukuda fired them ahead nine minutes into the second half.
But, with 13 minutes remaining, Victor Coto netted the equaliser -- his first in Geylang colours -- to earn his side a share of the spoils.
Having had a bye in the previous round, Warriors are yet to taste defeat after two matches and currently find themselves third on the table, while their opponents are one spot below them only behind on goal difference.
Although the draw was arguably a fair result for what had been a keenly-contested encounter, both sides might feel they could have gotten the win with the chances they created.
It was Geylang who started the brighter of the two sides, causing the hosts real problems with a high-pressing game and gaining the early ascendancy.
Their first real opening fell to Coto after 13 minutes when he broke free and took the ball past the onrushing Basil Chan, but he was just unable to keep the ball in play.
Safirul Sulaiman was next to threaten with a powerful first-time effort on the edge of the box that sailed just over six minutes later.
Nonetheless, Warriors gradually forced their way into the match and Eagles keeper Syazwan Buhari had to be alert on a couple of occasions before the half-hour mark, parrying a Shahril Ishak free kick that had sailed over a sea of players and then racing off his line to deny Jordan Webb a clear run towards goal.
By now, the hosts were starting to look more dangerous with a more direct approach and, from a sweeping counter in the 33rd minute, they came excruciatingly close to scoring.
Chasing down a long ball, debutant Joel Tshibamba climbed high above Syazwan to nod the ball towards the unguarded goal, only for Yuki Ichikawa to race back in time and clear off the line.
However, the momentum was firmly in Warriors' favour and the deadlock was finally broken in the 54th minute; Baihakki Khaizan meeting a lovely free kick from Shahril and deftly nodding it on to leave Fukuda with a simple finish at the back post.
It was nearly 2-0 right on the hour mark and, this time, it was Hafiz Nor who had the chance but he could only fire into the side-netting from a tight angle after being set up by Webb.
As the game entered its closing stages, Geylang discovered an extra level of urgency in a bid to salvage something from the tie and it looked as though their moment had arrived in the 73rd minute.
Dancing his way past a couple of defenders inside the box, Gabriel Quak's low cross was half cleared and played back into the six-yard box, where it was smashed into the back of the net by a stunning bicycle kick from Shawal Anuar.
The Geylang camp burst into celebration at what would have been one of the goals of the season, only for their jubilation to be abruptly halted by a questionable linesman's flag for offside.
But rather than feel aggrieved and losing their composure, the visitors did well to keep their composure and they duly got their reward four minutes later.
Latching onto a clever flick-on by Shawal Anuar, Coto advanced into the box and shifted onto his right foot before blasting a powerful shot under Chan to open his Eagles account.
Having finally pulled level, Geylang then had a final chance to claim maximum points a minute from time and Coto was again heavily involved.
Finding space just outside the box, he dinked a lovely ball over the static Warriors defence for Quak to run onto.
Despite being faced by an onrushing Chan, the Singapore international calmly brought it around the goalkeeper but, with the goal gaping, he was unable to keep his effort on target as both sides were left to settle for a share of the spoils.
"I'm more than satisfied with the result," said Geylang coach Hasrin Jailani.
"I felt we controlled much of the game and then, to be able to come back from a goal down, score and then attack in search of the winner, shows good team spirit and our hunger.
"Overall, with a few players out injured and without a big squad, I'm happy."
Meanwhile, Warriors coach Razif Onn refused to be overly disappointed at seeing his side relinquish a winning position.
"To be fair, I thought it was an even game," he commented.
"I thought Geylang played strongly in the final 20 to 30 minutes so fair play to them.
"We settled late into the game because Geylang sent six men to press us high up, so we realised we had to play the direct ball to our four-on-four in attack.
"Once that happened, we also created our fair share of chances to score."
Warriors FC: Basil Chan, Ang Zhiwei, Baihakki Khaizan, Kento Fukuda, Ho Wai Loon, Firdaus Kasman (Ridhuan Muhamad 83'), Syaqir Sulaiman, Hafiz Nor, Shahril Ishak (Fadhil Noh 85'), Jordan Webb, Joel Tshibamba.
Geylang International: Syazwan Buhari, Faritz Hameed, Anders Aplin, Yuki Ichikawa, Al-Qaasimy Rahman, Isa Halim, Safirul Sulaiman, Taufiq Ghani (Amy Recha 46'), Min Thi Ha (Gabriel Quak 46'), Shawal Anuar, Victor Coto.