Three early goals from Steve Kean's Brunei DPMM proved to be the downfall of Tampines Rovers as they went down to a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their RHB Singapore Cup quarterfinal on Monday night.
Both teams played out a 1-1 draw ten days ago in the Great Eastern Yeo's S.League, but there was a clear winner at Jalan Besar Stadium as the Wasps struck early in each half.
There was a sense of déjà vu too for V. Sundramoorthy's men, who had conceded in the fifth minute of that draw.
This time, it was Brian McLean who scored at the same mark, getting the slightest of touches with his header, to divert Azwan Ali's wicked free kick into the bottom left corner from six yards.
The Stags looked for an immediate response and nearly got it through Rodrigo Tosi, who embarked on a sensational solo run past four men before seeing his low drive repelled by an alert Wardun Yussof.
Six minutes later, it was 2-0. Jufri Taha, making only his fourth start of the campaign, dawdled on the ball 25 yards out from his own goal and was promptly robbed by Azwan. The youngster advanced on Rodrigo Pacheco, before coolly slotted his finish beyond the Brazilian custodian.
The intense start to the half continued when Tampines halved the deficit just three minutes later.
From an unmarked position, Predrag Pocuca easily nodded Roberto Alviz's corner kick into the top corner.
What followed though was an unremarkable half an hour or so, as the first 45 minutes petered out to the break.
But DPMM repeated their explosive start after emerging from the tunnel -- this time even earlier, as Rafael Ramazotti lost his man on 47 minutes before meeting Hendra Azam's cross with a bullet header into the top right corner.
Two good saves from Wardun prevented Tampines from getting a second goal, first a superb one-handed stop to claw out Alviz's 25-yard free kick and then another to tip over Isa Halim's 35-yard pile-driver.
Tosi spurned another great chance on 76 minutes when he headed Ridhuan's cross over from four yards, the latter having shown great skill to get away from his marker before putting the ball in.
Then, a red card for Alviz eight minutes from time put paid to any hopes Tampines had of a comeback, and left them with a two-goal deficit to overcome in three days' time.
There was a brief fracas between both teams upon the final whistle as they moved into the tunnel, with DPMM boss Kean claiming that Noh Alam Shah had spat at him.
"Overall we are happy [with the win], but we didn't need to see what happened at the end," he asserted. "The professionals have got to take control, otherwise people will think they can get away with it."
The former Blackburn Rovers manager also praised Wardun for his save off Alviz's free-kick, while adding that Paulo Sergio could recover from his hamstring injury in time for the game at Jurong West Stadium.
A disappointed Sundramoorthy lamented conceding early goals again and reiterated the need for his team to maintain their focus from the start.
"We conceded two soft goals in the first half and we were always trying to come back and when you are trying to push to attack, you surely leave holes at the back," he said.
"We paid the price (by letting in the third goal)... We need to regroup and come back strongly on Thursday."
Brunei DPMM: Wardun Yussof, Aminuddin Zakwan, Boris Raspudic, Brian McLean, Sairol Sahari (Adi Said 72'), Hendra Azam (Azwan Saleh 63'), Rosmin Kamis (C), Joseph Gamble, Azwan Ali (Najib Tarif 90'), Shahrazen Said, Rafael Ramazotti
Tampines Rovers: Rodrigo Pacheco, Jufri Taha, Fahrudic Mustafic (C), Predrag Pocuca, Shaiful Esah, Ridhuan Muhamad, Isa Halim, Roberto Alviz, Firdaus Idros (Jamil Ali 70'), Rodrigo Tosi, Mateo Roskam (Noh Alam Shah 58')