Having been Johor Darul Ta'zim's standout performer so far in the AFC Champions League Elite, there was every chance than Arif Aiman was going to once again steal the show against Shandong Taishan on Tuesday.
And that certainly looked to be on the cards at halftime as it seemed only a matter of time before he would find the breakthrough after being constantly thwarted by opposition goalkeeper Wang Dalei in the opening 45.
With a trio of inspired substitutions from Shandong coach Choi Kang-Hee, however, it was they who were celebrating just about an hour later as they pulled off what had seemed an unlikely 1-0 win -- their first since the opening day of the campaign while condemning their opponents to a second defeat of their own.
The very fact that JDT had fallen to a smash-and-grab victory is a sign of how far they have come.
When they make their ACL debut -- as recently as 2019 -- their first win came in similar backs-to-the-wall fashion.
Even on home soil but admittedly against then-defending champions Kashima Antlers, JDT soaked up intense pressure while benefitting from some soggy and humid conditions that their opponents were not used to -- before snatching the win when they scored with one of their few forays forward.
Growth meant that they could not always be that sort of outfit, if they truly wanted to rise and challenge the powerhouses of Asian football.
On Tuesday, they went to China -- the graveyard of many more-illustrious visiting teams in the past, especially during the Chinese Super League's heyday -- and they took the game to Shandong from the opening whistle.
They were the only side that showed any real enterprise in the first half, with much of that coming from Arif, and really would have been miles ahead if not for an inspired display by Wang between the posts.
Wang has now firmly established himself as China's No. 1 but he has had to work for it. Making his international debut back in 2012, the 35-year-old spent most of his national team career playing second fiddle to Yan Junling before finally forcing his way back into the starting XI this year.
On Tuesday, he showed just why -- in a first period that was effectively a outright duel of wits between him and Arif.
Wang produced a superb stop to deny Arif after the latter had been found unmarked inside the area by a teasing left-wing cross by Murilo, and then had his gloves stung by a rasping drive from the 22-year-old from just inside the area.
Before that, he had rushed off his line well to deny Jorge Obregón one-on-one by giving the Colombian an impossible angle to negotiate.
Apart from being JDT's biggest direct threat, Arif was also influential in the build-up. A superb reverse pass that took out the entire Shandong backline finally saw Wang beaten but the visitors were to be denied as Obregón had carelessly strayed offside before firing home.
Then, the effects of Choi's first savvy switch were felt.
With the sole purpose of curbing Arif's threat, Wu Xinghan was brought on to perform a lockdown job. He was never going to succeed completely but he stuck to his task manfully with Arif noticeably quieter after the break.
When Arif ventured to the other flank to find more joy, he immediately broke free and, in the 63rd minute, carved out another clear opening when he glided past an opponent before cutting the ball back to a waiting Bergson da Silva right on the penalty spot.
Taking just an extra second to get the ball under control, Bergson did not get the most purchase on his effort but it still seemed destined to hit the back of the net with Wang already on his way to ground -- only for the Shandong custodian to somehow pull off a miraculous gravity-defying save to claw the ball to safety.
Just five minutes after, Choi's other halftime introductions would decide the contest.
As they won possession just inside their own half, Shandong would go direct with a Cryzan's searching through-pass catching out an extremely-high JDT defence and releasing Zeca to race through and finish past the onrushing Andoni Zubiaurre.
Numbers do not always tell the whole picture. In this game, they did. JDT had a staggering 66.6% possession and had 17 shots with seven on target to the hosts' seven and one.
The only goal of the contest came from a traditional bit of counterattacking play more commonly employed by a side under the pump, that led to a classic smash-and-grab victory usually associated with a team that had been the underdogs in the contest.
The very fact that the previous sentence did not refer to JDT is a sign of the progress they have made, even if Tuesday's result wasn't an ideal one.
It might have been. If not for the heroics of Wang that prevented yet another star turn from Arif.