SINGAPORE - Having acknowledged the quality of the opposition lying in wait -- and the welcome challenge it posed given their recent history of rising to the occasion against more-illustrious opposition -- it initially seemed like the stars had aligned for Lion City Sailors to pull off a memorable victory over Buriram United at Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday.
With Kenny Dougall shown a straight red -- upon VAR review -- for a last-man foul just before the break, the Sailors then enjoyed a numerical advantage for the entire second half and created a whole host of chances to secure the win.
Nonetheless, Buriram are made of stern stuff. Sailors coach Aleksandar Ranković even labelled them the best team in all of Southeast Asia in Wednesday's prematch news conference.
There is a reason why they are the most successful team in Thai football, gunning for an unprecedented fourth consecutive League 1 crown this term.
On the continental stage, they are gunning to prove they can match it with the big boys from Japan and South Korea by reaching the knockout round of the AFC Champions League Elite.
And, in the ASEAN Club Championship, they just refused to be beaten by the Sailors, in the process picking up a point that could yet prove valuable in their quest for a top-two finish in Group B -- and a spot in the semifinals.
The Sailors deserve credit of their own, even if the result now means their hopes of progressing in the tournament are effectively over.
Even before the opposition had gone a man down, the hosts had proven to be up for the challenge.
Lennart Thy threatened to get in behind the Buriram defence on a number of occasions, while Maxime Lestienne sent a trademark curling effort from the right smashing off the woodwork.
If the Sailors needed any further motivation to keep pushing, it arrived in the 42nd minute.
Dougall, so often the lynchpin of Buriram's three-man defence, made a rare error.
A poor first touch while attempting to control a high ball diverted the ball into the path of a lurking Lestienne. A desperate recovery attempt felled the Belgian winger and, although a yellow was initially shown, it was not long before it was upgraded following a pitchside review.
Expectedly, Lestienne was at the heart of everything the Sailors were creating in the attacking third but Buriram were surprisingly proving to be experts of the counterattack -- even though they usually spent most of their matches dominating possession.
A breakaway in the 56th minute saw Sailors keeper Izwan Mahbud required to make a brilliant fingertip save down low to deny a fierce drive by Guilherme Bissoli.
As if it was necessary, the hosts were given a reminder that they still had to be cautious even while pushing more and more man forward.
The Sailors' best chance arguably arrived in the 77th minute.
Another tantalising Lestienne cross into the box saw Song Ui-Young's downward header force Chatchai Budprom into a reflex save although the rebound fell right back at the feet of the Sailors midfielder.
Nonetheless, with a recovering defender desperately trying to put in a block, Song could only blaze a follow-up effort from close range over the bar.
The closing stages even saw Izwan go up for a corner only for a disappointing delivery to be comfortably claimed by Chatchai but, while he looked increasingly frustrated on the touchline, he was effusive in his praise of the endeavour his charges had shown.
"I was sharing the same frustration as the players," he said. "They really wanted to win.
"We never play for a draw, no matter what. I've never said that to my players before.
"We went for the win and I think the guys did everything but, sometimes, the opponents are also very good. Big compliment to them.
"I will say again that this [Buriram] is the best team in Southeast Asia. But if someone deserved to win today, it's us.
"These are the games that will take us to where we want to be. Mentally, physically, we grow from these games. We just weren't able to find that one goal that we needed."