When Australia U23 began their ASEAN Women's Championship campaign with a 2-1 loss to Myanmar, winning the title seemed the furthest thing away.
Just 12 days later, they are the newest queens of Southeast Asian football.
With a 1-0 win over the same opposition in Tuesday's final -- courtesy of Holly Furphy's deft close-range finish in the 66th minute -- the Australians claimed their second title following the senior side's previous triumph in 2008.
In doing so, they also made amends for a group-stage exit last time out when the U23s were fielded for the first time -- especially given the younger U20 team had achieved three consecutive semifinal appearances between 2015 to 2018.
Yet, when the tournament began, it did look as though the Australians were headed for another disappointing campaign.
They were outplayed by Myanmar in that opening defeat, seemingly shocked by the endeavour shown by their opponents. In contrast, Australia U23 looked lethargic and disjointed.
They only showed some life when coach Joe Palatsides rang the changes in the second half, with Furphy -- one of those substitutions -- grabbing a consolation late on.
Things were already looking bleak given their next test was defending champions Philippines.
So how did Australia U23 respond?
Palatsides rang the changes by switching his entire starting XI apart from striker Annalise Rasmussen. He also went from a 4-4-2 formation to a more-expansive 4-2-3-1 and, almost immediately, there was improvement.
The Australians would pull off a huge upset by beating Philippines 1-0. All of a sudden, their campaign was back on track especially given their final Group B outing was one they were expected to comfortably win -- against minnows Timor-Leste.
There was still a possibility of a three-way tie at the top but, in some style, Australia held up their end of the bargain in some style with a 9-0 rout of the Timorese -- the biggest victory of the tournament.
It meant that they were always likely to go through even if goal difference came into play, although it was ultimately not necessary as Myanmar's 1-1 draw with Philippines saw them finish top and advance along with Australia U23.
Next up for the Australians was a daunting test against hosts and three-time champions Vietnam.
The Vietnamese always enjoy fanatical home support that can be a factor for opposing sides. They also boasted the most-experienced squad at the tournament, including three of their four all-time top scorers who have combined for over 170 goals. Many of their players have featured at the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Remarkably, the Australians were two goals ahead inside 17 minutes. Aideen Keane got them on their way with a close range header before Leticia McKenna's long-range stunner would prove crucial, especially after Vietnam pulled one back two minutes from time.
By now, Australia U23 had truly found their rhythm and were marching on to a rematch with Myanmar in the decider.
All throughout the campaign, Palatsides was never afraid to freshen things up.
And if it might have seemed that he had finally settled on his strongest XI following the win over Vietnam, he would pull off one final masterstroke on Tuesday.
He would make two personnel changes with Sasha Grove and Georgia Cassidy coming in at left-back and central midfield respectively. Curiously, he decided to leave out playmaker McKenna, who had been one of their best players.
But the truly pivotal tweak would only be apparent once the game kicked off.
Palatsides boldly reverted to the 4-4-2 system that had not exactly worked previously. With Cassidy coming into the engine room, Isabel Gomez was released to play almost as a false striker.
Then, although Furphy and Alana Jančevski had excelled as a striker and right winger respectively, he opted to switch their positions.
It worked to perfection.
With Gomez bringing her energy right at the front, Australia U23's press had Myanmar on the back foot. Furphy was still making her way into scoring positions at every opportunity but was almost relishing playing on a smaller direct opponent rather than the usual centre-backs.
In stark contrast to their earlier encounter, the Australians were dominating.
A goal-mouth scramble as early as the 6th minute almost saw Furphy force the ball over the line from a yard out, only to be denied by some desperate defending. Myanmar goalkeeper Myo Mya Mya Nein also produced two smart saves to deny Cassidy and Grove in the first half.
Australia U23 continued to press after the break and an audacious 40-yard lob by Claudia Cicco in the 52nd minute required the intervention of both Myo Mya Mya Nein and her crossbar to stay out. Six minutes later, the woodwork came to Myanmar's rescue again -- this time with Cassidy unlucky not to score with a fine freekick attempt.
Eventually, the persistence would pay off.
The Australians would again win possession inside the opposition half. Once more, as she drifted infield from her wide starting position, Furphy would find space among three defenders to meet Keane's incisive left-wing delivery and get just enough of a touch to divert the ball into the far corner.
With the Australian defence holding up even up against the tournament's leading scorer in Win Theingi Tun, Furphy's inventive finish would prove all that was needed to decide the contest.
Just 12 days earlier, Australia U23 hardly looked like title contenders at the ASEAN Women's Championship.
On Tuesday, following a stirring turnaround in their performances, they were worthy winners.