SINGAPORE -- It may not have been pretty.
But, into the final minute of regulation time, Singapore were -- at the very least -- on course to achieving Thursday's primary goal of claiming three crucial points against India in their quest to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup.
Had they held on, it would not have mattered as much that, despite playing with a numerical advantage for almost the entire second half, they failed to really impose themselves on the contest and spurned a host of gilt-edged chances to add to Ikhsan Fandi's opener which came just before the break.
Even without a dominant display, the Lions would still have remained at the Group C summit with seven points from their opening three games -- and firmly on course to reach a first Asian Cup since their sole appearance in 1984, when they qualified only by virtue as being the host nation.
Nonetheless, with Singaporean football in recent times, nothing is ever that straightforward. And, quite often, they only have themselves to blame.
That was exactly the case at National Stadium on Thursday as, in the 90th minute, Singapore would shoot themselves in the foot to hand ten-man India an unlikely 1-1 draw.
There was no apparent danger when 80th-minute substitute Jordan Emaviwe received possession by the left touchline. With no avenue forward, he would retreat -- only to play an ill-weighted backpass that landed in no man's land -- between goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud and the Singapore centre-backs.
The closest player in the vicinity? India's Rahim Ali, and as he pounced on the gift to race through, he succeeded in riding a last-ditch attempt at an intervention from the onrushing Izwan to advance and score into an unguarded net.
It was perhaps more than India deserved although they always faced an uphill task from the moment Sandesh Jhingan was sent off in the 47th minute for a second bookable offence.
To their credit, they retained their structure well and did show attacking intent on the few occasions they created meaningful passages in the forward half.
But this was certainly a case of Singapore throwing away two points as opposed to India fighting their way to one.
Despite frequently finding themselves in advanced positions, the Lions lacked a cutting edge -- largely moving the ball in every direction but forward once they had reached the final third.
It was though a rare bit of direct football, which was often when they looked the most dangerous, that Singapore would break the deadlock in first-half stoppage time.
A glorious searching ball from the back by Hariss Harun released Shawal Anuar, who nipped around the wrong side of his marker to latch onto the pass.
A near-perfect first touch -- even while running at full tilt -- took the ball past India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
The only reason why it wasn't perfect? He actually brought the ball closer to Ikhsan, who gratefully accepted the assist as he stole in to dispatch a shot into the unguarded net.
The opener came at a perfect time as it sent the Lions back into the dressing room on a high, and things would only look even more promising two minutes after the restart -- when Jhingan's cynical foul on Ikhsan to stop a Singapore counterattack earned him a second yellow.
From then on, the hosts should have been well in control of proceedings. Ikhsan continued to look the likeliest threat for the hosts, so it was surprising to see him brought off in the 68th minute with younger brother Ilhan Fandi coming on in his place.
To his credit, Ilhan then regularly found himself in dangerous positions, but his finishing just let him down as he spurned a couple of excellent opportunities.
Unfortunately, while there were certainly many factors behind what was ultimately a lacklustre Lions display, it was Emaviwe who would become the fall guy.
With his moment of misjudgment, the Lions missed the chance to surge forward in their mission to reach the Asian Cup.
They are still in the reckoning but they have only themselves to blame for having spurned a golden opportunity.