SINGAPORE -- Only five players had touched the ball. Just 15 seconds were on the clock.
Somehow, BG Tampines Rovers found themselves already in the lead against Pohang Steelers.
Of course, there was still plenty that took place in the 89 minutes, as well as added time, that followed.
But with another determined display -- one that epitomised their performances in the AFC Champions League Two this season -- Tampines held out for a shock 1-0 victory over their formidable South Korean opponents at Bishan Stadium to maintain their perfect start in Group H.
With both sides having won their opening two games, it is the Stags who now boast a three-point lead and sitting in a comfortable position at the halfway mark of the group stage.
Prior to the game, the Tampines camp had spoken about the need to not be overawed by the opposition and the occasion. Stags coach Noh Rahman stressed how it was an excellent opportunity to show that they belonged among some more-illustrious clubs on the continental stage.
Surely, even in their wildest dreams of taking the game to Pohang, they would not have envisioned edging ahead after right from kickoff.
Getting the game underway, Joel Chew would play the ball back to Shah Shahiran, who in turn retreated further to Shuya Yamashita.
Yamashita then spread the ball out wide to Japanese compatriot Takeshi Yoshimoto, who suddenly sensed an opening. Nonchalantly, he swung his left foot and -- all of a sudden -- had sent Hide Higashikawa racing towards goal with the Pohang defence caught sitting too high.
With only the fifth touch of the contest, Higashikawa cleverly cut inside a recovering Jonathan Aspropotamitis before emphatically dispatching his shot into the far corner.
Fans of either side had not even started their chanting. Some who streamed in several minutes later might have been forgiven for wondering if the scoreboard had malfunctioned.
Yet, just as they did in the ACL Two last time out with an impressive 2-1 win over BG Pathum United, Tampines were once again punching above their weight.
It then became a matter of whether they could hold on to their advantage. Even if Pohang were admittedly not at their strongest -- with several key players rested and left behind in South Korea as they keep one eye on the finish to their domestic season -- they still boasted plenty of quality.
After all, it was quality enough to have seen off both BGPU and Kaya FC-Iloilo previously.
That is when more Stags emerged to join Higashikawa as heroes what will go down as a famous evening for the club.
Dylan Fox was impassable in defence. Goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari was hardly bothered with opponents towering over him as he claimed aerial balls with authority throughout the 90 minutes. Shah Shahiran and Seiga Sumi battled admirably in the engine room, while Trent Buhagiar offered an outlet to release the pressure down the left all evening long.
As Pohang threw more men forward in the closing stages in search of an equaliser, Tampines even had a host of gilt-edged chances to kill of the contest -- only to lack the clinical edge they had shown in the opening seconds.
Still, it mattered little as they eventually able to get the job done.
It was a case of what might have been for the Stags last season, as they missed out on the knockout stage by three points.
Twice, they threw away two-goal leads in back-to-back defeats to Thép Xanh Nam Định, who went on to advance in second place. Had those results been reversed, it would have been the Stags in the last 16.
Things are already looking far more positive this season, especially after Thursday's win over Pohang.
All it needed was four passes, six touches, 15 seconds. And and a bit more.