Less than three minutes into Tuesday's AFC Champions League Elite tie at Hiroshima Soccer Stadium, Johor Darul Ta'zim were in dreamland.
Away to formidable opposition in the form of J1 League powerhouses Sanfrecce Hiroshima, JDT found themselves leading mere moments from kickoff after being gifted Marcos Guilherme's opener.
Nonetheless, the contest was turned on its head in the 15th minute following what must go down as a moment of madness from Jonathan Silva -- who not only got himself sent off but also handed the opposition a penalty after preventing a goal by handling the ball on the line.
The spot-kick paved the way for Akito Suzuki to equalise, and the numerical deficit eventually proved telling as Sanfrecce's new signing would strike again shortly after the restart to ultimately hand the hosts a 2-1 victory.
On the flipside, JDT continue to sit precariously just inside the top eight -- and could even fall out of the qualification zone by the end of this penultimate round of the league stage on Wednesday.
And only Silva can explain why he thought, if he had even been thinking, it was necessary to illegally prevent -- although it merely served to delay -- Sanfrecce from equalising.
Granted, a lead away to a team like Sanfrecce should be protected but, especially when it is as early as the 15th minute, not at all costs.
JDT had already benefitted from a touch of fortune in the third minute when Taichi Yamasaki -- under no real pressure -- severely underhit a backpass to send Guilherme racing through on goal, where the Brazilian made no mistake in finishing clinically past Keisuke Osako.
Had JDT held on the that lead until the dying minutes, perhaps a self-sacrificial act lie Silva's would have been warranted. Even then, heading back from Hiroshima with a point from a draw is hardly the worst result.
But there was still over 75 minutes to play when Silva's act only served to postpone an inevitable Sanfrecce equaliser yet, more importantly, leave his team with just ten players for the remainder of the contest.
Suzuki would make no mistake in converting from 12 yards, with JDT goalkeeper Andoni Zubiaurre unable to replicate his heroics from a week ago when he saved two penalties in an ASEAN Club Championship tie against Thép Xanh Nam Định.
And it was Suzuki again -- who only joined Sanfrecce from Shonan Bellmare in the off-season -- who would net what proved to be the winner in the 47th minute with a fine glancing header off Naoki Maeda's tantalising freekick delivery from the right.
There were no immediate repercussions from the defeat at the final whistle, with JDT remaining 6th in the competition's East region standings -- but it is worth remembering that they were previously as high as second back in November and are now winless in their past three continental outings.
They could drop to 7th by the end on the evening should Buriram United avoid defeat against Chengdu Rongcheng in the later kickoff, and completely out of the top eight if Ulsan HD and Gangwon FC win their respective home games on Wednesday.
Further complicating matters for JDT is the fact that they finish the league stage next week against another Japanese powerhouse in table-topping Vissel Kobe.
The only positive for the Southern Tigers is that Vissel are already through to the next stage after securing their progress in Tuesday's 2-0 victory over FC Seoul.
Given Vissel will be travelling next week, there is a chance that they might not bring their full complement of stars -- which they have often done in the past.
Still, even when they are not at their strongest, Vissel still pose a tough test and they will still be looking to hold on to top spot in order to gain what will -- on paper at least -- be a more-favourable draw in the round of 16 against lowed-ranked opponents.
Hailing from the more-humble Malaysia Super League, JDT have already done brilliantly to reach the knockout round of Asian football's premier club competition twice in the past three campaigns.
They will have to pull off another big feat next week if they are to make it three in four seasons.