BURIRAM, Thailand -- As the whistle blew to mark the start of extra-time at Chang Arena on Wednesday evening, Buriram United would probably have been wondering how they were still on the pitch -- and not already back in the dressing room celebrating progress to the ASEAN Club Championship final.
A 3-1 first-leg win over Johor Darul Ta'zim looked to have put the semifinal clash firmly in their control ahead of the return encounter, especially against a side who had failed to defeat them in all five of their previous meetings.
But with a spirited display, JDT -- through goals from Bérgson da Silva and Marcos Guilherme -- somehow managed to get the score to 2-0 after 90 minutes, and 3-3 on aggregate, to force another half an hour of play.
The momentum looked to have swung the way of the visitors. The obvious script would be for them to complete a stunning comeback.
Buriram are, however, made of sterner stuff.
And when they won possession right outside the opposition box in the 98th minute and played it out right to Kingsley Schindler, he would take his chance to emerge as their hero -- lashing a ferocious drive past JDT goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi to score what ultimately proved to be the goal to secure a 4-3 aggregate triumph.
Even just getting that much power on his strike was a commendable effort considering the amount of ground Schindler had covered up until that point, tirelessly charging up and down Buriram's right flank.
It proved to be the pivotal moment of what had been an absolute battle between two teams who now share a genuinely intense rivalry, making the victory that much sweeter.
"To be honest, we knew what was coming," Schindler told ESPN. "We knew that they were angry [after losing the first leg] and wanted to win the game.
"They tried to heat the game up. The referee played a big part. He gave a lot of yellow cards [and awarded] a lot of fouls for them.
"Even though they went 2-0 up, we stayed calm and luckily I scored the goal to bring us to the final.
"But it's not just [because] I scored the goal [that we are going] to the final. It's big teamwork. We showed a lot of resilience, and I'm very happy that we are going to the final."
Schindler's goal came just three minutes after Buriram saw a decent opening go begging, as Guilherme Bissoli's cross-shot -- which flashed dangerously across the face of goal -- was just beyond the reach of Suphanat Mueanta sliding in at the far post.
The fact that Buriram ultimately finished the match with nine players -- following red cards to Bissoli and Goran Čaušić -- suggests they might have struggled to find a winner had Schindler not struck earlier.
"[The feeling of scoring the winner] is very good, to be honest," he added.
"I know they had good momentum. They were coming hard.
"I knew that they were tired. We also were tired [so] the goal was in the perfect moment."
Schindler, who is in his first season with Buriram after joining the club last October, arrived with some respectable credentials -- especially from his time in the Bundesliga with Cologne.
While he was more of a flying winger back then, Schindler now, at times, has to juggle his attacking impact -- which he once again displayed with his goal on Wednesday -- with more defensive responsibilities.
Not that he minds, especially if it helps the team add the ASEAN Club Championship and the FA Cup to the Thai League 1 title they already have won this season.
"To be honest, I can play many positions," the 32-year-old explained. "For this game, the tactical advice was I'm playing more as a right-back and wing-back.
"I think I did it good and, even if I'm playing there in the future, I don't mind it.
"We've got two more cups to go. We want to win them. We want to win both finals.
"That's our goal and that's our aim."
