It was not meant to be for Tampines Rovers' 2015 Great Eastern-Yeo's S.League title bid after being held 1-1 by Harimau Muda in an ill-tempered game at the Jurong West Stadium on Saturday night.
A win was the only way to keep their title hopes alive, but the Stags failed to achieve that objective as Rodrigo Tosi's second-half penalty cancelled out Ariff Farhan's early goal in a match that saw three red cards dished out by referee Muhd Taqi.
Tampines were widely expected to start with all guns blazing, but Harimau Muda failed to follow the script as they scored within the first six minutes.
A corner played in from the left was flicked on by Kumaahran Sathasivam into the path of Ariff, who wasted little time in bundling past a stranded Rodrigo Pacheco in the Tampines goal.
Stung by the early setback, the Stags were looking for a positive response but Roberto Alviz and Mateo Roskam were unable to keep their shots on target.
They continued to struggle against a Harimau Muda defence led capably by Wan Ahmad Zafran as frustration began to sneak in. It was hardman Isa Halim who lost his cool 10 minutes before the break and got involved in an altercation with Akhir Bahari, which resulted in him being sent off for an early shower.
10-man Stags did well to recover and pile on the pressure in the second half, eventually getting a deserved equalizer on the 55th minute.
After Shaiful Esah's cross was adjudged to be handled by Annas Rahmat inside the box, Tosi stepped up and coolly converted from 12 yards out.
Buoyed by the strike, the home side pushed bodies forward looking for more but Harimau Muda custodian Ilham Amirullah did well to deny Ridhuan Muhammad in an one-on-one opportunity and held on to a well-directed Tosi header.
The match then finished off in farcical circumstances, with both sides having a man sent off in the final 10 minutes.
First it was Harimau Muda's Kenny Pallraj who got punished for a blatant push on Zulfadli Zainal Abidin, before Tampines substitute Noh Alam Shah followed suit for stamping on Ilham a minute after coming on.
Eventually the Stags have to accept finishing second-best to DPMM, with Tosi admitting his side left it too late to pick up their form.
"We lost to ourselves," reflected the 32-year-old, who was also part of the DPMM squad that lost out on the title to Warriors FC on the final day of last season.
"We conceded so many points and missed so many chances, at the end of the year you pay for it. We just have to congratulate DPMM this year who are deserved winners because they played better football."
With the season now over and his future uncertain, Tosi is hoping for an extended stay with the Stags.
"I really hope to stay here, but it doesn't depend on me," he said. "There'll be new rules introduced and we just have to wait for the news."
Tampines Rovers: Rodrigo Pacheco (GK), Ismadi Mukhtar, Fahrudin Mustafic (C), Predrag Pocuca, Fabian Kwok (Zulfadli Zainal Abidin 26', Noh Alam Shah 86'), Ridhuan Muhammad (Jamil Ali 78'), Isa Halim, Roberto Alviz, Shaiful Esah, Rodrigo Tosi, Mateo Roskam
Harimau Muda: Ilham Amirullah (GK), Kenny Pallraj, Wan Ahmad Zafran, Asri Mardzuki, Annas Rahmat, Akhir Bahari, Ariff Farhan, Adam Nor Azlin (C), Kumaahran Sathasivam, Syahrul Azwari (Syazwan Andik 81'), Syafwan Syahlan (Shahrul Igwan 68')