As the second half ticked down in the Women's Asian Cup final between Australia and Japan, the battle between hope and despair intensified.
At the restart, 45 minutes felt like all the time in the world. The Matildas were only 1-0 down and had created chances. Japan were being asked to do more work than they had all tournament and were answering the questions asked of them. Anything could have happened.
But the clock ticked up. Australia's chances continued to come and go. There was no reason to believe the moment wouldn't come ... until it didn't.
Hope deflated in the stands of Stadium Australia. Dreams were crushed on the field. The body that held you up, 90 after 90, collapsed to the ground at the sound of the final whistle, unable to remain upright a second longer.
This tournament always carried an air of finality to it for this team, especially its core. It was a point that was hammered home at every press conference. This iteration of the Matildas would never have a better chance to win a trophy, on home soil no less. They wanted to win. They wanted this trophy. They knew the magnitude of the opportunity in front of them. And they couldn't do it.
As the Matildas navigated their media responsibilities and tried to process the loss -- and the tournament -- their devastation couldn't be hidden.
The fan event in Tumbalong Park the next morning was a somber celebration, one that could have looked so different. The reality of football's never-ending cycle, with flights back to clubs, next games already on the radar, and next goals shifting up the to do list continued to come into focus.
Each player posted to social media as part of the process of digesting the loss.
They thanked the nation for their support, expressed their love and pride in playing for Australia, and tried to articulate their heartbreak in their own way. Most of them spoke of the sting of the loss, how the pain will last a little while.
Sam Kerr's caption perhaps summed it up most succinctly: "Football man, that's why we love it." Pair it with a line from Kyra Cooney-Cross' caption and you have the whole picture: "Sometimes what you love breaks your heart."
Inevitably, talk has returned to the legacy of this team. There will be arguments made that despite the talent in the team, their lack of silverware will relegate them down the pecking order of great Matildas teams. "No one's interested in something you didn't do," as The Tragically Hip put it.
But the suggestion this team didn't do anything ignores their achievements both on and off the field. The suggestion no one's interested is blatantly false. The lack of a trophy isn't the whole story. It downplays the history they made, the thousands they inspired, the ways they have changed the game for the better. Those things count even if they feel hollow now in the immediate aftermath of the final. There's a chance their grandeur will only be appreciated once enough time has passed and more evidence to support their enormity is collected.
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What worked for the Matildas at this Asian Cup?
There was so much to like from the Matildas at this tournament. Kerr's return to the team in a tournament produced the moments of magic fans had missed in 2023. Alanna Kennedy has a new lease on her footballing life for the national team and that was evident not just in her goalscoring but her tournament MVP award.
The likes of Winonah Heatley and Kaitlyn Torpey showed they're not just at the level but they can bring it in high-pressure, major tournament games; an extremely pleasing development as the squad continues to evolve away from its current core to its new one.
For head coach Joe Montemurro, one of the most pleasing parts of the Women's Asian Cup was learning that the team is capable of what the coaching staff is trying to instil in them.
"But for us to be a top team, we have to keep the ball and we have to be better with the ball. We have to be able to create situations with the ball. And yes, doing it against one of the top teams in the world, in the way we did it, that gives me hope, that gives me belief," he said post-final.
"But more importantly, it gives the players belief. That's the most important thing because I've said all along this team, it needs to believe more in who they are and what they can do and what they can achieve and this tournament has shown that."
What still needs to be worked on?
The basic hope is that more time under Montemurro means the Matildas will get closer to playing the football he wants, more consistently. The larger task at hand for the coach is finding players he trusts and blending the current core with the new core.
The trust comes from players earning minutes at high levels and getting exposed to big games and high-pressure situations, which Montemurro is starting to see with the younger, less-experienced players. The blending is arguably the more difficult part of the task. He explained that difficulty post-final.
"We've still got the core group that are at the top level themselves so it's very hard to say, 'bye bye' because they're all playing. They're all playing Champions League. They're all playing top-level football," Montemurro said.
"Maybe in my time, when you're over 28 or 29 or 30, you're too old. But nowadays with our sports science and with our recovery and with our processes and our load management, players can still play on."
Knowing when to make tough calls, when to prioritise the development of the younger players while not throwing away the experience of the current core is all part of Montemurro's remit as coach of the Matildas at this moment in the team's life cycle.
Looking ahead to 2027
The blending of the generations will be one of the major talking points heading into the 2027 Women's World Cup for the Matildas.
At this point in time, the defence feels like the most future-proofed part of the field, thanks to the emergence of Heatley and Torpey, Charlize Rule being trusted with a full 90, and the age profile of the likes of Ellie Carpenter, Charlotte Grant, and Clare Hunt.
Down the other end of the pitch, the issue isn't necessarily goals. Kennedy and Kerr had stellar Asian Cups and scored nine goals between them. As for the rest of the team's goals? One from Caitlin Foord, one from Mary Fowler, one from Amy Sayer. Throw in the game-time at this tournament for the younger attacking options and the picture is slightly concerning. Remy Siemsen and Holly McNamara played 32 minutes each. Kahli Johnson didn't take to the pitch at all.
Similarly, the midfield will need to balance the tried-and-tested experience of Katrina Gorry and Emily van Egmond and, now, Kennedy, with the likes of Cooney-Cross and Sayer -- who both had limited minutes, for very different reasons.
The team needs scorers and line breakers to further what was seen at this Asian Cup.
Montemurro will have seven windows to figure it all out before the Matildas take to the pitch in Brazil.