As one of the traditional powerhouses of arguably Southeast Asia's best league, BG Pathum United were understandably one of the favourites when the ASEAN Club Championship got underway last August.
With the group stage action concluding this week, BGPU are through to the semifinals -- as Group A winners no less after victory over Terengganu on Wednesday evening.
Yet, their final position did not quite paint the full picture of the rollercoaster campaign they have had, even if they are ultimately progressing unbeaten in five outings.
Instead, the manner in which their 4-3 win unfolded at BG Stadium was perhaps a more accurate reflection of their inconsistency not just in the tournament but also on the domestic front, where they currently find themselves 6th in Thai League 1 and 21 points off the pace.
First came the bad.
Following a tepid first half where BGPU enjoyed more possession and created the better openings but failed to capitalise, it was Terengganu who found themselves ahead six minutes after the hour mark through a moment of individual brilliance from Akhyar Rashid.
Finding space down the left, a cheeky cut-back by Akhyar sent Christian Gomis -- literally -- flying out of the equation. Still facing a difficult angle, the Malaysia international proceeded to send an exquisite curling effort inside the far post to break the deadlock.
BGPU had entered the tie only needing a draw to advance. Right now, they were headed for the exit door.
Then came the good.
Seeing Terengganu take the lead jolted the hosts to life.
They equalised in the 71st minute through a deft finish by Raniel. 16 minutes later, they were remarkably 4-1 up.
This was BGPU at their full potential and it should be the norm given the plethora of talent within the ranks, headlined by star playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin, fellow Thailand international Kritsada Kaman and big-name imports such as Raniel, Gomis and Gakuto Notsuda.
The sudden injection of energy into their high press saw them win the ball in promising positions. The methodical but fast nature of their ball movement soon had the Terengganu defence carved apart.
And when the ball was eventually worked into the six-yard box, the finishing was clinical.
Raniel added a second while Notsuda and Ilhan Fandi also got in on the act. From nowhere, BGPU gained a strangehold on the contest.
But then, the ugly.
Just when it looked like the Rabbits were cruising, they would end up reaching the last four by stumbling over the line.
With such a commanding lead, they contrived to let Terengganu back into the game -- with Safawi Rasid netting twice in injury-time to take away any sort of gloss that might have been on the BGPU victory.
There may have been an element of fortune with Safawi's first deflected effort but the penalty that led to his second came about after the BGPU defence had completely gone to sleep to allow Akhyar to break through and leave goalkeeper Pisan Dorkmaikaew no other alternative but to scythe him down.
It mattered little in the end as the Rabbits are still through to the semis along with PSM Makassar, who moved into second place with a 3-0 victory over Đông Á Thanh Hóa.
Still, nothing seems to be coming easy for the Thai outfit at the moment.
As they showed in their 17-minute blitz, BGPU's 'good' is certainly good enough to go far in the tournament.
They will however need less of the 'bad'. And a whole lot less of the 'ugly'.