It was goalless after 90 minutes and Syria's dreams of qualifying for their first World Cup were fading fast.
Then Omar Kharbin converted a bold, Panenka-style stoppage-time penalty to earn victory over Uzbekistan and make an appearance at Russia 2018 a realistic goal.
Syria, in fourth, move within one point of their opponents in Asian Qualifying Group A. The top two qualify automatically, with the third-place side advancing to a continental play-off.
As we reported in Syria: Football on the frontline on Wednesday, the Syrians are playing their home fixtures at neutral venues, and Malaysia has been their "home" since last September.
BBC Sport's Richard Conway travelled to Hang Jebat Stadium in Malacca to watch the game...
Because of economic sanctions, as well as security fears, Syria are forced to play their home fixtures in Malaysia.
On Thursday, they played at the 40,000-capacity Hang Jebat Stadium - 4,500 miles from home.
The match was due to be played at Rahman Stadium in Serembam but, 72 hours before kick-off, the local authorities ruled the stadium was unavailable.
Arrangements were then made for the match to be staged in Malacca, a further 40 miles to the south.
And these Syria fans still made it.
There were also a handful of 'away' fans who travelled to Malacca to support Uzbekistan. The official attendance for the game was 350.
General Mowaffak Joumaa - the most powerful sports official in Syria as the president of their national Olympic committee, and a member of parliament - watched on from the stand behind the benches.
He was denied a visa for the London 2012 Olympic Games, because he is said to have links to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Syria were dominant in possession in the first half but had no clear-cut chances.
They had only scored one goal in their previous five games during the third round of qualifying.
Firas al-Khatib is fouled in the area to give Syria the chance to win the game in injury time.
And Omar Kharbin scores his penalty in audacious style to secure a famous victory.
Syria's head coach Ayman Hakeem was in tears in his post-match news conference. He dedicated his team's victory to the Syrian people