Mark Hartmann was the toast of Filipino outfit Global FC as he scored a hat trick in his side's 4-1 extra time win against Geylang International in the RHB Singapore Cup quarterfinal second leg at the Bedok Stadium on Sunday evening.
Coupled with Paulo Salenga's lone strike, it enabled the visitors to claim a 4-2 victory on aggregate and progress into the last four in front of 1,559 fans.
After being edged out by Jozef Kaplan's late goal in the first leg, Global came into this game determined to claw back the one-goal deficit and they did so 20 minutes in.
Seizing on a poor Geylang defensive clearance, Hartmann lashed home a rasping 20-yard drive that had Geylang keeper Yazid Yasin beaten hands down.
Both coaches rang the changes in the second half and it was a couple of substitutes who made the mark for their respective teams.
Substitute forward Bruno Castanheira held off his marker before firing in off the left-hand post on the 76th minute to tie the game at one apiece.
Four minutes later, Global's Salenga levelled the overall score on aggregate once again by latching on to a lofted pass before producing an immaculate lob over the onrushing Yazid.
With both sides tied at 2-2 on aggregate after 90 minutes, the tie went into extra time where Hartmann stole the show.
He first fired home an unerring 102th minute strike into the bottom left corner, which led to Geylang boss Jorg Steinebrunner being sent to the stands for his protests that two of his players was down in the build-up.
The 23-year-old then settled the tempestuous affair in the final minute of extra time by slotting into an open goal from 40 yards out after Yazid had ventured forward unsuccessfully to challenge him.
The win sets Global up with a two-legged semifinal tie with either Balestier Khalsa or Albirex Niigata (S) as a visibly delighted coach Leigh Manson reflected on his side's comeback show.
"I think the (4-1) result did not flatter us at all," he said. "We showed the mental strength and character to come back from 1-0 down in the first leg.
"We knew we had to tighten up a bit on the defence which we did and I thought we had a lot chances in normal time which we should have buried. The young boys Richard Jr. Talaroc and Salenga made the difference after coming on in the second half.
"Also special mention goes out to the Filipino community who came down today and made it a real occasion for us. We're really proud of this victory and I hope it makes the competition more interesting from now on."
Geylang International: Yazid Yasin (GK), Khairulnizam Jumahat (Shafeeq Faruk 104'), Hafiz Osman, Kento Fukuda, Anaz Hadee, Nor Azli Yusoff, Shah Hirul (Mustaqim Manzur 71'), Hafiz Nor, Tatsuro Inui (Bruno Castanheira 54'), Shawal Anuar, Jozef Kaplan (C)
Global FC: Patrick Deyto (GK), Jerry Barbaso, Dennis Villanueva, Masaki Yanagawa, Norio Suzuki (Richard Jr. Talaroc 87'), Misagh Bahadoran (C), Yu Hoshide (Paulo Salenga 72'), Mario Clarino (Jason De Jong 70'), Daisuke Sato, Matthew Hartmann, Mark Hartmann