Despite suffering a 1-0 loss to Buriram United in the first leg of this season's ASEAN Club Championship final -- officially known as the 2025-26 Shopee Cup -- Selangor coach Kim Pan-Gon believes his side can still overturn the deficit and end a decade-long title drought.
Despite a spirited showing at Petaling Jaya Stadium on Wednesday, Selangor conceded the only goal of the game in the 24th minute through a clever header from Suphanat Mueanta -- leaving them with plenty to do when they visit Buriram's Chang Arena in a week's time for the return encounter.
Although they are widely regarded as underdogs for the tie, especially coming up against the defending champions, Selangor arguably created the better chances throughout the 90 minutes and were twice denied by the woodwork in either half.
It was the way in which they really applied pressure on formidable opposition in the second 45 that gives Kim reason to be believe that the decider is far from over.
"In the second half, our players produced a great performance and controlled the game against Buriram, who are an elite team in Asia with a lot of quality," said the South Korean.
"Yes, we are very disappointed because we could not fully use our home advantage.
"In the first half, we struggled a little bit and made too many mistakes ourselves. But in the second half, we were very good. I think we controlled the game and created many goal-scoring chances. It was very positive.
"We still have another 90 minutes and anything can happen.
"It will be very tough but, as Selangor, we must come back strongly, stand firm and make all Selangor fans and the Malaysian people proud.
"We must stand firm, recover well and correct some things. I want to encourage the players because I can feel their confidence growing. We will be strong."
There is hardly any shame in the manner in which Selangor were beaten on Wednesday, especially given how they really threw caution to the wind in search of an equaliser.
Towards the end of the match, Kim even made some bold substitutions -- replacing defensive-minded players with more adventurous outlets, and it that sense of dare almost worked out in the end.
"I think we tried our best," he added. "Even towards the end of the match, we made attacking substitutions and took some gambles.
"We tried our best and this is what we have. I have no regrets. We are looking forward now. Rather than regretting, we must focus on correcting things.
"Technically and tactically, our technical team will work on it over the next few days and we will prepare very professionally."
The manner in which Selangor actually took the game to Buriram was highlighted by the fact that playmaker Hugo Boumous was named player of the match, even though Suphanat was also a potential candidate.
Nonetheless, the individual accolade mattered little to the Frenchman - although, like Kim, he believes they can be encouraged by their display despite the loss.
"This distinction is not really important. What matters is the result for the team," said Boumous.
"As the coach said, in the first half we did not really control the ball as well as them. They had more possession but, in this type of game against a tough opponent, what makes the difference is being clinical."
"I think we played good football tonight and showed that we can compete with the best team in Southeast Asia."