Competing in the ASEAN Club Championship -- officially known as the Shopee Cup -- for the first time this season, Selangor were mere minutes from pulling off a monumental upset on their debut back in August.
A month on from their 1-1 draw with defending champions Buriram United, who needed a 96th-minute equaliser to salvage a share of the spoils, the Malaysia Super League representatives were not to be denied for a second time on Wednesday evening.
With an impressive display which belied a recent slump in form, Selangor claimed a 4-2 win over Singapore Premier League outfit BG Tampines Rovers in the latest instalment of the age-old Causeway rivalry between the two neighbouring countries -- now also contested at club level courtesy of the tournament's return last season following a 20-year absence.
In their last regional outing against Buriram, it was Brazilian striker Chrigor who was poised to be the hero with his 38th-minute opener against his former club -- before the Thai League 1 giants broke Selangor hearts in injury-time.
And although he surprisingly was not among the scorers at Petaling Jaya Stadium on Wednesday, he still emerged as Selangor's main man in a display of sheer creativity and selflessness.
The Red Giants had initially benefitted from a big slice of luck in opening the lead after 18 minutes, as Tampines defender Shuya Yamashita's attempted block on a Faisal Abdul Halim cross send the ball looping over goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari before landing perfectly under the crossbar.
While Yamashita could hardly be blamed for that own-goal, he was certainly at fault for a woeful first touch just outside his box when there appeared to be no apparent danger.
Leading the press from the front, as he did admirably all throughout the evening, Chrigor would pounce to win possession and charge into the area by the touchline. While most strikers would have been forgiven for firing a shot away even from an impossible angle, the 24-year-old drew Syazwan out before cutting the ball back for Zach Clough to slam home into an unguarded net.
Tampines, who started their campaign brightly with a 3-1 triumph at DH Cebu last month, managed to pull one back four minutes before the break through a Koya Kazama penalty but it only took Selangor six minutes after the restart to restore their two-goal cushion.
Having benefitted from Chrigor's selflessness, Clough would decide to pay it forward as he advanced unopposed down the right and might have been tempted to go it on his own, but instead slid a brilliant slide-rule pass across the six-yard box to leave Faisal with a simple close-range finish.
Two minutes before the hour mark, the contest was effectively over with Chrigor once again pivotal in Selangor's fourth -- beating the offside trap to race through before unselfishly squaring the ball for Alvin Fortes to simply prod into an open goal.
To their credit, Tampines never threw in the towel and would reduce the deficit once more in the 65th minute as Hide Higashikawa scored on the rebound after his initial effort was smartly kept out by Kalamullah Al-Hafiz although it would another mere consolation.
The evening belonged to Selangor, who deservedly reaped some much-needed joy.
In an MSL that has been completely dominated by Johor Darul Ta'zim, who have won the last 11 titles, Selangor have often been the next best team -- as they were for the past two seasons with back-to-back runners-up finishes, even if it was by some distance.
Even at such an early stage of the campaign, it already looks like they will not be the ones, if any, to deny JDT this term. Their recent slip-ups mean they are already 12 points behind the league-leading Southern Tigers.
That does not mean Selangor cannot still make something out of this season.
After a bright start, against the defending champions and then their neighbouring rivals, the Red Giants could just be key players in their ASEAN Club Championship debut.