Amid video assistant referee (VAR) drama across two legs, the Lions lost 5-1 on aggregate to the Golden Star Warriors in only the second time that they had reached the semi-finals since they won their fourth title in 2012.
Tsutomu Ogura's charges achieved that despite the unavailability of key players such as midfielders Jacob Mahler (injured) and Song Ui-young (family matters) and brothers Irfan, Ikhsan and Ilhan Fandi (not released by clubs).
Football commentator and former Singapore Premier League (SPL) coach Khidhir Khamis said: "The team has brought the belief back to the fans and regaining that belief is the most important takeaway from the tournament."
Balestier Khalsa coach Peter de Roo has observed a new-found mentality among this pride of Lions.
"There is a little less fear and they try to play (good football)," said the Dutchman, a former technical director at the Football Association of Malaysia.
"They are also aggressive when they don't have the ball. So there's definitely a good spirit within the team by the looks of it."
This story is from the December 31, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the December 31, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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