Queen of the South's first taste of European football has left them hungry for more.
The Doonhamers' brave bid to qualify for the UEFA Cup first round ended in failure on Tuesday night as Danish top-flight side Nordsjaelland completed a 4-2 aggregate victory over the Irn Bru First Division battlers.
But Queens were far from overawed in the second-round qualifying tie, deserving better than last night's 2-1 second leg defeat in Denmark.
Their courageous performance proved last season's giant-killing run to the Scottish Cup final was anything but a flash in the pan.
And manager Gordon Chisholm believes the experience can inspire the club to even greater heights in the future.
"I think it's a launching pad, I think we're going in the right direction," he said.
"It's great to taste it. I felt we could've gone through, I felt that's a tie we were capable of winning and I'm disappointed.
"We'll go forward from here."
Queens came agonisingly close to overturning the 2-1 first leg deficit on Tuesday night.
Bob Harris' 30-yard piledriver levelled the tie after just two minutes but Queens knew they would lose on away goals if they did not score again.
The visitors threw everything at their opponents and were unlucky not to score again before their desperation allowed Martin Bernburg to net twice in the closing stages.
It was a bitterly disappointing ending for Queens and their small, but vocal band of travelling supporters.
Harris was first to pay tribute to them, saying: "It was a fantastic game with so many fans in the stands.
"They must have spent a lot of money to travel over here to support us. It was massive."
Harris said of his wonder-strike: "The early goal was a bonus for me and the team, but we still had to go for the second goal.
"But we also have to say that Nordsjaelland probably were technically better team than us."
The defender urged his team-mates to make up for the disappointment by clinching promotion to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
"Now it's over and we have another massive game on Saturday [against leaders Dundee], and I'm sure the boys are up to it.
"We certainly have the squad to be promoted this season."
Nordsjaelland boss Morten Wieghorst, who spent a decade playing in Scotland for Dundee United and Celtic, hailed Queens' players and fans alike.
"I think they did magnificently, their fans were magnificent, and the players really showed our boys that you can get far with hard work," he said.
"For my players, this was a time of learning as they are young, but they really played a Queens team that was totally different from a fortnight ago."
Of his own side's prospects of further progress, he added: "Being in the UEFA Cup and playing a team like the Queens is a new situation for my players, from which we shall learn.
"We must learn to be focused for the game and be ready from the start.
"The work-rate was good enough but the intensity in the individual battles wasn't, and that's something we shall certainly learn from Queens."
