One man in the away stand: In a sea of Vietnamese support, a Singaporean stood rooting for the Lions

PHU THO: Surrounded by 15,000 fans at the Viet Tri stadium in Phu Tho on Sunday (Dec 29), a Singaporean stood out - both literally and figuratively - in the away stand.

Although the Lions’ hopes of progressing dwindled and the temperature continued to plummet, 28-year-old Ong Wee Hern’s support never wavered.

But in spite of the defeat, there was a sense of pride for Mr Ong, who made the trip from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, then onward to Hanoi and finally north to Phu Tho province.

"I am very proud of the way the Lions played. Even when we were playing in conditions like 17-18 degrees Celsius, I saw the Lions put up a fight," he said after the game.

Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read

A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day.

This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners.

Loading

"We could even score a goal against Vietnam, who is very strong."

Singapore's slim hopes of making the ASEAN Championship final were dashed on Sunday after a 1-3 loss to Vietnam.

This meant the Lions were eliminated 1-5 on aggregate after a 0-2 loss in Singapore last Thursday.

A SENSE OF PRIDE

A marketing executive, Mr Ong prides himself in creating content. He shoots and edits vlogs across various genres, but sports is his "niche", he explained.

"I know that the Lions had a two-nil deficit, but I'm wondering if there is any miracle of Viet Tri," he told CNA before the game.

"I'm happy that I'm here, although it feels a bit awkward."

He has attended a number of the Lions' away matches such as the World Cup qualifier match away to South Korea and more recently, the group stage games with Timor Leste and Malaysia.

"I was very elated at the Bukit Jalil Stadium when we got the point to go to the semi-finals. It just made me feel super excited," he recalled.

Mr Ong was not the only Singaporean present at the stadium cheering on the Lions – there was also other support scattered throughout the ground.

But his presence in the away section of the stadium was a conspicuous contrast to the hordes of home fans making a raucous din to his right.

"They are super passionate," said Mr Ong. "I really like the Vietnamese fans, they are super enthusiastic."

In the second half, Mr Ong was joined by Camilla Ross, a Singaporean student studying in Vietnam.

"I was sitting there with my (Vietnamese) friends and I saw him on Facebook ... I was like: 'Where is this area?' I told my friends that I needed to find this spot," she told CNA.

"I was the only one in the middle of Vietnamese people cheering for Lions ... (Now) I feel at home."

And as the crowd swelled, the boundary separating the pair and the opposing fans was redrawn until they were eventually left with a much smaller slice of the stand.

"Throughout the campaign, there is nothing for us to be ashamed of. Nobody expected us to go to the semi-finals, and yet we are in the semi-finals," said Ong.