SINGAPORE -- On Wednesday, when tickets went on sale for Saturday's ASEAN Championship semifinal first leg between Singapore and Thailand at Jalan Besar Stadium, they were gone in a flash.
Just 90 minutes later, the Football Association of Singapore posted a confirmation on social media that tickets were indeed sold out.
It led to a massive outpouring of disappointment online as dejected fans expressed unhappiness at the online system, and vitriol was even understandably directed at scalpers -- with resale tickets since being priced at over S$1,000 -- almost 20 times the most-expensive originally available at $49.
The silver lining to many supporters having to endure frustration is the fact that -- after many years of Singaporean football being in the doldrums -- the Lions are now, quite literally, the hottest ticket in town.
Like it was in their final Group A game against Indonesia, Jalan Besar Stadium will once again be sold out as Singapore look to seize an advantage to take to Bangkok for Tuesday's second leg at Rajamangala Stadium.
And while he did not want to be drawn too much into the ticket debacle even when faced with repeated questions on it, Singapore coach Gavin Lee instead wants his players to repay the faith and support they are being shown by their fans.
"To see tickets sold out in seven minutes is so heartening," Lee said in Friday's prematch news conference. "It just motivates us even more.
"We want to go out and put on a performance that's worthy of this support.
"To have such overwhelming demand [for tickets] is a very nice feeling. We want to translate that to a level of performance that everyone can be proud of.
"There's a lot of excitement but calmness as well. We're just excited to go out and play in front of a full stadium. Hopefully we bring a good performance so that we can go to Thailand in a good situation.
"We're very focused and very calm."
The scenario on Singapore's hands is not too different to when they last won the ASEAN Championship in 2012.
In the final, they entertained Thailand in the first leg and made the most of their home advantage to claim a 3-1 win, ensuring they would ultimately prevail on aggregate despite losing the second leg at Supachalasai Stadium 1-0 to lift the most recent of their four regional titles.
Lee, who is actually the same age as two members of that title-winning team who he now coaches in captain Hariss Harun and goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud, was only 22 then.
When asked about his memories about Singapore's last ASEAN triumph, the biggest impression made on him was again about what it meant to the supporters.
"The fond memory of that was the fans' reaction and the relationship between the team and the fans," Lee explained.
"That sort of support, I think the players yearn for -- and tomorrow is another step to bring us closer to that. Trust me, the boys really want to succeed, not just for themselves or their families, but for all the people supporting them so far.
"The demand for tickets has shown how much the team has grown. The strength of the team is the team, but the fans are a big part of a team. The beauty is that, window on window, we're growing. We've gotten more support and we cannot wait to continue.
"It's important that the team does the job because the fans will bring the noise."
Singapore have been largely been viewed as underdogs at the tournament but it has not mattered so far, as they battled to draws against highly-rated Vietnam and Indonesia to seal a top-two finish in Group A at the latter's expense.
Against Thailand, who are the tournament's record seven-time champions, the Lions will likely be outsiders again although -- considering a host of key players are absent -- there seems to be a real chance that the War Elephants can be beaten, even if they are the only team to have won every game so far.
Led by captain Sarach Yooyen, who is the tournament's most-successful player with four titles to his name, Thailand still have some seasoned campaigners to lean on. But it is perhaps the emergence of some talented youngsters like Kakana Khamyok, Seksan Ratree, Teerasak Poeiphimai and Yotsakorn Burapha that has made them so exciting to watch.
"Thailand have a very young, talented frontline and midfield but they're back by experienced players at the back," Lee identified.
"In their last four games, they have kept clean sheets which is testament to their teamwork. But they have speed up front and the ability to keep the ball in midfield, which is typical Thai football.
"We respect them as an opposition but we respect ourselves even more. We put the attention on ourselves, focus on our plans and look to do our jobs tomorrow."