SINGAPORE -- As overcast as the rainy skies had been in the preceding hours, and even throughout the 104 minutes or so of the AFC Champions League Two final, there was a similar air of despair for most of the 9,737 gathered at Bishan Stadium as the final whistle rang on Sunday evening.
Following a fairy tale run in the competition, where they became the first Singaporean club to ever reach a continental decider, Lion City Sailors just failed to get over the line -- even if they really gave themselves every chance of doing so.
Extra-time looked to be on the cards when Maxime Lestienne cancelled out Firas Ben Larbi's opener with a dramatic 91st-minute equaliser -- only for Emirati outfit Sharjah to strike again through a Marcus Meloni effort in in the 7th minute of stoppage time and claim a 2-1 victory, securing a maiden continental title of their own.
Almost every LCS player on the pitch would collapse onto the pitch when that final whistle blew. Obviously mainly from exhaustion given the effort they had put in, but also in sheer disappointment of coming so near yet so far.
Heads were bowed but, in reality -- and as they soon found out from their applauding fans as they embarked on a lap of honour -- they should be held high.
For even in spite of the gray skies and incessant rain which played its part in a depressing Sunday in Singapore, it is anything but doom and gloom.
For the Sailors, most certainly. And even for the Singaporean football as a whole, there is a glimmer of hope.
What the Sailors had achieved, even if they came up just short, was simply an unthinkable prospect previously.
In fact, it could even go down as the greatest achievement yet by a Singaporean team on the club stage -- even if some fans, especially those from the older generations -- still refer to the Malaysia Cup days as the nation's golden footballing era.
It is on par at the very least. If not in the sense of captivating an entire nation, then at least purely from a footballing perspective.
Back then, before the launch of the Singapore Premier League -- originally known as the S.League -- in 1996, Singapore competed as a 'club' team in neighbouring Malaysia's domestic competition.
With professional league football -- initially Liga Perdana 1, the predecessor to the Malaysia Super League -- only introduced in 1998, the Malaysia Cup was previously the biggest prize on offer and, given it was originally contested by state teams which all boasted strong local identities, this inevitably led to fierce rivalries and heightened fan interest.
So, when Singapore -- led by household names such as Fandi Ahmad, Malek Awab and V. Sundramoorthy to name but a few -- lifted the 1994 Malaysia Cup to end a 14-year drought, it was naturally seen as one of the country's finest footballing moments.
After leaving Malaysian football, the average Singaporean's interest in local football has -- initially gradually but then drastically -- waned, after an initial strong start made by the S.League.
During a brief return from 2012 to 2015, when the Football Association of Singapore formed a team to compete in the MSL, support for LionsXII instantly skyrocketed even as S.League matches were often played out in front of less than 1,000 supporters.
Bragging rights, especially when competing with their neighbours, seems to be a key driving factor.
Admittedly, such a dynamic is difficult to accomplish in a country as small as Singapore. An individual who grew up in Geylang could easily have moved to live in Hougang and then Balestier even before adulthood.
Who would they pledge their loyalty to then -- Geylang International, Hougang United or Balestier Khalsa?
This is also why Singapore national team games are still the best chance of seeing fans turn up in full force to show their support for local football.
Even more so when the ASEAN Championship comes around every two years and the Lions once again get the opportunity to become kings of the region.
Being Singaporean is a far simpler identity to relate to than -- for example -- being a resident of Tampines and, therefore, automatically pledging an alliance to BG Tampines Rovers, who -- it must be said -- even spent a couple of seasons playing their home matches on the other side of the country at Clementi Stadium in the west.
But if being better than those around you is a major source of pride and a reason to get behind a team, then what the Sailors achieved this season arguably surpassed what previous Malaysia Cup-winning sides accomplished.
This was not just a case of being better than every team in a neighbouring Southeast Asian country, and it must be acknowledged that Malaysia and Singapore have generally be on par throughout the years.
In their history-making campaign, the Sailors proved to be at the same level, and even better, than counterparts from China, Thailand, Japan and Australia -- all formidable Asian outfits on the international scene.
Rather than focus on the fact that the ACL Two remains Asian football's second-level club competition, it can be said that the Asian Football Competition's revamp of its tournament has made for an even more-competitive spread -- given the likes of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Sydney FC and Sharjah would all not be out of place in the AFC Champions League Elite, having spent numerous previous campaigns in the top tier.
If getting one over Selangor or Pahang was such a source of pride in the past, then the Sailors' triumphs over Zhejiang Professional, Port, Muangthong United and Sydney should be viewed in equal, if not higher, measure.
Yes, the Sailors are not technically representing the entire country. On a weekly basis, they come up against others who also hail from Singapore.
Still, every step they took in this season's ACL Two, especially after Tampines were eliminated in the group stage and then when they became Southeast Asia's sole remaining representatives when sides from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines fell by the wayside, was an accomplishment for all of Singaporean football.
The further the Sailors reached in the campaign, they even spoke with pride about how they were looking to fly the flag for all of Singapore.
And to give credit where it is due, Singaporeans did catch on to the magnitude of the achievement.
When tickets went on sale for the ACL Two final, all 10,000 seats were sold out within a day. The less-than-ideal conditions failed to deter most fans from showing up -- with the official attendance on the evening just less than 300 shy of that number.
Many of them are unlikely to have been present at any of the Sailors' previous outings yet, as the club looked to continue making history, these usually-casual onlookers were intrigued enough to want to grace the occasion.
There was a time when being champions of another country's domestic competition was the biggest thing for the Singaporean football faithful to shout about. That can never be denied.
Still, looking to the future is often the best way to avoid being trapped in the past.
Just as Singapore will always aim to win the ASEAN Championship once more, that should hardly be the end goal. Even qualifying for the next AFC Asian Cup -- for the first time on merit -- would be a further step forward.
Maybe after that, bold targets of featuring in the FIFA World Cup will look slightly more realistic.
Likewise, rather than just getting one over their Malaysian counterparts, Singaporean football should be aiming to make waves on a continental scale.
In getting as far as the ACL Two final, the Sailors did just that -- even if they fell agonisingly short of the finish line.