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The match, held on Christmas Eve, was highly anticipated. Thai fans had confidence in their team, which managed to beat the formidable Indonesian team to reach the final this year.

The timing of the match came as Thais have renewed hope after months of political turbulence. The victories by the Thai team over the past few weeks before the final boosted the national mood. Messages sent to morning news shows praised Thailand's footballers: the only news that we could feel good about, perhaps.

The competition was also affected by the political crisis. One of the first matches was forced to move to Phuket due to the closure of the airports in Bangkok. But the match on Wednesday night was held where it belongs, in the grandeur of Rajamangala Stadium.

Although the game was part of a regional tournament, it meant much more to Thais. It was the first major test for new national coach Peter Reid. Also, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva watched the game wearing the yellow jersey of the Thai team. Abhisit donned shirt number 27, as he is the country's 27th prime minister.

The match caused traffic jams around Ramkhamhaeng Road. Some fans were stuck in traffic on Rama IX Road and couldn't make it for the first half. Roads elsewhere were empty. Traffic radio attributed the light traffic elsewhere to the fact that most fans had gone home to watch the game live on TV.

However, the result did not turn out the way many (including Bangkokian) had hoped. Thailand lost 2-1 and many Thai fans were upset at an offside call that would have led to a draw.

To be fair, the Thai players didn't give their best performance on Wednesday night. The midfielders failed to control the game while the strikers squandered their opportunities to score. Thailand did, however, come back from two down to almost equalise. Shortly before full time, Teerasil Dangda seemed to have put Thailand on level terms, but his goal was disallowed by the referee.

Football fans find it hard to be objective about referees' decisions, especially those that put their team at a disadvantage. Last year, in the first leg of the final, a controversial penalty was awarded to Singapore in the 83rd minute of the match. Thai team disgracefully walked off the pitch but returned later. Coincidentally the game took place after the controversial sale of Thaksin Shinawatra's Shin Group to the Singapore government's Temasek Holdings. Singapore won 2-1.

Abhisit calmed the fans' mood by saying that although some might disagree with the offside call, everyone has to respect the referee's decision.

But before Thai fans lose hope, we have to remind them that the game is not over yet. Thailand will meet Vietnam again in Hanoi on December 28. The game will be something indeed, simply because it comes at a time when we as a nation need to focus on something that all of us - whatever our political affiliation - can relate to and agree on.