SINGAPORE — It might not have been the sell-out crowd that Balestier Khalsa hoped for, but there was still a healthy turn-out on Tuesday (Feb 28) night at the Toa Payoh Stadium.

About 120 Myanmar fans showed up to watch their countrymen in action, as attacking trio Aung Kyaw Naing, Kyaw Zayar Win and Nanda Linn Kyaw Chit made their Balestier debuts in the S.League.

All Myanmar internationals, they arrived two weeks ago and became the first ever players from their country to play in the league as they started the 1-2 home defeat by Warriors FC.

As part of their marketing efforts, the Tigers had visited Peninsular Plaza — known as the Little Burma of Singapore — with the three foreign imports last Sunday to hand out flyers that promoted their first two home matches against Warriors and Tampines Rovers (Mar 11).

The club also started posting updates on its Facebook and Instagram pages in both English and Burmese two days ago and the initiatives appeared to pay off yesterday.

Bolstered also by a sizeable crowd of away fans, the official attendance was listed as 1,975 – better than their highest home attendance last season of 1,616 in the 1-1 draw with eventual champions Albirex Niigata (S).

Naturally, the Burmese contingent took their place among the Balestier supporters and boisterously cheered the home side throughout the 90 minutes, erupting in delight when Raihan Rahman gave them the lead from the spot on 27 minutes. That penalty was earned by one of their compatriots, with Kyaw Naing’s mazy run drawing a foul from Warriors captain Shaiful Esah.

One of the fans, John Nanda, told TODAY at half-time that the game was “not bad” and the three players were doing well.

“Of course, they need to gain more experienced,” he said. “I am enjoying the atmosphere and hopefully, there will be more people at the next match.”

Balestier general manager Cheng Tim Nee also expressed optimism that the Tampines match will draw even more spectators.

“This is a better crowd than (any game) we had from last year, definitely,” he told TODAY. “So far, so good but (the attendance) can improve further, because today is a weekday night.

“I think it will be better (in our next home game) because Saturday is a day off for the Myanmar community.”

The match was also streamed “live” online, with the aim of reaching out to new fan bases, in particular football-crazy Myanmar, which has a population of 60 million.

Unfortunately, the Balestier fans did not have victory to cheer as the Warriors staged a comeback in the second half.

Jordan Webb converted his penalty to equalise in the 49th minute, before Shaiful Esah touched Shahril Ishak’s teasing free-kick past Tigers goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam on 87 minutes to seal the three points.