PHNOM PENH (16 Oct 2016) – Whether it was just a ploy to psyche up his opponents, Laos head coach Veunsavanh Sivisay said hosts Cambodia should win their next two games and make the final rounds of the AFF Suzuki Cup next year.
Cambodia, backed by a boisterous crowd of well over 50,000 fans, won their first game of the qualifiers when they beat Laos 2-1 last night.
“I believe that Cambodia should make the final as they won against us and this is the crucial game of the qualifiers,” said Sivisay.
“I don’t think that Brunei or Timor Leste is in the same standard. And as such, I think that Cambodia should make the cut.
“You can see that we played with a lot of heart even though we were up against a strong Cambodian side and also the big support from the stand.”
Laos, missing the deft touches of striker Khampheng Sayavutthi, were not playing as well as they should. They were missing the speed down the flank as they failed to make clear inroads into the Cambodian defence.
And their concession of a penalty and the loss of concentration in the closing stages of the game allowed the hosts to pick the full points.
“It is all about the mind game. I told the players that they need to concentrate, especially in the last ten minutes of the halves,” added Sivisay.
“But that was what exactly happened against Cambodia.”
