CAMBODIA BACK IN CONTENTION FOR FINAL ROUND

Cambodia, who shared the spoils with hosts Laos in their opening game two days ago, now have four points in the bag and in with a good shot of making the cut. The outcome of the Laos-Philippines game later today will have some bearing on the difficulty factor of Cambodia’s passage to the finals. An outright win in their final qualifying match against the Philippines in two days will certainly seal the deal.

“Timor worked hard and gave us problems but I was confident that we would win the game even though they scored first,” said Lee Tae Hon, the chief coach of Cambodia.

“It was a hard game against Laos and I thought that the boys were a little tired. But they fought hard to come back for our first win. Now we will prepare how to take on the Philippines.”

The Cambodians, who were among the pre-tournament favourites to advance, started off strongly but were stunned by an early goal from their opponents. They however worked extra hard and kept on pushing for the goal. Their resilience finally paid off when they hit two quick goals which changed the entire outlook of the game from then on.

Cambodia could have been ahead within two minutes but Kouch Sokumpheak’s slipped over the crossbar. Instead of taking charge of the game, Cambodia found themselves trailing following a quick change of possession. Juvitu sent a long cross that found the speedy Chiquito Do Carma. The striker rounded a defender and stabbed the ball past a stunned Ouk Mic.

Chiquito could have doubled the score but he failed to keep his shot down and Cambodia escaped falling further behind. Soon after, the winds of change would blow in favour of Cambodia whose strikers kept up the pressure.

Their constant forays upfront paid off when Khim Borey crept in from behind to nod in a superb Kouch cross that dipped over the Timor goalkeeper, Leonel Araujo in the 26th minute.

Three minutes on, Khim, who had been a constant thorn in the defenders’ sides, inflicted further pain into the hearts of his opponents with a clinical finish after a neat cross from his strike partner Keo Sokngon. By the 40th minute, Khim completed a sensational hattrick after whipping the ball past Leonel.

“Even though we lost, we played well – better than what we showed in the first game,” said Alberto Ribeiro, the assistant coach of Timor.

“We made some changes to the side as we were trying a different formation today.”

TEAMS

Cambodia: Ouk Mic (GK, cpt), Lay Raksmey, Tieng Tiny, Khim Borey, San Narith, Kouch Sokumpheak, Keo Sokngon (Tum Saray 54th), Khoun Laboravy (Nuth 65th), Rang Borin (Sok Rithy 24th), Chhun Sothearath, Sun Sophana
Subs: Peng Bunchay (GK), Sok Rithy, Tum Saray, Phourng Soksana, Eang Piseth, Nuth Sinoun, Pheak Rady
Coach: Lee Tae Hon
Scorers: Khim Borey (26th, 29th, 40th), Nuth Sinoun (75th)
Yellow: Sun Sophana (67th), Tum Saray (89th)
Red:

Timor Leste: Leonel Da Silva Araujo (GK), Elijeu Soares (Zeferino 61st), Juvitu Da Silva, Helder Ricardo (cpt), Eusebio De Almeida, Joao Pereira, Cipriano Branco, Marcelino Fernandes (Vicente 46th), Chiquito Do Carmo (Emilio 68th), Anggisu Barbosa, Carlo Ximenes
Subs: Diamantino Leong (GK), Salvador Carlos, Lamberto Gama, Miguel Soares, Emilio Da Silva, Zeferino Martins, Vicente Freitas
Coach: Pedro Correia De Almeida
Scorers: Chiquito Do Carmo (5th), Anggisu Barbosa (85th)
Yellow:
Red:

Referee: Phung Ding Hung (Vie)
Assistant 1: Azman Ismail (Mas)
Assistant 2: Loung Lath Somphayanh (Lao)

DAY 1 RESULTS

Timor Leste 0 Philippines 5

Laos 0 Cambodia 0

TODAY’S RESULTS

Cambodia 4 Timor Leste 2

REMAINING FIXTURES

Oct 26: Philippines vs Cambodia (1600hrs) / Laos vs Timor Leste (1830hrs)