SINGAPORE (4 June 2015) – Cambodian coach Lee Tae Hoon was quick to point out that his team needs to be a lot better if they want to book their place in the semi-finals of the SEA Games this year.
Cambodia picked up their first three points of their campaign this year when they beat the Philippines 3-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Speaking at the post match press conference at the Jalan Besar Stadium, the Korean tactician said that while he was pleased with the results, the performance still leaves a lot of space to be improved.
“We made a lot of mistakes defensively,” said Tae Hoon. “Of course we are focused for the semi-finals but if we want to make the cut then we will have to be a lot better. Every game is a challenge.
“As for Vathanaka Chan, he is not 100%, so we will have to look at giving him more playing time in the next match.”
Cambodia’s next match is against Indonesia on 6 June.
In the meantime, the Philippines are still keeping their slim hopes of making the cut alive despite suffering back to back defeats in their first two matches in the group.
The Philippines fell to a 1-0 loss to Singapore in their first game in the group before losing 3-1 to Cambodia last night.
“Our chance of making the semi-final is very slim,” offered Philippines coach Marlon Maro. “We are using mostly players from the university, so it took them a bit of time to adjust to international standard.
“But they have managed to overcome their fear although we need to improve the backline tremendously. We seem to commit too early.
“The midfield and also the forward line showed that they can play good football.”
The Philippines’ next game will be against Myanmar on 7 June.
FIXTURES – 4 June 2015
At Bishan Stadium
1600 – Malaysia vs Thailand
2030 – Vietnam vs Laos
At Jalan Besar Stadium
2030 – Singapore vs Myanmar
