TIFFY Army FC could not break the confidence and forward movement of Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng as the stronger team took 3 points and maintained their perfect record of winning all 4 games of the season.
On the same day, the president of Angkor Tiger Club Akihiro Kato apologized for their loss at the hands of Boeung Ket, while goalkeeper Virak Dara of Visakha became the hero of the day in preventing the defending champions Phnom Penh Crown from finding victory.
Although the army team played well and showed their strength in defence to finish the first half in a 0-0 draw, an own goal in the 50th minute changed things – and then tall striker Marcus Haber scored two more goals in the 62nd and 81st minutes to ensure that Svay Rieng team took three more points at the Army’s expense.
Continuing on to win 3-1 at the Old Stadium last Saturday strengthened Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng’s hold on the top of the Cambodia Premier League table with 12 points from four consecutive wins so far. Their striker Haber is also currently the league’s top scorer, with 6 goals.
Meanwhile, the match between top teams Visakha and Phnom Penh Crown at RSN Stadium on Saturday ended without a goal. Phnom Penh Crown created more chances than Visakha, especially in the second half, but neither team could find the back of the net, and this 0-0 draw put Phnom Penh Crown under more pressure – as the champion team has failed to record a single win this season.
Visakha seemed to be happy to accept sharing one point each, although they have dropped from 2nd to 3rd place with 7 points on the table. Visakha team manager Meas Channa thanked young goalkeeper Dara, who made some good saves to keep a clean sheet when they beat Kirivong Sok Sen Chey 5-0 last week.
Channa posted on his Facebook page after the drawn match, saying “thank you for your effort and dedication Dara. You are developing developing into a fantastic player. Thank you for your wonderful saves in our last two games, which ensured that we conceded no goals.”
Boeung Ket had a good result by defeating Angkor Tigers 2-0. The goals were was scored by striker Mat Nurun in the 54th minute, with an own goal from Moth Satya coming in the 88th minute. This result moved Boeung Ket up to 4th place, with 6 points.
After the match, Tigers president Kato apologised for the defeat and expressed his unhappiness at the referee’s decision not to fine Boeung Ket defender Taher Zabihi and award a penalty to his team. A shot from the away team seemed to have touched Zabihi’s hand in the 70th minute, but the referee did not acknowledge it.
“I’m sorry we lost yesterday,” the Japanese Kato wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. “I will do my best in the next game. I think the Cambodian league should introduce Video Assistant Referee soon.”
Meanwhile, NagaWorld – under new coach Khim Borey – took another significant step forward as they beat Kirivong Sok Sen Chey 2-1. Kirivong looked to be off to a flying start as En Ponlei pushed into the lead a goal in the 12th minute, but NagaWorld hit back a goal to Brazilian striker Da Crus in the 33rd minute and Christian in the 37th minute.
Thanks to this result, NagaWorld move up to second place in the league with 9 points, while Kirivong continued to sit at the bottom of the table with only one point, behind Phnom Penh Crown on 2 points. Angkor Tiger and Tiffy Army have four points each.
