Phnom Penh Crown has set its sights on beating Brunei’s Kasuka FC in tonight’s AFC Challenge League qualifying match at Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium. Victory will secure them a a spot in the group stage of Asia’s third-tier club competition.
Although the qualifiers consist of only one leg, played on Brunei’s home turf at 7.30pm, Crown head coach Oleg Starynskyi has made it clear that the team is looking for a win.
“This is our first time playing in the AFC Challenge League, but we’ve played in the AFC Cup before, so I think there are some similarities. We’ve gained experience from past matches, and of course for us, this is a new competition. But we want to show what we have, and want to achieve a big win to move on to the group stage,” he told a Monday press conference.
Starynskyi anticipated a tight and exciting match for spectators, as both Crown and Kasuka are well-prepared to fight for victory. He stressed that Crown will do everything possible to finish the match within 90 minutes and avoid going into extra time.
“We want to play our style of football, play with confidence, control the ball and create as many chances as possible. We know Kasuka is a good team, and their strength lies in attack, so it will be a tough game. But regardless, we will try to finish everything before extra time,” added the Ukrainian coach.
Crown captain Orn Chanpolin asserted that his squad is fully prepared to secure victory over Kasuka FC.
“We know Kasuka is a good team with many talented players, so we have prepared ourselves completely. We didn’t come here just for one match — we came to bring the victory back to our country,” he said.
On the other side, Kasuka FC head coach Matus Bozik also confirmed his team’s readiness to face Crown. As the home team, he too has set a target to win for their supporters and earn a spot in the group stage. “Phnom Penh Crown is a very good and big team, among the top four in the Cambodian Premier League, and they are also the winners of the Samdech Hun Sen Cup. We’ve studied and learned about their playing style, and we hope to perform well against them. Of course, everyone in our team wants to win this match,” he told the Monday press conference.
