Preah Khn Reach Svay Rieng FC departed Cambodia for Myanmar on Monday to prepare for their opening Group B match of the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup 2025/2026.
They will take on hosts Shan United at Thuwunna Stadium this Thursday at 6.30pm.
Head coach Matthew McConkey said he had few concerns about the Burmese side, as his squad is well prepared. Instead, his worries lie with the short turnaround period before their Cambodian Premier League (CPL) match against Boeung Ket, which will come almost immediately upon their return.
“We don’t really have any issues or worries about Shan United because we’ve had enough time to prepare for Thursday. What I’m not happy about is our league match against Boeung Ket on Sunday,” he said, as he addressed the media at Phnom Penh International Airport.
He explained that the players who will feature against Shan on Thursday will only return to Cambodia on Friday, making it impossible to train ahead of Sunday’s Boeung Ket match. They would instead need recovery time.
“Svay Rieng is the only Cambodian club representing the Kingdom in the ASEAN Club Championship. So, the Cambodian Premier League organizers should show understanding and let us play Boeung Ket on Monday instead. That would be better for us, especially since FIFA Day follows,” noted the lanky Northern Irishman.
Despite the logic of appeal, the request was met with scorn by Be Makara, Boeung Ket general secretary. Makara took to social media on Monday night to suggest that McConkey was out of order.
“The schedule has already been arranged; the regulations have already been issued. Out of understanding, Boeung Ket already agreed to move the game from Saturday to Sunday. Try to understand Phnom Penh Crown’s feelings too — what did they say when they were asked to reschedule their national representative match?” he said.
“You know very well. I don’t want to say much. 48 hours or 72 hours? Learn from others. Don’t put on a show for the fans. Learn to take responsibility. I suspect the coach didn’t even attend the meeting,” he added.
Outside of CPL inter-club dramas, Svay Rieng have an excellent good track record against the Myanmar club. They defeated them 4–2 in last season’s Shopee Cup group stage, and in the AFC Challenge League 2024/2025 quarterfinals, Svay Rieng won 6–2 at home before losing 2–1 away in Myanmar.
McConkey noted that Shan United have improved, particularly after strengthening their squad with several new foreign players.
“This season, Shan United are a very different team than they were last year. They’ve changed three or four foreign players, altered their playing system and style, and clearly made progress. From our previous meetings, they’ve also learned a lot about us,” he warned.
Nonetheless, McConkey is determined to focus on Thursday’s opener, aiming to collect three points to please the fans before facing the other Group B heavyweights: Nam Dinh FC (Vietnam), Johor Darul Ta’zim (Malaysia), Bangkok United (Thailand) and Lion City Sailors (Singapore).
“Our group is full of strong teams. That’s why our priority is this first match against Shan United. We’ll play as well as we can and compete at the highest level, because we want to go further — and to do that, we must first focus on this opening game,” he stated.
