The unbeaten record that the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Football Club had painstakingly maintained since August 9 was comprehensively destroyed by league leaders Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng, who handed the hosts a shocking 6–1 thrashing — the most surprising result of the season yet.
No one expected Svay Rieng to beat the home side by such a large scoreline. Even Phnom Penh Crown, who recently handed Svay Rieng a 3–2 loss on September 28, could only manage a hard-fought 1–1 draw against the Army at the Old Stadium. But on Sunday night, it really did happen.
Even though the Army side played almost a 100 per cent defensive game to block Svay Rieng’s attacks, their wall could not withstand Svay Rieng’s relentless offense. The visiting team combined beautifully and scored five goals in the first half.
Brazilian forward Roque Cristian scored the first goal for Svay Rieng in the 9th minute, followed by Peprah Kwame with the second in the 13th minute. Min Ratanak and Nhean Sosidan added one each in the 15th and 36th minutes, before Roque Cristian struck again for the fifth in the 40th minute.
In the second half, Tiffy Army managed to grab one goal through striker Ekejiuba Valentine Chiemerie in the 86th minute. However, defender Sa Usos accidentally turned the ball into his own net in the 90+3 minute, sealing Army’s 6–1 loss to Svay Rieng.
After the dominant performance, assistant coach Stefano Greco — who led Svay Rieng in the absence of head coach Matthew McConkey — addressed the media.
“Today our players performed very well, especially in the first half. Every opportunity we had, we converted — we scored five goals,” he said.
However, Greco was somewhat dissatisfied with how his side played in the second half, when they allowed Army a chance to pull one back.
“In the second half we should have controlled and retained possession more, but overall, our players performed really well in this match,” he mused.
For his part, Army head coach Phea Sopheaktra acknowledged that Svay Rieng played at a very high level. He noted that some of their players were so good they were capable of dragging two of his defenders at once, breaking apart his defensive setup.
“As for this result, it’s something we cannot dispute! But speaking about our own preparation, we had almost no offensive drills during training. We practiced only defensive formations — 5-4-1 — and we did study the opponent’s movement. That means we tried to apply man-marking and zonal marking, but unfortunately, we need to accept our own level,” he said.
“Football is about levels, so I reminded the players before the match that tactics are just one piece — it’s about knowing how to block, defend and stop the opponent. But what we cannot counter is the opponent’s player quality. One of their players can drag two of ours — that’s enough to break through our marking. This is something we must accept as reality and think further about,” he added.
Thanks to the three points gifted them by Army, Svay Rieng continue to sit at the top of the Cambodian Premier League standings, with 18 points.
Meanwhile, defender Feher Raul scored a hat-trick to help Phnom Penh Crown beat ISI Dangkor Sen Chey 4–2 on Sunday, keeping Crown in second with 17 points.
Angkor Tiger, who defeated home side Visakha 3–2 on Saturday night, are in third with 15, while Boeung Ket narrowly beat Kirivong Sok Sen Chey 1–0 to climb to fourth with 14 points. MOI Kampong Deva drew 0–0 with Life FC Preah Sihanouk.
