MOTM

Fit again striker Khim Borey, two-goal hero against HAGL

I selected Khim Borey as my man of the match for Cambodia against HAGL on Sunday night, not because of his two goals, both calmly-taken penalties under quite a bit of pressure, but because of his remarkable comeback and contribution to the game. It was at the back end of May that Khim Borey played his last competitive match for the Ministry of National Defense team in the Cambodian Premier League. A nagging ankle injury then sidelined him and it wasn't until he went to Vietnam for surgery a few months later, that the problem was finally diagnosed. His last game was more than five months ago and last Wednesday he saw action for the first time when he managed 80 minutes of a practice match against Can Tho. On Sunday he put in a full 90 minute shift, led the line for much of the time, kept his cool under pressure to level the scores at 2-2 with two penalties and then moved into a holding role in central midfield to see out the game. The extra training and fitness regime that he's been under the last couple of months certainly paid off against HAGL.
Khim Borey has been around for quite a while considering his 20th birthday was just a couple of months ago. He was the Golden Boot winner for the most goals in the 2008 CPL season with 18 goals as the Defense Ministry finished 2nd. Last season was a different story though as the club's management accused five players of throwing a cup tie before the league season began and suspended the players including Khim Borey and his national teammate, keeper Samreth Seiha. Nothing was proven and the club reinstated them a couple of months later. Borey has been a Cambodian national team regular for the last two years since his international debut in the Nehru Cup in India in 2007 and it was his goal that took Cambodia through to the Suzuki Cup Finals a year ago.