An all-military affair

2nd half hat-trick hero Sin Dalin of Ministry of National Defense

Sunday's quarter-final Hun Sen Cup ties also went with the formbook and the semi-final next week will see the Army lining up to face the Military Police team after the Ministry of National Defense (MND) put the upstarts from Rithisen to the sword, winning 9-1, whilst Preah Khan Reach (PKR) saw off the challenge from Khemara to win 3-nil. Truckloads of fans from Kompong Chhnang helped boost the crowd at Olympic Stadium but they went home much quieter after MND did a professional job on the last of the provincial teams in the competition. But it could've been a different story if the referee hadn't disallowed an early Rithisen goal, that sailed in from the wing but was cancelled out by the the linesman flagging for offside. Baffling. Khim Borey and two goals from Thong Oudom gave MND a 3-0 interval lead. Two subs then made their mark, both getting hat-tricks. Sin Dalin netted his late in the game hat-trick in the space of five frantic minutes, whilst Phuong Soksana completed his trio in injury time. Rithisen's consolation was a great solo effort from Ky Rohan.
In the battle of the big guns, PKR did just enough to dampen Khemara's spirits, with Sam El Nasa getting their noses in front in the 1st half. Sub Sok Raksmey scored a 2nd just three minutes after entering the fray and then El Nasa stuck away a penalty late on to complete the 3-o win. Khemara can feel ashamed with their 2nd half showing. Sok Pheng, who has returned to the game after a year on the touchlines, will be seeing more bench time as he was sent off for a second bookable late challenge on 57 minutes. Their skipper Kuoch Sokumpheak was lucky to only get a yellow card for a two-footed lunge before Chhun Kirivatharo received a straight red for blatantly kicking an opponent. They should've also lost goalkeeper Mak Theara when he fly-hacked Prak Mony Udom but the referee and his assistant were the only two who didn't see the incident. It was Theara who scorpion-kicked an opponent a couple of weeks ago and this guy is going to hurt someone soon. He needs to be stopped. And if I was a striker with an opposong team I would get my challenge in first.

Another hat-trick hero Phuong Soksana, in MND's 9-1 success over Rithisen

The Defense Ministry meant business from the kick-off and thrashed Rithisen 9-1

Preah Khan Reach did enough to qualify for the semis, beating Khemara 3-0

Mak Theara, goalkeeper with Khemara, is treading a fine line with two shocking challenges on opponents in recent matches