HSC Weekly Round Up

The 18th Hun Sen Cup officially opened this week with defending champions Kampong Chhnam opening with a win and Siem Reap hopefuls Lion King laying down a marker for everyone else.

Tournament Format…..

There are 21 entries from provinces all over Cambodia with Koh Rong, Kampot, Kratie & Ratanakiri the 4 that haven’t entered this year. The 21 provinces are split into 7 groups of 3 based on location. A round robin is played between the 3 teams both home and away totaling 4 games each. The top team from each group and the best runner up will progress to the Quarter Finals (2 legs), Semi finals (2legs) and then the preliminary final is played in Phnom Penh at the national stadium.

The top 5 teams then join with the 11 pro clubs to create a round of 16 and play two legs all the way to the final. This is regarded as the showpiece event of the year much like the FA Cup in England.

The Group’s…..

Group A sees Phnom Penh Galaxy, Kampong Speu & Kampong Chhnang. Group B brings together Takeo, Shianoukville & Kep whilst Group C has Svay Rieng, Prey Veng & Kandal. Group D covers the west side of the country with Pursat, Pailin & Battembang then we have, close to them, Group E which is Lion King (Siem Reap), Banteay and Oddar Meanchay. Group F goes north with Prea Vihear, Stung Treng & Kampong Thom and then finally we have Group G with defending champions Kampong Chhnam, Mondulkiri and Tbong Khnum.

Matchday #1 Round Up…….

The defending champions, Kampong Chhnam, opened up with a 3-0 over Mondulkiri in Group G live on BTV in Mondulkiri. The weather conditions were less than ideal in the forest but Kampong Chhnam picked up where they left off with an easy win. In Group E it was Lion King who opened with the biggest win as they destroyed Oddar Meanchay 6-0. Foreign striker Omokafe grabbed 4 goals on his debut. Kampong Chhnang saw off Phnom Penh Galaxy 4-1 in Group A whilst Shianoukville came from behind to win in Takeo 3-2. Pursat made light work of Pailin beating them 3-0 and it was a points shared as Kampong Thom and Stung Treng drew 1-1.

What did we learn……

Lion King is going to be very strong and perhaps Siem Reap is finally ready to land the ultimate prize in provincial football. However the champions Kampong Chhnam won’t be moved easily and Shianoukville remain a force to be reckoned with.