Cambodia defeated Timor Leste 4-0 on Saturday in their first football match in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) at Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium.
Competing under tight security, the match earned host Cambodia’s Under-22 three points in Group A, which also includes teams from Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines.
In the match against Timor Leste, Lim Pisoth had an early chance during the first few minutes to score for Cambodia. Pisoth quickly snatched the ball from Timor Leste defender Olagarmalik Savier, who made a mistake. However, Pisoth's shot went wide, narrowly missing the goal.
With a long pass from Stistevao Fernandes to Kornelis Portela in the 16th minute, Timor Leste had a chance but his shot went wide, passing Cambodia’s goalkeeper Reth Lyheng.
Chou Sinti scored Cambodia's first goal in the 39th minute of the match against Timor Leste, sending a medium-speed ball in the penalty box, which hit Timor Leste captain Jhon De Oliveira and bounced over the goalkeeper into the net. The goal gave Cambodia a 1-0 lead.
Sinti scored his second goal for Cambodia in the 45th minute. The goal came after a free kick by Chea Sokmeng into the box, which was cleared by Oliveira. Sinti got the ball and ran back into the box past a few Timor Leste defenders to fire his shot near the goalkeeper, Georgino Da Silva. The goal gave Cambodia a 2-0 lead.
Timor Leste had another chance inside the box by Joao Halie during the 56th minute, however, his shot went wide.
Joao Halie had a chance to score for Timor Leste in the 56th minute of the match against Cambodia. Halie received the ball outside the box, ran into and had a clear shot on goal, but his shot went wide. The miss was a big opportunity for Timor Leste to get back into the match. However, they were unable to score again and Cambodia held on to its 2-0 score.
Cambodia goalkeeper Lyheng made a crucial save in the 59th minute of the match against Timor Leste. Lyheng went outside of the box and blocked a shot by Timor Leste substitute striker Mouzinho Barreto De Lima. Timor Leste players appealed for a handball, but the referee waved play on. Lyheng signaled that the ball had hit his body, and the referee agreed. The save kept the score at 2-0 for Cambodia.
Substitute striker Sor Ratana scored for Cambodia in the 73rd minute of the match. The goal came after a beautiful pass from substitute Leng Nora. Ratana slotted it past the goalkeeper to make it 3-0 for Cambodia.
Ratana won the ball from a Timor Leste defender in the 82nd minute and instead of shooting, passed the ball to Pisoth who was unmarked in the box and scored an easy goal to make it 4-0 for Cambodia.
In Group A, Indonesia also defeated the Philippines 3-0 at the Olympic Stadium.
