Defending champions Boeung Ket Angkor marked their second round revival in the Metfone C-League with a 3-1 win over the Ministry of National Defence at the Old Stadium on Saturday, pushing the Armymen out of the top four for the first time since the campaign began 16 weeks ago.

Seasoned national player Khun Laboravy warmed the bench well past the first half but by the time he took the pitch foreign signings Silva Calijuri Maycon Rogerio, Esoh Amogba and Ajayi Gbenga had done enough up front to put Boeung Ket in a position of strength.

Boeung Ket’s first goal came through a Maycon free-kick. Though the Army quickly got level through North Korean Kim Kyon Hun header after Sou Yaty’s two splendid saves, Maycon rammed in another free-kick to restore the lead early in the second half.

While Boeung Ket controlled the tempo most of the way, the Armymen stumbled upon a couple of gilt-edged chances, the most prominent being Jang Song Hyuk hitting the upright from close range.

Late in the game Amogba greeted his easy access to the box by cleverly sidestepping goalkeeper Om Sereyrath to score the easiest of Boeung Ket’s three.

The loss pushed the Army down to fifth after their strong front-running show which ended with the side going down 2-3 to leaders Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng before the SEA Games break followed by a 1-3 loss to Nagaworld last week.

With the in-form Bisan George firing a double to cap his last week’s hat-trick, table toppers PKR beat bottom of the pile Kirivong Sok Sen Chey 2-0 at Takeo to retain their five-point lead over Nagaworld, who beat Electricite du Cambodge 3-0 on Saturday.

Second-half goals from Virak, Dani and Kipson did the trick for Naga.