National Defence Ministry and Build Bright United each seize a 5-1 victory at Olympic Stadium, with the latter remaining top of the 2010 Metfone C-League

National Defence Ministry captain and striker Khim Borey (third left) outjumps Chhma Khmao defenders for his headed second goal during their Metfone C-League match at Olympic Stadium Sunday.

Khemara Keila skipper Kuoch Sokumpheak (right) tussles with Build Bright United’s Tuy Sam during their Metfone C-League fixture at Olympic Stadium Sunday.

National Defence Ministry’s Phuong Soksana (right) fends off a challenge from Chhma Khmao’s Mom Davy Sunday.

Photos by Nick Sells (www.nicksellsphotography.com)

A thunderstorm blasted the Olympic Stadium just as the game between National Defence Ministry (MND) and the league’s whipping boys, Chhma Khmao, was due to begin Sunday. The players sloshed their way through the first half, with large pools of water covering much of the surface, and sliding tackles were the order of the day as the driving rain continued to fall.

The Army opened the scoring on six minutes against a team who’d won just once in seven outings, and a mauling looked on the cards. MND skipper Khim Borey was handily placed to finish off a neat move down the left between Pum Tola and Sin Dalin for the game’s opener.

Despite their dominance of possession, the Army didn’t add to their goals-for column until after the half time break. In fact, the Black Cats of Chhma Khmao created a couple of gilt-edged chances in the first half that went begging.

Sok Kolamara chipped MND goalkeeper Sou Yaty but saw his effort rebound off the post, and the stopper had to be at his very best to keep out Mom Davy’s penalty five minutes before the interval. Awarded against Pum Tola for a mistimed sliding tackle that caught the heel of Pao Ratha, it took an almighty leap and a strong left hand at the foot of the post from Yaty to keep his team in front.

After a halftime rollicking, the Army set about their task with more vigour and both Sin Dalin and Khim Borey hit the woodwork as they forced the Black Cats onto the back foot. Khim Borey was in dead-eye form, and he found space in the box to nod in a cross at the far post from Pum Tola 10 minutes into the second half.

An injury to the Black Cats’ keeper Phan Ratana on the hour saw his replacement, Pen Socheat, get his first touch when he picked the ball out of the net after Sin Dalin volleyed in Pum Tola’s cross from close range. Five minutes later, Khim Borey registered a deserved hat trick, controlling another Tola pass on his chest and firing in a vicious shot that Pen Socheat failed to block at his near post.

Army centre-half Thong Oudom joined in the fun and games with a powerful header from a corner on 82 minutes before Sok Kolamara slalomed through three tackles and netted a neat finish past Sou Yaty to give the Black Cats a small consolation, just before the final whistle.

Build Bright Utd 5 Khemara Keila 1

With Phnom Penh Crown retaking the top spot in the Metfone C-League title race the day before, Build Bright United (BBU) knew that a win against down-in-the-dumps Khemara Keila Sunday would take them back to the top, and so it proved.

Khemara are going through a rough patch on the pitch at the moment, but they looked up for the challenge in the early stages, after BBU’s Nhim Sovannara thumped a shot against the upright. Both Khemara strikers, Suon Makara and Ek Vannak, will kick themselves for not doing better with a couple of chances that they would’ve gobbled up on any other day. Makara spooned his shot wide when well-placed, and then Vannak misdirected his header when it seemed easier to score.

BBU made them pay for those misses with two goals in as many minutes, the first coming on thirty-five minutes. Nhim Sovannara was not to be denied his goal and he arrived late at the far post to nod in after a corner had been flicked on by Oum Chandara.

Nuth Sinoun is in a purple patch of his own, and the BBU striker directed a shot on the turn into the far corner to give his side a two-goal cushion before the break.

Khemara heads perked up four minutes after the restart when Suon Makara took a Kuoch Sokumpheak pass in his long stride and finished coolly.

However, within a minute Nuth Sinoun showed why he is at the top of the league’s goalscoring charts, when he collected a pass from Oum Chandara, shimmied his way past the last defender and fired in a low drive under the goalkeeper’s body. A class finish from a man in tip top form.

With Khemara’s resistance broken, BBU pressed home their advantage. On 55 minutes, skipper Prum Putsethy turned his marker and curled a low shot into the far corner for their fourth. Soon after, his teammate Tuy Sam dramatically went to ground in the penalty area but all he got for his acting ability was a yellow card from referee Khoun Virak.

With the game petering out and BBU in firm control, Oum Chandara put the icing on the cake when he cashed in on Kun Kuon’s failure to clear his lines and walloped the ball in from a yard out on 78 minutes. The 5-1 win was well deserved and sent BBU back to the top of the Metfone C-League with just one full week of action to go before the mid-season break.