Monday, March 12, 2012

Amateurs cock-a-hoop

The PKR line-up that were beaten by the amateurs of SPA in the Malaysian FA Cup
The New Straits Times in Malaysia put Preah Khan Reach's defeat in the Malaysian FA Cup on Saturday into perspective. PKR went down 1-0 just after half-time to the third-tier team called Public Service Commission’s (SPA), who advanced to the quarter-finals of the competition for the very 1st time, where they will face Bojan Hodak's league leaders Kelantan over two legs. SPA are an amateur team and were cock-a-hoop after defeating the Cambodians, who fielded eight current internationals, and who fully expected to win. According to the NST: It’s a feat that as far as coach Mohd Nidzam Jamil is concerned almost amounted to being “a miracle”. “We’re all incredibly delighted especially to continue in the competition and at the same time create history,” said Nidzam after the match at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. “We want to enjoy this (win) before thinking about Kelantan. What makes this so special is that we hold daily jobs and only train after work. Our priority, however, is to earn Premier League promotion and not the FA Cup but doing well in it is a bonus and added motivation.” Nidzam said the hard work and hours of training is the secret behind the club’s Cup run so far. “PKR are professionals and of course physically and technically they’re much better than us. What made the difference for us was simple motivation. My players showed character and their willingness to fight for 90 minutes paid dividends. Some of my players even suffered cramps in the final minutes of the match but I expected that to happen as we are an amateur side,” said Nidzam. PKR will return home to lick their wounds and get themselves prepared for their opening Metfone C-League encounter against Phnom Penh Crown on Wednesday 21 March.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe PKR just doesnt want to spend additional money on travels and just want to concentrate on the cambodia league instead... hahaha..

Andy Brouwer said...

It's good that a few Cambodian clubs are making efforts to gain experience in other countries. PKR have been giving their young squad these opportunities for the last couple of years and its invaluable for them to play against different teams.
The same goes for PPCFC and their involvement in the AFC President's Cup, Singapore Cup and friendly matches in Thailand, etc. This helps not just at club level but at national team level as well.