Brief look at the semis

Tomorrow (Saturday 27th) will see the semis of the Hun Sen Cup taking place at the Olympic Stadium. They begin at 2pm with the mouth-watering Phnom Penh Crown versus Naga Corp tie. Both teams are backed by casinos, so aren't short of a bob or two, though Crown are definitely the moneybags of the Cambodia football scene. Crown missed out on the CPL title last season but they did clinch the Hun Sen Cup, beating Naga 1-nil in the final. So it's revenge time for Naga tomorrow and they get the nod from me. I think they'll have just too much on the day for Crown to handle in tomorrow's semi final, though the league games may be a different matter, depending on what foreign talent the two teams parade in a few weeks time. It was Naga who triumphed in the Super 4 play-off to claim the league championship last time around, after Crown came out on top during the regular season. A crap way to decide the champions but it made for an exciting finale.
In the other semi, on paper and in reality, Preah Khan Reach should out-gun the Ministry of National Defense but I hope they don't. I'd like to see the Army team get through to face Naga in the final. Just my personal preference. The Army came alive in their 9-1 quarter-final win over the provincial whipping boys Rithisen, but Preah Khan will be a much much tougher nut to crack, and full of some of the country's most experienced players. If the Army keeper Samreth Seiha can play a blinder and their two wingers lead the PKR defence a merry dance, they could just do it. Fingers crossed.